UK Banking
January 16, 2012 11:00 AM Subscribe
Two-fold UK banking question: Will HSBC charge me to close my account? What UK bank(s) would you recommend to a postgraduate student?
HSBC mishandled my account. Rather than engage in long battle for a small amount of compensation, I'd like to take my business elsewhere. A friend has recommended Santander, and there's a small chance I could be living there in the future so that's an option. Any recommendations for either problem?
HSBC mishandled my account. Rather than engage in long battle for a small amount of compensation, I'd like to take my business elsewhere. A friend has recommended Santander, and there's a small chance I could be living there in the future so that's an option. Any recommendations for either problem?
The money pages in both the Times and the Observer seem to feature people who have had problems with accounts at Santander every other week. If there was one bank to avoid I would say it was them.
Basic Current Accounts are free at the HSBC, though they have a premium option, however based on the price do you actually have their passport current account, which is for people who have just moved to the UK. Are you looking for something similar to this or would you prefer to go for something with just basic functions which might turn out to be cheaper/free on a monthly basis?
posted by biffa at 11:08 AM on January 16, 2012
Basic Current Accounts are free at the HSBC, though they have a premium option, however based on the price do you actually have their passport current account, which is for people who have just moved to the UK. Are you looking for something similar to this or would you prefer to go for something with just basic functions which might turn out to be cheaper/free on a monthly basis?
posted by biffa at 11:08 AM on January 16, 2012
Response by poster: You're right, I have the Passport Account. I want something similar so long as it doesn't cost me to leave HSBC.
posted by Partario at 11:10 AM on January 16, 2012
posted by Partario at 11:10 AM on January 16, 2012
Best answer: No, they won't charge you to close it (unless you're overdrawn). Santander famously have the worst customer service of any UK retail bank, so my recommendation is anyone but them. If you're a student (on a student income) then you'd almost certainly be better off with a free current account. Paying £8/month is unnecessary. The freebies non-free accounts come with are mostly useless, and those you actually use (travel insurance?) are much cheaper if you buy them yourself. Check Money Saving Expert.
posted by caek at 11:12 AM on January 16, 2012
posted by caek at 11:12 AM on January 16, 2012
A friend has recommended Santander, and there's a small chance I could be living there in the future so that's an option.
Living where?
posted by caek at 11:15 AM on January 16, 2012
Living where?
posted by caek at 11:15 AM on January 16, 2012
Response by poster: Caek, I think international students don't qualify for most student accounts. Oh, and I meant Spain.
posted by Partario at 11:18 AM on January 16, 2012
posted by Partario at 11:18 AM on January 16, 2012
We're from the US and we found it very easy to open an account at NatWest. If there is a branch associated with your university then try them; the campus-based branches seem to know a lot more about how to handle people who are not originally from the UK. Although we didn't get one, they allow international students to get the free student account (or at least they did a few years ago when we opened our account). In fact if there's any bank with a branch that is associated with your university I would start there.
posted by tractorfeed at 11:26 AM on January 16, 2012
posted by tractorfeed at 11:26 AM on January 16, 2012
Unless things have changed in the past five years, I don't think that's right. It's true you will probably not get an overdraft facility because you have no credit record in the UK. This means the most heavily promoted current and student accounts will not be available to you. But if you're a resident of the UK then you should have no trouble finding a free current account. And don't open an account at Santander, even if they pay you.
posted by caek at 11:38 AM on January 16, 2012
posted by caek at 11:38 AM on January 16, 2012
One thing, its much easier to move a current account to another bank than close it and open a new one from scratch. The new bank will do this for you so you will hardly have to talk to the old bank again.
I've heard good things about Smile from the CO-OP the only UK clearing bank with a customer-led Ethical Policy.
posted by Lanark at 12:10 PM on January 16, 2012
I've heard good things about Smile from the CO-OP the only UK clearing bank with a customer-led Ethical Policy.
posted by Lanark at 12:10 PM on January 16, 2012
I've been with Halifax for 8 years and I've had good experiences with them. They were incredibly helpful when I wanted to open a non-minor bank account, when my cards were stolen with my purse, and when their deposit broke and kept £20 of mine (the manager counted the money in the machine, credited it to my account when he found it was over and phoned me just to let me know).
I'm sure if you dropped by your local branch (of most banks) they'd make some time to talk with you about your options.
posted by daysocks at 12:18 PM on January 16, 2012
I'm sure if you dropped by your local branch (of most banks) they'd make some time to talk with you about your options.
posted by daysocks at 12:18 PM on January 16, 2012
Smile / The Co-op are very nice and ethical. They're not great if you need a lot of branches/ have to pay in cheques or cash regularly though. If you do everything electronically, they're very good.
posted by rhymer at 12:38 PM on January 16, 2012
posted by rhymer at 12:38 PM on January 16, 2012
One thing, its much easier to move a current account to another bank than close it and open a new one from scratch. The new bank will do this for you so you will hardly have to talk to the old bank again.
I've heard good things about Smile from the CO-OP the only UK clearing bank with a customer-led Ethical Policy.
I agree with this. I moved my current account from NatWest to the Co-op Bank before Christmas and it all went very smoothly. The Co-op handled most of the changeover and they give you a large, temporary, free overdraft to tide you over the transition. Just in case of any hiccups.
Also, the Co-op Bank makes a profit and didn't need any bailout money from the government.
posted by antiwiggle at 1:08 PM on January 16, 2012
I've heard good things about Smile from the CO-OP the only UK clearing bank with a customer-led Ethical Policy.
I agree with this. I moved my current account from NatWest to the Co-op Bank before Christmas and it all went very smoothly. The Co-op handled most of the changeover and they give you a large, temporary, free overdraft to tide you over the transition. Just in case of any hiccups.
Also, the Co-op Bank makes a profit and didn't need any bailout money from the government.
posted by antiwiggle at 1:08 PM on January 16, 2012
I've been with the Nationwide Building Society since forever (> 20 years) and have never had any problems. Disclaimer: I am British and don't know much about immigration issues apart from what tractorfeed has told me.
Some of the major banks also offer euro accounts (relevant if you move to Spain), but there may be charges attached to these, so you may be better off waiting until you get to Spain before opening an account. If you can, though, do keep the sterling account open if you plan to keep any ties with the UK (and vice versa, if you return from Spain to the UK). It's very hard to open an account in a European country in which you are not resident, but it's not hard to keep one open once you have one.
posted by altolinguistic at 3:04 PM on January 16, 2012
Some of the major banks also offer euro accounts (relevant if you move to Spain), but there may be charges attached to these, so you may be better off waiting until you get to Spain before opening an account. If you can, though, do keep the sterling account open if you plan to keep any ties with the UK (and vice versa, if you return from Spain to the UK). It's very hard to open an account in a European country in which you are not resident, but it's not hard to keep one open once you have one.
posted by altolinguistic at 3:04 PM on January 16, 2012
American citizen w permanent UK residency here, nthing Smile. We transferred to them from NatWest over a decade ago and I have nothing but good things to say about them.
posted by mgrrl at 4:50 PM on January 16, 2012
posted by mgrrl at 4:50 PM on January 16, 2012
Best answer: This Guardian article from November 2011, on a customer satisfaction survey of UK banks, may well be useful to you.
The winner, First Direct seems to win customer-satisfaction awards fairly consistently. I've been with them for over twenty years and most of the time am very happy with them. They're online/telephone only but you can pay in cheques by post or at branches of HSBC. Current accounts are free to operate.
(First Direct is part of HSBC but as far as I can tell there's no overlap between the two banks' activities, except that if you transfer money to or from an HSBC account it happens instantly, instead of taking a few days.)
posted by Hogshead at 4:52 PM on January 16, 2012
The winner, First Direct seems to win customer-satisfaction awards fairly consistently. I've been with them for over twenty years and most of the time am very happy with them. They're online/telephone only but you can pay in cheques by post or at branches of HSBC. Current accounts are free to operate.
(First Direct is part of HSBC but as far as I can tell there's no overlap between the two banks' activities, except that if you transfer money to or from an HSBC account it happens instantly, instead of taking a few days.)
posted by Hogshead at 4:52 PM on January 16, 2012
Best answer: The Co-op has a nice ethical policy and I have an account there, but I hesitate to recommend it as a primary bank account because their internet banking facility doesn't display up-to-date balance and transaction information (basically the details are updated every few days to a separate internet banking host). Apparently they are working on solving this, but it makes it very difficult to manage your money effectively. I now use NatWest for all my everyday transactions and the Co-op for scheduled bills and direct debits only.
posted by Acheman at 3:32 AM on January 17, 2012
posted by Acheman at 3:32 AM on January 17, 2012
Response by poster: Thanks everyone for your responses. I called various banks, and have an appointment with NatWest.
posted by Partario at 2:33 PM on January 17, 2012
posted by Partario at 2:33 PM on January 17, 2012
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posted by Partario at 11:01 AM on January 16, 2012