Discussion
...are they any good?
I've been hunting for a new current account / business account and Natwest seem to be coming up trumps. Can anyone persuade me otherwise?
Good stuff:
Branch 2 mins from the office
Interest (albeit a small amount - but more than anywhere else) paid on any deposits in current acct.
No borrowing facilities
Free business acct for 2 years
Decent business overdraft rates (well, not outlandish)
Bad stuff:
It's purple.
Anyone have any first hand experiences?
I've been hunting for a new current account / business account and Natwest seem to be coming up trumps. Can anyone persuade me otherwise?
Good stuff:
Branch 2 mins from the office
Interest (albeit a small amount - but more than anywhere else) paid on any deposits in current acct.
No borrowing facilities
Free business acct for 2 years
Decent business overdraft rates (well, not outlandish)
Bad stuff:
It's purple.
Anyone have any first hand experiences?
Steamer said:
Ask about the locations of the call centers!!
- Not being a racialist... but HSBC call centers (3 years ago & talking about business banking here) were a total nightmare!! Couldnt understand a word of it!!
Yeah, that's one of the reasons I moved from HSBC. And unfortunately got lumped with Abbey.- Not being a racialist... but HSBC call centers (3 years ago & talking about business banking here) were a total nightmare!! Couldnt understand a word of it!!
My Company has been banking with them since the mid 70s and I have been with them personally since the mid 80s.
In times of faceless 'relationship managers', I speak to my business manager or his team reqularly, and he comes down to me every couple of months and buys me lunch. Cant fault them
Started another business with a partner who banked with Barclays and he convinced me to use them. Luckily I got out of that business and away from Barclays Business banking. Quite shocking
(no idea about their personal stuff)
In times of faceless 'relationship managers', I speak to my business manager or his team reqularly, and he comes down to me every couple of months and buys me lunch. Cant fault them
Started another business with a partner who banked with Barclays and he convinced me to use them. Luckily I got out of that business and away from Barclays Business banking. Quite shocking
(no idea about their personal stuff)I had awful trouble with Natwest trying to set a direct debit up for my mortgage.
It took six months, five defaulted mortgage payments and six duplicate direct debit mandates being sent to them (several of them delivered in person) before I gave up and changed banks. Never once got an apology from them or any explanation as to why they could not set a simple direct debit up.
It took six months, five defaulted mortgage payments and six duplicate direct debit mandates being sent to them (several of them delivered in person) before I gave up and changed banks. Never once got an apology from them or any explanation as to why they could not set a simple direct debit up.
whitevanman88 said:
LittleRedHead said:
Bad stuff: Its NatWest.
Twats. Wouldnt recommend them to my worst enemy.
Any particular reason?Twats. Wouldnt recommend them to my worst enemy.
Missold PPI and now cant cancel it or reclaim it.
Complete and utter incompetence of call centre staff means I've been charged for charges and interest on those charges for something that occurred because a previous call centre worker didnt do something that they should have done.
You can never get through to the same person twice despite being given full names and extension numbers.
Their noting systems dont seem to be updated properly (if at all) so when having to call the second time about the same problem (and there will be a second time you have to call), you have to explain everything all over again.
Reluctance of senior staff to get on the phones to sort things out when something goes wrong. In fact, reluctance of any staff to take responsibility.
Branch staff cant do anything because its dealt with by 'a different centre'. Everything seems to be split down into different natwest companies so you can't go into a branch and talk about a loan or a credit card, only the basic accounts.
Open on a Saturday? Wonderful. If you want to use their cash points, everything else cant be dealt with until the following Monday.
The only thing that seems to work properly is the online banking facility and the IT bods behind it.
Muppets of the highest order in every respect. Steer well clear.
Steamer said:
Ask about the locations of the call centers!!
- Not being a racialist... but HSBC call centers (3 years ago & talking about business banking here) were a total nightmare!! Couldnt understand a word of it!!
All Natwest call centers are in the UK, there's 11 centres in total various locations, including Portsmouth, Southampton, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool Leicester and many more.- Not being a racialist... but HSBC call centers (3 years ago & talking about business banking here) were a total nightmare!! Couldnt understand a word of it!!
sday12 said:
Their w
ky adverts on how you can pop in for a cup of tea and have a chat.
(whilst they fk the economy)
nuff said.
Ok. Think about it in your head for a minute.ky adverts on how you can pop in for a cup of tea and have a chat.(whilst they f
k the economy)nuff said.
Do you think the people that work on the cashiers desks actually sit there messing about with the economy?
Of course not. Exactly. They just sit there doing their job as well as they can + hoping for their bonus. They don't have any say so on the economy. They are just as concerned about it as you or me or anyone else.
I found HSBC to be a bunch of liars and cheats who stated that their premium banking would have a dedicated contact person who you could use. I had a new one every 3 weeks and then the moved the whole lot to India. Sorry, this is a service that I pay for and this is what everyone gets for free? Get knotted then. Moved to NatWest. Been happy with them and that the bank is open on Saturday. Sounds daft, but I cannot always get to the bank during the week and any reason to NOT call a call centre is a good one. Quick walk into town with my kids, sort out what I need and a stop for a coffee and cake and walk back via the park - easy....
I found the swap easy enough, but I was tipped off to one trick that HSBC do as well as some others. You go through the process of changing DD for your mortgage (typically the single highest regular payment you make) and transfer it to the new bank. But HSBC like to take one more payment before the DD is cancelled. That way they have a bunch load of cash that you have to fight for to get back. Obviously the hope is that you don't spot this, but I think most people do. I was tipped off and cancelled DD before doing anything else, and then oddly got a call from HSBC within the hour checking why and that they needed to make a payment - which was not correct. Maybe its them being cautious so you don't incur charges for a missed payment, but I suspect something more than that, especially since they called within 2 hours of the cancelling....
I found the swap easy enough, but I was tipped off to one trick that HSBC do as well as some others. You go through the process of changing DD for your mortgage (typically the single highest regular payment you make) and transfer it to the new bank. But HSBC like to take one more payment before the DD is cancelled. That way they have a bunch load of cash that you have to fight for to get back. Obviously the hope is that you don't spot this, but I think most people do. I was tipped off and cancelled DD before doing anything else, and then oddly got a call from HSBC within the hour checking why and that they needed to make a payment - which was not correct. Maybe its them being cautious so you don't incur charges for a missed payment, but I suspect something more than that, especially since they called within 2 hours of the cancelling....
There's little to choose these days I'm afraid, NatWest have the edge only because an actual human will tell you face to face that the computer says no rather than some bint on the Ganges, other than that they make all the mistakes other banks make.
They will charge you for anything though, even when it's their fault and it's pointless talking to a Branch Manager because he has all the power of a bog cleaner
They will charge you for anything though, even when it's their fault and it's pointless talking to a Branch Manager because he has all the power of a bog cleaner
Ry_B said:
Steamer said:
Ask about the locations of the call centers!!
- Not being a racialist... but HSBC call centers (3 years ago & talking about business banking here) were a total nightmare!! Couldnt understand a word of it!!
All Natwest call centers are in the UK, there's 11 centres in total various locations, including Portsmouth, Southampton, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool Leicester and many more.- Not being a racialist... but HSBC call centers (3 years ago & talking about business banking here) were a total nightmare!! Couldnt understand a word of it!!
They were very ok, for a time. However I went back to HSBC as they have been better and easier to work with than Natwest. It does help having a direct dial number to the local branch though.
Never really had an issue with them. Seem to refund charges if you phone up kicking up a fuss (it was natwest fault, not mine). Get to talk to local branch etc.
Saying that, its just a few currant accounts, so nothing technical and DD/SO's dont change often. Its just money in/ money out.
Saying that, its just a few currant accounts, so nothing technical and DD/SO's dont change often. Its just money in/ money out.
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