Banking & Personal Finance > Tax-Free Savings Providers

Advantages: None
Disadvantages: Lots

...That explains a lot considering Barclays Bank bought into Absa Bank in South africa that had over 4.2 Billion Rand of unsecured loans and no real paper work all hushed up and a lot of people had to sign discloser documents so that the information would not leak out . Good luck to all the share holders at Barclays Bank I hope you sleep well at night . How do I know this well I was one of those who signed the non disclosure documents. ... Read review

Advantages: none
Disadvantages: everything

Lloyds, like all banks are driven by high fees and low service. I received a phone call from the bank to invite me to come and discuss further banking options - credit cards and mortgages. So I made time during the day (in work hours) to visit them, to only be made to wait over 25 minutes. When I was finally seen, the lady tried to blame me, saying that she tried to call my mobile to ask where I was (I was in the waiting area waiting to be served ...
...breaking my overdraft limit by £2 - threatening me with over £66 in charges as a result. So I asked her why I had been called to the bank, she replied to apply for a credit card. But on closer inspection, my credit rating had obviously taken a hit due to their lovely charges for breaking my overderaft by £2. She then began to berate me for not keeping track of my finances (I had been overseas and the foreign exchange charges had taken me over my ... Read review

Advantages: Customer Service, Account variety, Good interest rates and good website/online banking.
Disadvantages: Many travel charges for withdrawel.

I've been with Natwest for many a year now and I've had absolutely no problems, I wouldn't switch banks unless I have to. The great thing about Natwest is the variety of choices of Bank accounts, the majority depending on your income, e.g. Gold Premier. I've had the best experience with their customer service and helpline than with any other bank, it is absolutely superb, they are extremely quick to answer e-mails, they post replacement cards/cheque ...
...frustrating. Their website and online banking is also particularly helpful. Natwest may not be the cheapest bank when it comes to charges but I think that the customer service makes up for that. To round it up, NatWest is a fantastic bank and I thoroughly recommend considering them! ... Read review

Advantages: Interest free overdraft on student account
Disadvantages: Everything

...I totally forgot about my HSBC account by accident and the next thing I knew I had a "final notice" demanding full repayment in 30 days. I hadnt recieved a first notice but they didnt care and demanded the money. The people in my local branch are useless and couldnt help me either so I agreed to pay it off in monthly installments. At first I paid it in when I got paid which was every 4 weeks so the date always changed but the money was there. Then ...
...date so I agree don the first of each month. However if you dont pay it in when you say they will call you regarding a "broken promise". They give you no leeway of a few days like most people would. I argued that surely as long as the money was there then it didnt matter - apparently I still broke a promise. And beware that everytime they call you, you will have the same conversation each time as they ask you the same things each time. Dont bank ... Read review

Advantages: None
Disadvantages: All aspects of the Halifax's customer service policy

I went into the Halifax to change my partner's current account into a joint account for us both. 8 weeks later I still hadn't received my card and pin number and so phoned them to see what was going on. Because I could not tell them what the balance and most recent transaction was (impossible given I was phoning because I had not received my card and therefore had no access to the account) they froze my access to telephone banking and refused to ...
...my card was because the Halifax still hadn't bothered to send it and we were told that the telephone banking service would be restored. We also made a formal complaint. That was on Friday 2nd of May and we still haven't had an acknowledgement that the complaint is being processed. Having finally received my card this week, I tried to use it - the ATM showed a message saying I needed to contact my bank. I phoned them to find that my telebanking is ... Read review