Banking & Personal Finance > Mortgage Lenders

Advantages: Helpful lender, penalty free, flexible
Disadvantages: Not web-based, limited opening hours

...discount, we opted for the Scarborough for the following reasons: It is not a "bells and whistles" mortgage, no cashback etc, instead they offered a good product at a good rate. They were very patient when we phoned up and helped us through it They are a building society and have the ethics and customer care of a building society Most importantly, there are no penalties or tie-ins attached to the mortgage, so we're free to change our minds at ...
...you if a better deal comes up!) On the other hand, if you like the product and want to move house, you can take it with you. Because it's flexible you can overpay it or borrow again up to the original amount. The disadvantages are that, as they are a small building society (based in Scarborough!) you rely on telephone communication during restricted hours (no midnight calls!) and no way to manage your account on line. By the way, I only put "very ... Read review

Advantages: None
Disadvantages: They steal your money

Alliance & Leicester. What a bunch of con men. DO NOT set up a bank account with these guys, they are a complete pack of swindlers. They STEAL your money. Let me explain. They hide behind antiquated rules for clearing cheques, so you are put in the red when in fact you have plenty of money in the account. In case you missed that, I will give you a breakdown. Say for example I had £5 in the account on Thursday evening, and my wages are due to ...
...cash machine at five past midnight and the money is in my account, I ignore it and come back home and log on to their internet banking. It also says my wages are in the account and clear. So I go back to the cash machine and lift £10. Two weeks after I look at the account, they put it through as if I had withdrawn the £10 before the wages were in the account. I asked them about this, and they said it takes 3 days for a cheque to clear. I said that ... Read review

Advantages: None
Disadvantages: Awful customer service (even worse than woolworths)

...have not been in a Skipton Building Society for over a year (and soon you will find out why), but I can probably imagine that their customer services have not improved in the slightest. Around this time last year i went around some of the banks in Southport to compare the different current accounts that they all offered. I had already previously been in Natwest, Halifax, Barclays, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide, and then I decided to go to Skipton Building ...
...previously heard good reports of Skipton Building Society, and someone did recommend me on their current account. So I went inside, and noticed that the place was fairly understaffed, and talked to the cashier: I asked "Hello, i was wondering if you have any current accounts that I could apply for" "NO" was the reply given to me by a rough looking middle aged woman. I just walked out of the branch and never returned, i dont think I need to explain ... Read review

Advantages: Tax free savings, ISA.
Disadvantages: none that I can see

...have been saving with the Principality building society for some years now, and I must say that thay have got alot of accounts on offer. There are alot of account but the most common accounts are: the straight forward savings account, the instant access savings account, ISA account, and the 60 days notice account. All in all I would recommend any account to anyone, but the best account I think is the ISA as it offers 3.60% interest while the instant ...
...access to you accounts. The Principality also offer loans that I must say have a very smooth APR. The Principality also offer a young persons account, for any young person aged 11-17 this account is ment to help young people learn to save (I think that this account is a good idea for the young). Thay also offer a trust fund account, this account is for pairents who want to open a account for there child and to put money in to the account for there ... Read review

Advantages: Excellent Interest Rate
Disadvantages: Poor correspondence

...took out a mortgage with First Active in October 2005, I used an independant mortgage advisor and they returned the best results. The fees were £300 for a level 2 Property Inspection and £95 start-up fee. The interest rate is guaranteed for 2 years to be 0.05 above the base rate, obviously its a variable rate. I would say the overall package offered by First Active was good on paper but they struggled to match this with their customer service. For ...
...and the mortgage pack was nicely laid out in a folder and easy to read. The best advice I could give is that I recomment First Active but you should really keep on top of them by phoning them frequently to ensure they're doing everything they need to. ... Read review