Banks in England

[Chromatix]

There's a fairly high probability that I'll be moving back to England very soon. The details aren't important right now, but I'm researching the logistics after having been away for roughly eight years.

The biggest sticking point is that I'm going to need a bank account. I had some very bad experiences with banks shortly before I left in the first place, and I'd rather not repeat them, so I'm looking for one which actually sort-of cares about its customers as people, not just numbers on the balance sheet. To be specific, any bank in the RBS Group is out of the question, likewise Barclays; it would also take some convincing to make me choose HSBC again.

So far I've found details of an account with one of the larger mutual societies, which is technically a "savings account" but allows any number of cash withdrawals with an ATM card and direct debits for paying bills - it has a pitifully low interest rate, but that's fine.

But I'm wondering if it's possible to do better in features - specifically a debit card - while still keeping the trustworthiness usually associated with a building society.

In summary: I'm looking for an account which I can use like a current account, even if it isn't officially described as such. Direct debits to pay bills and a debit card to use at the supermarket are must-haves - without those, I'll just go with the account I already found.

[SongsOfDragons]

I bank with Nationwide and I have... *counts* five? Technically six but one's unused and I haven't got around to cancelling it yet - five accounts with them. They are friendly and quick to help, I've never had a problem with them, their online banking is simple to use and, just like you want, I have a well-used debit card and several direct debits to pay bills.

So I'd happily pimp them to anyone looking for a Brit money storing place.

[Chromatix]

That does seem like a good tip. It's difficult to find building societies that offer proper current accounts, but Nationwide are one of those few.

I managed to find a review site, which rates Nationwide quite highly - a rating which remains consistent with account type. They're beaten by First Direct (which is part of HSBC) and Santander's premium account (but Santander's normal account has rather poor satisfaction ratings, which is worrying).

And looking through Nationwide's website reveals that they have more than just basic current accounts. One of them offers rather a lot of side benefits (mostly insurance-type things) for a monthly fee which can be partly offset by in-credit interest. I'll have to think about that - but it's good to have the choice, since I was almost expecting to have only a limited range of barely acceptable options.

Now I just have to worry about the proof-of-address requirements they might have. There is potentially a catch-22 situation where I need proof of address to get a bank account, and a bank account to get somewhere permanent to live. In a pinch, I can use my existing Finnish accounts to work around that, but it would involve converting funds to and from Euros which is hardly efficient. But I'll see whether there's a better solution closer to the time.

[houdini]

I'm with Co-op, who are absolutely lovely and very helpful - I have had no problems with them at all with regards my account or customer service. The only slight downside is that the bank arm of Co-op seems to be having a few screw-ups in the higher manager levels, but I don't think that has particularly affected the bottom level stuff.

We also have an account with Lloyds, who I would recommend on terms of "have been around for a while and haven't screwed up too badly" but would definitely not recommend on personal experience. It took four tries to get my name changed on the account when I got married, so if you actually want to do anything with the bank that involves customer service, I wouldn't recommend it. Their online account stuff is very good though, which is the only reason I'm still with them.

Natwest - I've had bad experiences and wouldn't touch them again with a bargepole, but my husband has been with them for years and they give him a very large overdraft for very little interest, so he likes them.

Nationwide - meh. No real experience. Santander I have never heard anything good about, so I'd avoid them. HSBC, no experience with and no opinion either way.

I think most current accounts/bank accounts let you have a debit card and the ability to pay DDs, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Good luck :-)

[Gizmo]

Halifax are quite good. I haven't had a problem with them in the 10 years I've been with them.

They are part of Lloyds now though.

[Kal]

I'm with Natwest and it's pretty good. If my card breaks (something to do with my wallet, happened twice this year) they'll get a replacement debit card out within the week or faster. So far, I'm happy with it if only because nothing bad's happened. :P
I'd avoid Santander, just because of some really awful experiences with them at work - customer service needs rather a lot of work and they've got issues with their account numbers.

[Chromatix]

Yes, the reviews say Lloyds has particularly bad customer service, so I'll avoid those. TSB probably hasn't had time to distinguish itself from being part of Lloyds, either. Basic account management isn't rocket science - if a major, well-funded (by definition) organisation specialising in this field can't get it right, something is seriously wrong.

Natwest, incidentally, is part of the RBS Group - as is Ulster. The single worst banking experience I've had so far was with Natwest - I actually had to take them to court to sort it out - and RBS Group's computer systems have crashed hard twice in as many years, causing widespread disruption both times. That's bargepole territory whichever way you look at it.

I'll keep Co-op - and their online clone Smile - in mind as a backup. One of the things I'm wary of with their offering is the contactless payment card. It's cool technology, which I'm normally in favour of - but, like self-checkout machines, it has the potential to go very wrong very quickly. Since I have to get my wallet out anyway to get the card close enough to the reader, I might as well have the security of having to deliberately stick the card in the slot and enter my PIN.

[Gizmo]

RBS and Natwests systems have crashed leaving people without funds a couple of times this year alone. And don't forget RBS is part government 'rescued'.

[CloserToSane]

Natwest crashed twice in the space of two weeks didn't they? (I may be mistaken)

The benefits can be good, but I've seen a friend trying to change his account and it went on for weeks and he was being told time and time again it was sorted and it wasn't. I'm hit and miss on Lloyds, I've had good experiences with them and the one or two I've had with TSB have been good. However a relative had a pretty bad experience with Lloyds, and is slowly going off the replacement Santander. Lloyds communication hasn't been the best, but I have seen it shape up recently.

Halifax aren't bad, but they've got some ditzy and pushy staff in my local branch so I refuse to move my current account over to them.

[Lace Neil Singer]

My mum banks with Nationwide and never has any problems with them. I bank with Lloyds and the staff at my branch are very good with customer service; at the moment tho, I might change to another bank cuz of the separation from TSB and if they decide to make my local branch a TSB I will switch. This is cuz I don't drive and I'm not paying a bus fare just to check my account in another town.

[Chromatix]

The trick is, of course, what happens when push comes to shove and things go wrong. For that reason, I'm less concerned about the front-end staff's customer service skills than the ethos of the entire organisation. "Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice."

Natwest showed me that they didn't give a flying fart about my needs (yes, *needs* - like food to eat) over their profits, and only acted at the very last minute to avoid going in front of a magistrate against a reasonably strong case (involving legally unenforceable fees). They were the primary reason I never finished my driving course back then. Even then, they screwed up implementing the settlement more than once (apparently assigning someone who didn't know how to use a calculator and hoping I wouldn't notice), and a couple of months later they closed the account out of spite (making life noticeably more difficult for me during my move to Finland).

That's also why I'm taking the concerns about Santander seriously. It sounds like they suck up to their best customers - the ones who can easily afford the premium accounts - but then crap on customers who are less well off, potentially including customers who *normally* have well-paying jobs but have temporarily fallen on hard times. I've fallen into that latter category more than once already.

Hence Nationwide, being a building society rather than a bank, sounds perfect to me. They're a bit less likely to actively *try* to bury me in debt if I get into trouble again in the future. It's bad enough when collection agencies do it, without the actual trusted custodians of my money doing so as well.