Banking & Personal Finance > Mortgage Lenders

Advantages: Small, unknown BS with hardly any attractive accounts.
Disadvantages: A real mutual BS, run for the benifit of it's members. It does try to improve accounts, whilst accepting a high risk mortgage holder when others would turn one away. true to it' founding and religous principles, this BS is role model to the others.

The Catholic was established in 1960, with the guiding principles still strong in today's cut throat world. Let's be honest, how many of you have heard of the Catholic? It is tiny, with only one branch which serves as it's head office, with all other transaction by post. But this society has over 1 third of it's borrowers as woman, well above the average. It's rates are consistant and fair for such a small BS. This society is willing to concider ...
...a mortgage to because of their individual position. It's board is accountable and the AGMs fair. Because of their size they can't afford to fund big, glitzy generous services. But it is a true mutual BS, run for the sole benifit of it's members. Give them a try when all else fails. They will try their very best to help you. And no, you don't have to be Catholic! ... Read review

Advantages: offer fixed interest rates which appeal to some
Disadvantages: n/a

...that my relations with the Derbyshire have been to trust them with some of mine. Of course there is little to choose as far as risk factor is concerned since a large slice of your investment is covered in law. So who you give your money to really bolis down to rates and track record. derbyshire do not seem to be a society where one could easily accuse them of using high rates to attract your deposit and then reducing immediately afterwards. What ... Read review

Advantages: Excellent Interest rates for Childrens Savings Accounts
Disadvantages: No internet access to accounts.

...the comparison lists was the Saffron Walden, Herts and Essex Building Society. This building society is based in Saffron Waldon, Essex and has 12 branches in Essex, Hertfordshire, Suffolk, and London, as well as agents in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. Also it is in partnership with Liverpool Victoria group. This building society offers the usual adult financial products - Mortgages, Isa, Tessa, Saving Bonds etc etc but also offers a great set of ...
...at childrens upto 16 years old and offers a great rate of interest - currently (at time of the review) 5.35% - which is about as good as you can get! This account can be opened with as little as £1.00 and up to £20,000 - so lots of saving ability! The interest is added annually on the 31st December and has instant access. The account is run via a passbook with an adult (s) nominated as trustee. The account can be operated via the branch but if ... Read review

Advantages: windfall goes to you, good interest rates
Disadvantages: minimum of £5000 needed for members outside swansea.

This buliding society unlike many does not make you sign a charitable assignment which means that when it demutualises you can get the windfall for yourself. The problem for the carpetbagger is that he/she has to put in at least £5000 if they don't live in scotland. a lot of this will however be paid for if it becomes a bank with the estimated windfall being £748. Apart from being a very good bs for a carpetbagger its also very good for the regualar ... Read review

Advantages: Polite, generally moderately knowledgeable staff
Disadvantages: No longer able to answer the phone quickly.

I have banked with Cater Allen for many decades, since they were the retail banking arm of Robert Fleming & Co (RIP). Having passed through various corporate hands they ended up with Abbey, which in turn is part of the Santander Group. The whole operation was always faintly amateurish, with serious incompetence demonstrated when anything complicated was requested (for example transferring funds to an overseas account), but the call centre operatives ...
...rings. Sadly now Cater Allen has, at long last, offered internet banking, this is not the case. The bank has decided, like all the other retail banks, that customers are important, but not so important that it's worth answering the phone to them promptly. To give you an idea of how long you might have to wait, I *nearly* finished this review before anyone actually picked up the phone, this at 2:45pm on a Monday afternoon. ... Read review