I've had this account for about 2 years now and I'm still using it as my main account. Quite surprising as as the interest rate is low and some of the services are expensive.
At the moment a lot of other banks are offering cash incentives to transfer your main account and the financial watchdogs are trying to make the process as easy as possible. So why have I stuck with this account for so long?
The £8 a month fee is about £8 more than I'd like to pay when I'm in credit but it does pay for a few interesting perks. As well as the usual Sentinel card protection you get worldwide travel insurance, a freepost gold-coloured keyfob so hopefully if you ever lose your keys they will be returned to you and I recently got a letter saying the account would also include break-down cover this year.
If you don't want to pay £96 per year for this then go for the classic account. I expect I will change my account back to a classic now I have paid off the loan I had with LTSB. I changed to the gold account because my loan was high and the gold account gave me an extra 3% off the interest rate at the time (which was worth more than £96 a year in charges).
The gold savings account is easy to get once you have the main account and it's useful as a place to set-aside cash for short periods, but the interest rate is not worthwhile if you have less than £250 deposited. Then again if you want to save, get an ISA instead.
The reason I keep this account is because the online experience is good. You learn to remember your 9-digit customer number and your password gets you through to round 2 of the security checks. You then have to pick 3 numbers or letters from your memorable security information to get to your accounts. This feels secure as the 3 digits are randomly picked and unlike other online banks, THEY ARE IN ORDER. Other online accounts might ask for a third, sixth and first character, but LTSB would ask for this as first, third and sixth making the experience much more user friendly.
Once into your accounts page, you get access to your current account(s), savings account(s) and credit card balances. It's presented much like a LTSB statement with the traditional white & pastel green box-backgrounds. You get online statements which can be downloaded in CSV or quicken/MS money formats. You can set up your own payments (like DD's but you decide how much to transfer and when - this can be one-off payments). You have access to your standing orders and direct debits and can cancel them at any time.
It does exactly what an internet bank should do. It puts you in control, feels secure and presents your finanacial details in a clear way.
There are a lot of accounts out there that I haven't tried yet but I do have a couple of other accounts and this is the one I compare them with. As yet I haven't found one which gives a better user experience. If the interest rates were higher and the charges for things like stopping a cheque and being sent letters were more reasonable, I would rate this account as excellent. Instead I will say it's better than average.
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I was with Lloyds for a few years but I've never been that impressed with their customer service. Of course these were the days before online banking and now I do as much as I can on the computer.
MAFARRIMOND 20.05.2004 08:58
An informative review. Online banking is so much easier and convienient. Maureen
inycon2 19.05.2004 23:58
I thought their current account was supposed to have a good interest rate. I really ought to move my account away from Barclays as they have a very poor rate, but I find all the different choices very confusing.
Advantages: Track account movements and transfer instantly between accounts. Apply for e-savngs account. Disadvantages: Access code device doesn't work overseas
Advantages: They will extend your overdraft without your prior knowledge or permission Disadvantages: That overdraft will then cost you darely should you ever fall into financial difficulties
Advantages: I can check my balance or whether a payment has gone out without leaving the house. I can also set up a full months bill payments in one go. Disadvantages: I still have to go to town to get money out - unfortunately I can't see a solution to this problem
di-buzz 20.07.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of LloydsTSB
Advantages: A hard copy statement can be printed out. Disadvantages: No identification of who has been paid, or paid you, although this information is provided in the normal monthly statement sent by post.
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