Changing banks question?

Which is the difference. My bank account is far far from the bottom of my list of priorities.

Where did I say that? I didn't. I said customer service is bottom of my list of priorities when choosing a bank account, quite how you'd managed to turn that into thinking a bank account itself is bottom of my list priorities I've no idea.

It virutally does everything for me (bar my mortgage) and therefore, I rate the ability to instantly talk to someone far higher than the odd extra pound in interest.

Talk to them about what? What it is that you need to use the customer service side so often that it begins to actually matter whether they are that good or not? There is almost nothing you cannot do online and the rare times I've visited a branch I've found the staff to be the same as in any other branch I've used - some good, some bad. They are just local people at the end of the day. Call centres I agree with you but you rarely use them.

All I can think of is talking to them about additional products and services. Loans, mortgages, etc - all of which you can and should shop around for anyway.
 
[TW]Fox;20021663 said:
Whilst I accept that customer service differs hugely between banks and that somebody like Santander has terrible CS whereas First Direct are first rate.. why do people place so much weighting on it?

I almost never need to talk to anyone in my bank - everything is done online. The fact that the once a year occasion I need to speak to somebody might be less than fantastic isn't going to prioritise itself above the product in question and I'm not sure why it ever should.

This.

I've had Santander savings accounts for years now and I've not needed to contact them once, or go into a branch - I do absolutely everything online, so as long as it's easy enough to open the account, I'm not as bothered about customer service as I am about interest rates etc.
 
[TW]Fox;20021894 said:
Where did I say that? I didn't. I said customer service is bottom of my list of priorities when choosing a bank account, quite how you'd managed to turn that into thinking a bank account itself is bottom of my list priorities I've no idea.
Sorry, misunderstood you there. I thought you meant that of all the financial services products one might need, a bank account would be the lowest priority


Talk to them about what? What it is that you need to use the customer service side so often that it begins to actually matter whether they are that good or not? There is almost nothing you cannot do online and the rare times I've visited a branch I've found the staff to be the same as in any other branch I've used - some good, some bad. They are just local people at the end of the day. Call centres I agree with you but you rarely use them.

All I can think of is talking to them about additional products and services. Loans, mortgages, etc - all of which you can and should shop around for anyway.

Simple, FD look after my stocks and shares portfolio, currently, none of which you can sort out online. My bank account also serves for my stakeholder pension (again, something you can't manage online (view, but not manage), home insurance and holiday insurance. I even rang them today but that was because an online transaction wouldn't go through as it flagged FDs fraud department :)
 
[TW]Fox;20021894 said:
Where did I say that? I didn't. I said customer service is bottom of my list of priorities when choosing a bank account, quite how you'd managed to turn that into thinking a bank account itself is bottom of my list priorities I've no idea.

:eek:

given the value of money and the importance of the bank getting it right with your money and the ability of them to rectify any wrongs, i would hope customer service of the bank would be at the top of the list.

your bank receives, manages and processes what effectively underpins your entire life. if the bank gets it wrong you 110% need to know that you have access to the best customer service you can to get it sorted, this includes if your cards are lost, stolen, account defrauded or you have questions about your products or others the bank offers.
 
Simple, FD look after my stocks and shares portfolio, currently, none of which you can sort out online. My bank account also serves for my stakeholder pension (again, something you can't manage online (view, but not manage), home insurance and holiday insurance. I even rang them today but that was because an online transaction wouldn't go through as it flagged FDs fraud department :)

As great as I think First Direct's service is, I wouldn't use them for anything other than a current account. I hope you don't have First Directory as it's a rip off :D

The only competitive savings product that FD offer is the 8% regular saver.
 
:eek:

given the value of money and the importance of the bank getting it right with your money and the ability of them to rectify any wrongs, i would hope customer service of the bank would be at the top of the list.

your bank receives, manages and processes what effectively underpins your entire life. if the bank gets it wrong you 110% need to know that you have access to the best customer service you can to get it sorted, this includes if your cards are lost, stolen, account defrauded or you have questions about your products or others the bank offers.

They have made a single error in 18 months and handled it perfectly.

I have numerous different bank accounts and have had for many years, I maintain my opinion that customer service for me is so rarely used its not even a consideration.

As for advice on products and services, why ask your bank for that :eek: I will do my own homework thanks.
 
I've never heard of anybody getting a discount on it, but then I'm not surprised that it's you claiming to get money off ;)

The phone insurance is a joke - it has a maximum replacement value of £300 which rules out most smartphones!

I managed half price for the first year (the introduction was half price for 6 months). Afte that I'll cancel it unless they are open to negotiation again :)
 
[TW]Fox;20022131 said:
They have made a single error in 18 months and handled it perfectly.

I have numerous different bank accounts and have had for many years, I maintain my opinion that customer service for me is so rarely used its not even a consideration.

As for advice on products and services, why ask your bank for that :eek: I will do my own homework thanks.

but this is you, you are unique:D:p, not everyone has the time, inclination or desire to do their own research and would prefer to speak to an advisor be it on the phone or in branch. i also suspect that as with quite a lot of the population, your circumstances don’t really warrant you overly worrying about your banking services.

and in posting this, i am not comparing the quality or merits of an individual bank’s products or services but rather the emphasis of priorities on banking customer service. it doesn’t matter which bank, their customer service imo should be an absolute priority rather than saving a few pounds here or there.
 
Ask First Direct for advice on instant access savings accounts and they'll recommend one of their rubbish 0.25% AER accounts. Do your own research and you could open a West Bromwich instant access account that pays 3.17% AER.
 
Research is the key though - Fox is talking about getting the best return on your money. For some that will be low charges for overdrafts while for others it's about a highest possible rate on savings. I understand customer services is important too but it shouldn't be the only criteria when choosing a bank.
 
Research is the key though - Fox is talking about getting the best return on your money. For some that will be low charges for overdrafts while for others it's about a highest possible rate on savings. I understand customer services is important too but it shouldn't be the only criteria when choosing a bank.

you can and imo should make the effort to arrange your savings accounts separately and certainly don't feel tied your main current account provider as this will get you the best rate.

however, getting your current account right, since this will effectively be the keystone to your day to day finances, should be driven by the quality of their customer as much as their products and services. the more money you have the more important this becomes along with the 1:1 financial advisory, acc management services the bank can provide.
 
Why would you ever want financial advise from your current account provider!!

It will just be biased and like asking purple shirts what the best pc to buy is.
 
[TW]Fox;20022433 said:
Why would you ever want financial advise from your current account provider!!

It will just be biased and like asking purple shirts what the best pc to buy is.

Banks never give you independent financial advice, they sell you their own (often very poor) products.

As long as the service is good nobody cares! ;)
 
[TW]Fox;20022433 said:
Why would you ever want financial advise from your current account provider!!

It will just be biased and like asking purple shirts what the best pc to buy is.

Banks never give you independent financial advice, they sell you their own (often very poor) products.

As long as the service is good nobody cares! ;)

if you are wanting truly independent financial advice for investments inc mortgages, savings and pensions, it is something you will need to pay for (if your company doesn’t provide it as a perk), and when it comes to taking major financial decisions or even the first steps, well worth doing. if we are talking about % rates on a savings account or loans then it doesn’t take much to gather these from walking down the high street or phoning up a few banks.
 
I've never heard of anybody getting a discount on it, but then I'm not surprised that it's you claiming to get money off ;)

The phone insurance is a joke - it has a maximum replacement value of £300 which rules out most smartphones!

My Dad has been with First Direct for over twenty years and he definitely gets discount on a few of their services!
 
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