It really has been forever, please forgive me. I will be getting back into the swing of things now ...
It really has been forever, please forgive me. I will be getting back into the swing of things now I have got used to having my baby Daniel around! Hope you are all well and I'll be catching up very soon x x Fanks!
Member since:28.12.2001
Reviews:46
Members who trust:25
Well, not sure how many of you have ever been as naughty as me with banks, let me tell you just how bad I am...
It all started with my first real bank account at 16 (quite a few years ago now!) with Lloyds, I opened a standard current account and was not just given a cash card but a Switch card too! How lovely! Couldn't wait to go and use a debit card... how very grown up was that? So off I toddled to use this very special thing that had been issued to me and never even bothered checking balances. Needless to say I soon received letters to say I was overdrawn and shouldn't have been as they are unable to give credit to under 18's (well! They shouldn't have given me a Switch card should they?) oops, so there I was at the
age of 16 being kicked out of my first ever bank.
The kicking did not stop there, I moved on to Natwest, Barclays, Alliance & Leicester, and then Abbey National. Now Abbey National was the only one out of that little lot that didn't kick me out, I admit before then I was very bad with my money, you'll all be pleased to know that I have now changed - probably due to the fact I work for a bank now, ironic isn't it?!
Abbey National was a terrible bank, they only offered me an Electron card that can be used in about two shops in the whole world (both located in Bermuda!) - sorry, slight sarcasm there! I asked for a Switch but they said I couldn't until I had used that card more and proved I could manage my own money. The situation was a bit of a Catch 22 so I found one of the only high street banks left that hadn't kicked me out!
I have now been banking with HSBC for about a year, I'm not one to visit branches so I find their internet banking facility brilliant, it's very easy to use, you can bounce between your savings,current account and credit card account - if you have one (you guessed it... I do!) When you check your balances you can also see all transactions on all accounts, including your credit card The transfer of money between them is very self explanatory & simple, I find this very handy when I have some spare money and want to pay more off the credit card, or even money into the savings account.
You can set up Standing Orders and make payments to all credit card issuers - all details are set on their system, this saves you hunting about on your bill to find account details and sort codes. You can also change your personal details online which is less hassle than phoning or going into a branch. You could also stop a cheque if needed.
I spend a lot of time on the internet everyday & as I work for an internet bank myself...! I find HSBC one of the most attractive & easiest to use.
I'm not the best person at handling or budgeting my money & since I've used the internet I haven't had a problem, I've never gone over my overdraft and budget a lot better. I know exactly where I am with my money & can transfer between account which is updated instantly for any of the unexpected shopping I do regular!
I have never had to call the helpdesk with any online problems & have never had to call because I couldn't do something. The site has also never been down when I have wanted to use it. The site is also very quick to navigate and there is no problem with pages loading.
Some other people have mentioned that after a certain amount of time you have to log in again as it locks you out after so much time with no activity - This is a security feature & without this I would be quite concerned!
They provide an Internet Banking ID these all start IB and follow with ten numbers. You have to request this and then you also give a security number too, this has to be between 6-10 digits long. You would also use this when calling for their telephone banking.
I suppose the only down side is that they don't have a facility for e-mail, you cannot contact the bank about any other queries on your account, you have to phone or go into the branch, which for me is a pain as I work shifts.
Other than that there are no other faults that I have come across. Even if I have to deal with HSBC over the phone or face to face, I always find them helpful & polite. This makes a change from the usual young know-it-all you usually get from other companies! As I've also been a naughty girl previously they were very good and soon swapped my Solo card for a more widely taken Switch. They also provided me with a Credit Card - I used this to transfer a balance and get a better interest rate.
All in all a 5 star bank - though the interest is terrible at 0.1%! Never mind, can't win them all! So all in all I LOVE THIS BANK!
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(¯`•¸·´¯) Excellent review, well written. Enjoyed reading. Verna :) (¯`·¸•´¯)
xintech 15.05.2005 00:16
love reading it, precise. had the same experience with HSBC.
kurowski 13.05.2002 12:31
Have you tried First Direct? Being part of HSBC means that you get to use all their banks, but you get higher interest rates and decent internet banking and phone banking too. I love them to bits.
May 4th, 2002
very helpful by (100%):
