First Direct - Banking Heaven

Advantages: Excellent customer service
Disadvantages: Low interest rate

...I know that I have written a reviews recently about First Direct (a division of HSBC Bank plc) and their products and facilities and 'no', I do not work for them and am not on any commission! However, I would be delighted to work for them as I think they are absolutely first class..... After 30 years of banking with the Halifax I moved to First Direct for my banking. The reason I moved was because I took out a mortgage with First Direct and one of the conditions for getting a mortgage was that I had to open a bank account with them. I can quite honestly say that First Direct are like a breath of 'fresh air' in the world of banking. This is one of the best moves I have ever made and I am delighted with the outstanding customer service and the excellent products that First Direct offer. One of the most pleasing things about...

Krazikas 14.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of First Direct

First class Direct banking

Advantages: Simple and secure
Disadvantages: none

...I'm not going to go into the contract agreement or any of the small print here, you can get all the details from First Direct themselves. This opinion is to inform you all of my experience with this bank, the pro's and con's. You can then make your own mind up as to whether you want to open an account with them or not. I wanted a bank account that was a little different from the rest. First Direct's interest rates were very competitive when I opened my current account with them about 4 years ago. Since then I have been very impressed with their services, security and personal customer care - What customer care I hear you ask, this isn't a real bank - When you have a problem they will sort it out in person either over the phone or via messages through their internet service. I log into my account via their internet service with my...

Timski 03.08.2001 · Read review
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Review of First Direct

The First Nearly Perfect Bank??

Advantages: 24/7 Helpful Customer Service, text message banking, online banking
Disadvantages: Charge high fees for unauthorised items, no branches

...I decided to transfer my current account about 18 months ago as I had decided enough was enough with the service I was receiving from Barclays. My biggest problem had to be 1 of two things I thought, firstly which bank? Secondly, would it go smoothly? After looking up all of the usual High Street banks including the likes of Halifax, Lloyds TSB etc etc, I still had not made up my mind. That is when someone suggested to be have I ever heard of First Direct. I had seen some of their adverts on TV but to be honest never paid much attention. As I had got no where with the other banks, it had to be worth a look at least. Knowing that they were an online bank they obviously had a website so I set about finding it. Easy enough (www.firstdirect.com). I sat and looked through all of the information on their site which gave me...

Andy0304 07.10.2004 · Read review
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Review of First Direct

First Direct- The Best Bank Ever!

Advantages: No waiting in branches- It's all online or telephone banking
Disadvantages: None

...With a hectic lifestyle it had always been impossible for us to visit a bank. So when I saw a newspaper advert featuring First Direct the telephone banking service, I was more then willing to give it a go. It has been three years since then and I have never looked back. I don't have a single negative thing to say about this bank. First Direct truly make you feel like a valued customer. They cater for your banking needs and alter their standard services so that they suit you. I really enjoyed ringing them up to get an update of my account each week. The person on the other end was always friendly and they usually asked about how my day was. I know it doesn't sound much, but it made such a difference to the usual all-uptight-professional approach you get from most banks. My fondness for this bank increased even more when I once...

kat696 25.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of First Direct

First Direct Bank

Advantages: Multiple ways to manage your accounts, free
Disadvantages: low interest on balances

...I have been with First Direct for some 5 years. During that time they have progressed from a telephone only organisation, through online banking to mobile phone banking. I have experience of the first two and am about to try the third. The advantages are: a) free banking b) £250 free overdraft (you pay only interest while overdrawn c) both PC and true internet banking are provided. So you can manage your finances from any PC (with the internet banking option) d) telephone banking remains an option for dealing with the more difficult transactions (eg electronic transfer of funds for house purchase). The backup of telephone banking is also a great boon if your partner is not so online minded (as mine isn't) or for those times when the online system fails/crashes etc which would leave you totally cut off from your funds...

aardvark99 27.01.2001 · Read review
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Review of First Direct Bank [TV Advertisement]

First Direct Offset Mortgage

Advantages: First Direct - great offset mortgage
Disadvantages: Too easy to access the equity in your home!

...The first thing that attracted me to a First Direct (a division of HSBC Bank plc) offset lifetime tracker mortgage was that it was listed at the top of the 'best buy' tables on moneysupermarket.com. A quick search revealed that it had also been voted the best lender for customer service in the Which? Money survey on mortgages 2008. This was the second year running that First Direct had come out on top. With a score of 90% first direct was 11% ahead of its nearest rival in the survey of 18 lenders. First Directs mortgages have won numerous awards over the years, the most recent being What Mortgage Magazine's winner of Best Direct Lender over 5 Years (February 2007). In January 2009 their offset mortgage was one of the lowest rates on the market. Although I was not actually looking to remortgage at this stage because I still had nine...

Krazikas 28.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of First Direct Mortgages

First Direct - the friendly face of banking

Advantages: Excellent customer service
Disadvantages: No interest on current accounts

...on current accounts in favour of higher rates on savings. You can definitely get better rates from other banks, but you can't beat First Direct on service....

Trollabod 09.03.2008 · Read review
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Review of First Direct

Excellent service - can't fault First Direct!

Advantages: Easy to set up, easy to repay by DD
Disadvantages: None for me

...I have been a customer of First Direct bank ever since they started and I honestly cannot fault them. Incidentally they came top in the survey done by Watchdog so I'm obviously not the only one who thinks so! When we decided to buy our cottage last year we thought that we would be able to sell our house quite easily. Sadly this wasn't the case and because of the credit crunch we still own both properties although we have got tenants in the house now which does help a bit with the finances. When we came to pay the deposit on the cottage we had to raise the 15% deposit that we needed without having the income from the sale of the house that we had been expecting. To top up the money that we had already saved we needed a loan of £14,000 and we began doing some research to find the best deal. We were quoted various ridiculous...

SusanLesley 17.12.2008 · Read review
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Review of First Direct Loans

Top Bank

Advantages: Great service, Speak to Real People
Disadvantages: None

...After moving banks 6 months ago to the Halifax I wasn't overly happy. I had heard good things about First Direct so looked at their website. They were offering (and still are) £100 for moving your account over to them and another £100 if you decide you're not happy with them and want to leave. This got me interested? History First Direct is a division of HSBC and was set up back in 1989 with a headquarters in Leeds which is where it has remained since then. It was originally part of Midland Bank but when that was bought by HSBC, it obviously became part of that. Because it is part of HSBC (one of the biggest banks in the world), it gave me reassurance that my money would be safe. I know the government guarantee up to £50,000 but I'd rather not have my money anywhere where that guarantee might have to be exercised. They have no...

mynameisrui 21.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of First Direct

Banking the easy way

Advantages: Efficient, quick, easy to use, free access
Disadvantages: None at all

...I have been a customer of First Direct ever since they first began trading offering a telephone banking service, and I have always been a satisfied customer. About two years ago First Direct decided to go on line and offered their customers the opportunity of PC banking. The unfortunate thing about this was that you had to load the software, provided by First Direct, from a disk onto your PC and then use it via a high cost telephone call whether you had free access to the Internet or not. I used this occasionally and found it a useful service, but, because of the high cost, I never really made full use of all the various benefits of on line banking. I tended to log in do the absolute essentials as quickly as possible and log back out again. The real improvement from my point of view came when they made it possible for customers...

SusanLesley 13.07.2001 · Read review
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Review of First Direct