Royal Bank of Scotland
Discussion
I'm thinking of switching banks, and noticed the £175 offer to switch to RBS.
I've never banked with them before, but I can't help but notice they seem to rank about bottom in any customer satisfaction survey to do with UK retail banks! Are they really that bad? I'm currently with Santander, who I expected to be shocking but I've not had any issue whatsoever.
To be avoided?
I've never banked with them before, but I can't help but notice they seem to rank about bottom in any customer satisfaction survey to do with UK retail banks! Are they really that bad? I'm currently with Santander, who I expected to be shocking but I've not had any issue whatsoever.
To be avoided?
Aside from not 'enjoying' a bonus for switching, I have to say I have been more than happy with Santander for many (>20 !!) years!
(as a personal customer, not business)
Yes, it was annoying when they halved their interest rate on the current acct, but they are all pretty low these days: annual statement tells me we made just over £100 interest last year, plus 'cashback' for utility/comms/council-tax of over £120, so well worth the fiver a month fee!
I recall I had *one* annoying issue quiet a few years back where they temporarily mislaid some USD on the way across, and in their defence they more than recompensed me for the hassle.
(as a personal customer, not business)
Yes, it was annoying when they halved their interest rate on the current acct, but they are all pretty low these days: annual statement tells me we made just over £100 interest last year, plus 'cashback' for utility/comms/council-tax of over £120, so well worth the fiver a month fee!
I recall I had *one* annoying issue quiet a few years back where they temporarily mislaid some USD on the way across, and in their defence they more than recompensed me for the hassle.
Thanks all.
My retail banking needs are pretty straightforward. We get paid, direct debits go out, charge card bill from the previous month gets paid, money gets moved to savings/investments and a small balance is usually maintained. Rinse and repeat ad infinitum.
As Santander pays 1.5% on credit balances up to £20k, I usually keep this amount in the account, however, as I don't need ready access to the funds I could get a far better rate elsewhere on many fixed-term savings accounts. My existing account pays cashback, but this works out as neutral for me in that my cashback is slightly less than the monthly fee. It is the 'Select' account, but I've not seen any benefit to this as whist my named advisor was useful with setting up the account, I've not had any need to speak to her in over a year. The World Elite credit card that it comes with is going back, as my spend has fallen recently so it's costing me per month, plus I only infrequently use the LoungeKey access now I travel less.
In the last 10 years or so, I have changed banks relatively frequently; I've banked with Natwest, Lloyds, Abbey National (before it was taken over), First Direct, Nationwide and Santander. I've had a variety of packaged and bog-standard accounts. Never really had an issue with any of them, but then again my needs seem to be very basic.
I calculate that the accounts that work best for me would be RBS (or Natwest) Reward, Nationwide Flexdirect or Lloyds Club. HSBC Advance is a straightforward account and would work out the same as Santander. The only ones with the introduction bonus are RBS/Natwest.
My retail banking needs are pretty straightforward. We get paid, direct debits go out, charge card bill from the previous month gets paid, money gets moved to savings/investments and a small balance is usually maintained. Rinse and repeat ad infinitum.
As Santander pays 1.5% on credit balances up to £20k, I usually keep this amount in the account, however, as I don't need ready access to the funds I could get a far better rate elsewhere on many fixed-term savings accounts. My existing account pays cashback, but this works out as neutral for me in that my cashback is slightly less than the monthly fee. It is the 'Select' account, but I've not seen any benefit to this as whist my named advisor was useful with setting up the account, I've not had any need to speak to her in over a year. The World Elite credit card that it comes with is going back, as my spend has fallen recently so it's costing me per month, plus I only infrequently use the LoungeKey access now I travel less.
In the last 10 years or so, I have changed banks relatively frequently; I've banked with Natwest, Lloyds, Abbey National (before it was taken over), First Direct, Nationwide and Santander. I've had a variety of packaged and bog-standard accounts. Never really had an issue with any of them, but then again my needs seem to be very basic.
I calculate that the accounts that work best for me would be RBS (or Natwest) Reward, Nationwide Flexdirect or Lloyds Club. HSBC Advance is a straightforward account and would work out the same as Santander. The only ones with the introduction bonus are RBS/Natwest.
IrateNinja said:
We switched our personal and joint accounts to Starling over a year ago now, and though I’m sure the whole online only thing isn’t for everyone - it ticks all of my boxes for an everyday account.
How does the Starling joint account work? The app looks pretty clever, but my partner and I only have one account between us which everything goes through a la traditional joint account. Can the Starling joint account work like this? It looks more geared for sharing occasional costs rather than a full-time single account setup?As said, just open the account and switch any old account you might have to get the £125. Then if you want the extra £50 just use the debit card once a month for something small, like a parking charge. That's what I've done.
Money for nothing if you don't have to rely on the account to do your day to day banking.
Money for nothing if you don't have to rely on the account to do your day to day banking.
Arranguez said:
From a purely selfish reason (related to my job) I’d be fascinated to hear how the process of getting an RBS account goes.
I’ll be doing it myself in the coming months but a view from the OP, if he does it, would be interesting to me.
Same as switching any bank account. Took about a week for me.I’ll be doing it myself in the coming months but a view from the OP, if he does it, would be interesting to me.
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