Changing banks question?

Lucero said:
That's probably because all you've ever had to deal with is just a bank account.

I applied for a mortgage with Abbey 2 years ago. Not my first mortgage by any stretch of the imagination but I had been out of owning property for a while.

They offered me the loan and AIP and said they would conduct a survey with an up front fee of £500. I paid, they did their survey and all was well. Until about three weeks before I was due to move in, they said "oh, sorry, we're revising our offer". They offered £15k less which made it impossible for me to continue. This "practice" of theirs was highlighted on the MSE forums with "stay well" advice shortly after my experience. I approached another lender and got a much better deal (rates had dropped in the time it took Abbey to faff around with the offer), so it worked in my favour although they wouldn't refund the valuation fee or trasnfer it to the new lender (which is normally best practice in these situations). They also said I wouldn't be able to have the mortage at all unless I transferred my current account to them (which technically / legally, they aren't allowed to force).

That kind of thing normally leaves a bad taste in the mouth regardless of how good a product is.

Transferring banks though, I agree, is a far far easier process than it was 5 to 10 years ago. Although I hear transferring from Santander is still a process to behold :)
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My Mortgage is with Santander, it was very efficient and happened fast. Sailed through application, only needed to send them 1 payslip, they sent out a surveyor within a few working days and went to fully approved within 2 weeks of the application. Their CS was good as well when I wanted progress. I did spend a year making sure my credit rating was absolutely perfect ("good debt", 7 years at current address etc)

Your mortgage is never really 100% until the money comes in, they can withdraw it whenever they want (they usually have an escape clause "if circumstances change", and common practice is you do not get the survey fee refunded (as per typical contracts you sign). I had nightmares until I completed as I was paranoid.
 
Hi,

Considering transferring to Santander. I have always been with Lloyds and having had no problems with them I sort of feel some loyalty towards them but their rates are very poor.

The one thing which is key to me is the online service. I like Lloyds very much; it's clear, well presented and offers lots of services / features, such as being able to create a new savings account at the touch of a button...albeit with 0.1% interest.

How does Santanders onliine banking compare?
 
It's fine - I created an eSaver at the touch of a button, with a far better rate, for example. My only annoyance is that if you wish to transfer money to somebody and they are a new payee you need a seperate passcode which is only ever used for this purpose so always forgotten.
 
Thanks.

Last question ref online; does the statement view show you the resulting balance after each transaction? This is such a basic feature but I am amazed that some online banking systems do not have it...Tesco's Credit Card for example!!

Cheers
 
When i looked into different banks, I found pretty much zero difference between all the banks, in terms of rates and services. The main difference was the name of the bank and the logo. But everything else was pretty much the same.
 
mark66 said:
Thanks.

Last question ref online; does the statement view show you the resulting balance after each transaction? This is such a basic feature but I am amazed that some online banking systems do not have it...Tesco's Credit Card for example!!
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Yes, it does.
 
mark66 said:
...
Last question ref online; does the statement view show you the resulting balance after each transaction? This is such a basic feature but I am amazed that some online banking systems do not have it...Tesco's Credit Card for example!!
...
Click to expand...

I do not get that with my Egg Money World Mastercard. :(
 
I've just signed up with Santander today to avoid the HSBC remote passcode thingy. Either way its a nice £100 bonus :)
 
I've initiated transfer to Santander as well. I'm active with all my money apart from my current account for some reason, time to change that and swap often, taking advantage of deals like my ISA/savings :).

I'll do a bit of research into if it affects my credit score at all.
 
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