Banks

I'm opening a can of worms here but would like your opinions regarding the various banks available to us - good, bad or indifferent.

Having banked with Barclays for decades they treated Mr S and I badly when we moved to Scotland. We kicked them into touch and opened an account with Clydesdale who treated us well until they supposedly took over Virgin Bank a couple of years ago. Considering it was Clydesdale that took over Virgin and not the other way around, it's strange how everything turned red, with Virgin written all over it and Clydesdale's helpful service and change in set up dropping considerably. I must admit with the initial announcement from Clydesdale we expected it to happen.

So, with that in mind where do we go next? Bearing in mind Mr S was in banking for much of his working life there are various banks he won't go near. Bank of Scotland, RBS, Barclays, Lloyds and Nat West. Doesn't leave us with many to consider does it?

 

Only have a current account and credit and debit cards.
Arn't all banks the same.
Expect nothing and you wont be disappointed.

 

A current account with both debit/credit cards and savings account for a small amount. We don't put all our eggs in one basket. A local branch of any bank is nigh on impossible here and we're currently using online banking.

 

I had a nightmare with Barclays losing my account, to be fair this was in the 70's. So no current info on them. I used the RBS ( It was William and Glynns then) until around 2010. When they started having serious problems ( no problem with my current account) I decided to jump ship. I went to Santander. I opened a Santander 1-2-3 account, this does pay cashback on your direct debits, and 0.3% interest on your balance ( used to be 2.5% ! ) Never had a problem with them, the banking online is very easy and the smartphone app is a dream

 

Nationwide current account works well for MrsH .

 

First Direct has for many years come top of the tables for customer service.
BBC One - Watchdog - Best or Worst: Banks

Equally Santander over recent years has had many reports of fraud problems.
Gloria Hunniford's bank account was targeted by fraudsters BEFORE she fell victim to £120k scam

 

I've found anything with the Virgin logo is rubbish.

 

I sympathise @HarryS. We banked with Barclays for 40+ years. When we decided to move to Scotland 5 1/2 years ago, it meant selling our house before we left the Isle of Man and the money going into our bank account. We expected it to be transferred to a newly opened Barclays account here, because the island is classed as offshore. Would you believe they told us it wasn't possible and said that we would have to withdraw not only the money from our house sale, but the contents of our bank accounts too - in cash and bring it with us! We took advice from our advocate and with his help, had it transferred to a new account opened with Clydesdale Bank after we arrived here. They couldn't have been more helpful. Sadly, since 'adopting' Virgin, things have gone downhill.

Thanks everyone for your help. We have a couple of banks in mind and will make a decision shortly.