Lloyds TSB, a fusion giant of the Lloyds Bank and the Trustee Savings Bank in 1995, becoming one of largest banksin the UK. Its head office now in London, Gresham Street. In Scotland it is known as Lloyds TSB Scotland. It also owns Cheltenham and Gloucester, Scottish Widows, and Black Horse.
This is an example of a monster of a bank who are extremely good to you if you are paying the staff wages, but when you get into difficulties they seem to heavily crush you. Mind you it is not fair to say Lloyds are alone in this, all the financial institutions operate this way.
But Lloyds in my experience are relatively good in some departments but poor in others. If there are no problems with your accounts then there is not really a problem. However, if you open many
accounts with them, they have various departments dealing with partiular offers or promotions which are often hoodwinked and leave you to read the small print.
For example, I recently negotiated a very good deal on a personal loan and they offered me their Platinum card as well. So far so good, but as my personal manager was dealing on the loans side produceing clear and concise terms on the loan, problems occured when applying for a card at the same time.
Specifically, the offer was 12mths balance xfer and 6months 0% on purchases. What they forgot to tell me was that the offer was available online only, even though my personal manager and the activation team for the card both confirmed that I was to benefit from this offer. So when the first statement came, there was indeed 0% on Balance xfers but charging interest on purchases.
Naturally, I wanted to clarify the matter, and Card service dept insisted no such offer is or was available unless you applied on-line. I resorted to my bank manager, and a letter was written which took more than 28 days to be responded to.
Anyway, they insisted that there was no recourse for me at card services, and even my own branch manager thought card services' approach unhelpful. The only reason I went into the branch was because my loan was processed by my manager, I mean, why would anyone sign up in the branch knowing that online you would get a better deal. But Card services did not budge just out of principal. Eventually, they gave me 3 months insisting it was a good will gesture rather than them accepting guilt.
Lloyds TSB, generally have a lot to offer and they do tend to reward loyalty systamatically. But I have noticed that you must generally keep all activities independant of each other, otherwise they will make mistakes and throw he rule book at you the same time!
Lloyds TSB current accounts operate well, with many deposit points so you don't wait in a que. Moreover, many of their branches are open on Saturdays and they also have a method of depositing through the Post Office. Generally, access to the account is relatively and widely available.
Lloyds TSB onlinebanking - this is pretty good, although all high street banks now have this facility, it allows you to have all your accounts looked and monitored online. It is secure, but always remember to install security software on your machine just in case.
Lloyds TSB text alerts: Excelllent, this each morning allows you keep your account in check and reminds you of your balance. Lloyds TSB online saver ; a great way to money aside, so if you have current accounts you can easily transfer instantly in this account.
Lloyds TSB personal loans: Actually, very good suprisingly, but you have to have a very good credit rating for you to see that. They will give you a really good deal if you putting in alot of money in each month, managing your account efficiently and loyal with general high credit score- even in the current climate. But beware, if in their eyes they see you are credit worthy, they will offer you money you probably can't afford. Beware of their sales tactics and work out how much you afford before you are tempted.
Lloyds TSB Business accounts : All hunky dory at first, offering you 18months free banking and assessing your viabilty etc. But, unlike personal loans, business loans will almost always require security regardless of you credit score. And unless you are turning over £100k + they really don't want to be helpful.
Mortgages : they can offer good deals, but your paperwork must be meticulously in order before they even entertain you. Once it is then a 20% deposit would get you a competive deal. Otherwise, forget it.
Generally, I have moved from the original Midland Bank (HSBC now) when I opened the much loved Griffin Savers account, then during my studies I was with Barclays. I also had accounts with Abbey. And now I have accounts with both Lloyds TSB and Natwest. Both banks generally have been good to me, but in times of difficulty Lloyds TSB, although behaving like a bank, was nowhere near as bad as Barclays.
So, in a nutshell, Lloyds TSB is great if you know what you want and have a lot of money. But that is true of many banks. The difference here, in my experience, that you can often find someone to talk to and generally the customer service at branch level is very good.
Local branches do have a culture of knowing there customers, but unfortunately corporate thinking is trying to do away with this.
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l never have had a problem with online banking until l went to USA for my father's funeral early July and had difficulty logging in to check things ~ but their personal service is very good and l will soon see if matters have been sorted over an issue which arose the week l was away in USA
. . . . . ♥ jesi ♥
majeedkazi 30.07.2008 10:48
Great Review
headcase44 29.07.2008 23:19
Fell out with this bank many years ago over a fault of theirs and would NEVER use them again.. Very good review. Thanks. J.
Advantages: Offers services you'd expect from a bank, high free overdraft limit for students Disadvantages: Confusion applying, no interest, little contact, constant changes, poor internet banking
a-true-ben 04.09.2001 (28.05.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of LloydsTSB Accounts
Advantages: Pay bills without visiting the bank, online statements, transfer money between your accounts Disadvantages: Statements sometimes a few days behind
Jul 29th, 2008
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