Oh my gosh, I haven't written in over a year. What can I say, life is busy! I'm a PA now and all I s...
Oh my gosh, I haven't written in over a year. What can I say, life is busy! I'm a PA now and all I seem to do is work, go to the gym and sleep with a bit of socialising thrown into the mix. (6/8/05)
Member since:09.09.2000
Reviews:96
Members who trust:86
This opinion is based mainly on my experience with HSBC as a student bank, although I am now a graduate. I cannot comment on their service for those in employment because I am not.
I first joined HSBC in 1998, when I became increasingly frustrated with NatWest. NatWest had extremely dodgy terms regarding student overdrafts, meaning that you could have an agreed overdraft one day and they could take it back the next because their limits are extremely temporary, usually lasting for no more than one year. This was not good enough. It's tough enough being a student and juggling your finances without the inconvenience and stress of dealing with a bank like NatWest. So across the road to HSBC I went. They asked for 3 months worth of statements (because I was already 2 years into my degree course and they wanted some indication of my spending patterns), as well as proof of my identity and permanent address - namely a passport (you could provide a driving license if you have one), and a bill/grant letter. You may also have to prove that you have been accepted into a University so keep hold of that acceptance letter.
When I went in with the above material I was taken into a small room at the back so they could open my account. Sometimes in my particular branch they will speak to you at a desk around the side, which is not very private, but if you are going into a lot of detail they tend to take you into one of the two private interview rooms. One thing I can say for HSBC is that the staff is incredibly friendly, especially at my branch. A large
percentage of the staff seems to be women and they are very chatty and down-to-earth, whilst being knowledgeable about their job. My account was opened there and then but I had to wait about 3 days for my Switch card, which I collected from the bank.
As a student you are entitled to certain things, provided you behave sensibly:
- An interest-free overdraft: £1,000 in the first year, £1,250 in the second year and £1,500 in the third year. If you study for four years, you are entitled to £1,750 in the final year. This is much more generous than NatWest were offering (a maximum of £1,000 whilst I was at university).
- A credit card - either Visa or Mastercard - with a limit of £500. You will often be offered this if you are struggling to remain within your overdraft limit, and it is incredibly tempting to accept it. I did and lived to regret it but I have never been good with money!
- A cheque book (which isn't exactly a luxury but handy to have)
- You will deal with student counsellors who know the ins and outs of the student bank account service. This sounds a little obvious but I had one friend who had no student counsellor at his branch so his account was set up wrong.
As I joined HSBC just before my 3rd year at university I had missed out on 2 years of service and had only a friend's recommendation. I found them to be a lot more approachable that NatWest. If you are struggling to keep to limits you can talk to someone at HSBC who will talk through your options with you and advise you how to keep things on a level.
At first I only dealt with HSBC at their branch but I soon became accustomed to their telephonebanking service, which as an agoraphobic person is very convenient. Simply call them 0845 404 404 with your account details handy. You will need to set up a 6 digit security number to use this service - I did this on the phone line. This 6 digit number will also let you access your account online at http://www.hsbc.co.uk, where you can check out all your latest transactions and make payments. I very rarely use their phone service now, but I have many times in the past. They are quite prompt at taking your call and if you need detailed advice you will often be transferred to a member of your branch. I have had to make some pretty difficult phone calls to HSBC regarding financial difficulties and they have always been fairly sensitive to my situation. Don't forget, if you're not good at using phones (I hate using them personally) you can also write to your local branch or send in cheques to be paid into your bank account. I do this at least once a month.
Other banks can be very fast to request repayment of any overdrafts, credit cards or loans the moment you graduate (a friend who used NatWest found this to be the case) but HSBC accept that you can only repay at a rate you can afford. I am unemployed due to illness so I still have a large overdraft (£1,500). I am charged interest on this because I am no longer a student (approximately £10 a month in interest) but they have not demanded the money back. They are reasonable like that. I am currently paying my credit card off as well as my postgraduate studies loan so they appreciate my efforts. Other banks do not really care whether you can afford to pay back your debts so be very careful about which bank you accept services and loans from.
As a HSBC graduate you get 3 interest free years to pay off your overdraft. It goes down at the same gradual rate as it increases - in the first year, up to £1,500; in the second, up to £1,000; in the third year, up to £500. If like me, you're not paying it off at that rate, you will be subjected to standard interest rates, which is currently 1.41% as a graduate and 2.18% for others. An employed graduate is entitled to a £1,000 credit card limit, whereas an unemployed graduate can still keep their £500 limit. You may also wish to apply for a loan for a car or something else. HSBC will let you borrow up to £15,000 depending on how much you are earning at an interest rate of only 7.9% APR for up to 5 years.
After finishing my degree I decided to apply to study a Masters degree so I also have experience of using HSBC's postgraduate service. They extended my overdraft to £1,750 as it was my fourth year of study and I also applied for a postgraduate studies loan. A postgraduate studies loan may be applied for if you are undertaking a postgraduate course to follow a certain profession. I intended to study a Masters in American Studies before going on to teach in that subject so I was accepted to have a loan of £3,000 to cover my tuition fees and some living expenses. You can apply for up to £5,000 a year, depending on which course you are planning to study. Due to illness, I had to drop out of my Masters and could not get a job straight away. HSBC have been very reasonable. They rearranged new repayment terms on my loan, meaning that I had a slightly higher loan amount and it will take longer to pay off but it means my monthly repayment amounts are much more manageable at just £50 a month. If you're thinking about doing a postgraduate course it is a good way to cover the cost, just make sure you get a job as soon as it finishes!
Whether or not HSBC would be as good for me once I am working, I am yet to find out, but they have treated me so well as a student that I would not hesitate to remain loyal to them when I eventually do gain employment. I highly recommend HSBC to undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Blame SueMagee if I bored you silly with this one, she inspired me to write it.
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this is a nice review, although now is dated considering the bank are trying to do over the final year students who are graduating by chargin intrest on the overdrafts they were so keen on us to create. i for one am closing my account, and it is with much regret that i will be doing so, because i haven't had that much trouble with them.
miniminime456 20.07.2007 02:48
this is a nice review, although now is dated considering the bank are trying to do over the final year students who are graduating by chargin intrest on the overdrafts they were so keen on us to create. i for one am closing my account, and it is with much regret that i will be doing so, because i haven't had that much trouble with them.
s_jones_2003 20.05.2004 16:39
I've got a HSBC student account and never had a problem with it, always been great! Sarah x
Nov 12th, 2002
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