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Student Bank Account Warning!!!
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I know that I might be an exception to the rule and lots of you might be happy with NatWest, but it truly is the worst bank I've ever used!!!
So far they've accidentally sent my card and chequebook to the WRONG ADRESS and I lost over £100 in fraud (refunded after weeks of police investigations) - I phoned up to complain and they cut me off like 10 times in 3 days - the staff are rude and unhelpful and I was refunded a crap £10 for their mistake!
I'm changing to Barclays. Even though theres a Natwest on campus I will never go in there again!
They've been rude and made mistakes with at least 5 people i know and they're always being b*llocked by our uni for it.
On the other hand the people in Barclays are helpful and nice and professional. Anyone agree/disagree?
Kits xxx
So far they've accidentally sent my card and chequebook to the WRONG ADRESS and I lost over £100 in fraud (refunded after weeks of police investigations) - I phoned up to complain and they cut me off like 10 times in 3 days - the staff are rude and unhelpful and I was refunded a crap £10 for their mistake!
I'm changing to Barclays. Even though theres a Natwest on campus I will never go in there again!
They've been rude and made mistakes with at least 5 people i know and they're always being b*llocked by our uni for it.
On the other hand the people in Barclays are helpful and nice and professional. Anyone agree/disagree?
Kits xxx
Post edited by JustV on
0
Comments
however, my parents bank with them with no problems and my brother had his student account there..it'll make things easier to transfer money between accounts etc, so i think i'll just take the risk and hope I have a better experience than you!
The people in my home Natwest branch are all fine..will have to see about Bristol ones!
Glad you've found Barclays better anyway...I'll take my chances with Natwest!
I know people who've had problems with them, but mostly it was their own fault for getting into too much debt.
They are always understanding when I ask for an increase in my overdraft facilities.
The counter staff are always polite and helpful and call me "Miss Turnbull"
No question seems "too stupid" (I ask some really dumb things!)
My boyfriend's mother was in there recently with an advisor for overtwo hours and they were so helpful and chatty.
Neh, I disagree, but only based on what I have experienced.
Does anyone recommend them or have you had difficulties with them?
perhaps i shoulda got one for the free stuff, just could never really be arsed
To be fair im not going to use it but i want the benefits and as previously said.... nationwide everytime.
Plus since ive put my notice in with natwest they've been real bastards to be. :mad:
Like I say, everyone I know banks with Natwest... EVERYONE. And not one person I know has ever had a problem with them. My local branch is great, they are friendly and I've never seen this "sell, sell, sell" side of them.
I'm with HSBC but i'm not in uni yet. They made some mistake about cheque clearance times. Luckily my dad's a banker so he knew that they had gone wrong.
Otherwise i would have been charged for the cheque bounce and some other fees too. But other than that and crappy interest, they're not bad.
What am i supposed to look for in a student bank? High overdraft, high interest rate, freebies??? I heard Halifax have a good interest rate, so i might stick my loan in there.
I think the freebies you get when you open the account are quite a good incentive, but I think really what you want to be looking for with student accounts are banks with good overdraft facilities. I haven't actually used mine yet, but it's good to know it's always know it's there in case I need it, and HSBC have increased mine now I've been with them a year.
... However, a naughty part of me wants to open an account with each bank and take all the incentives - illegal?!
Not that long. I was to put a cheque in for lets say £300 in a bank which already has say £20. And i want to withdraw that £300 and put it into a Savings thing, say Standard Life.
HSBC took a bit long to clear the cheque...think it was one day more than norm, and thus when withdrawing £300 from an account with only £10 is not good.
SO i go into red, the cheque gets bounced etc etc.....
But they put it right in the end, so it was okay.
I think most banks have small print which say that their's has to be the only student account you have in order to get the incentives and interest free overdraft etc.
Guess it's worth looking into tho.
Many other places will check to make sure that your loan money goes in. I have had to tell my bank that I have not applied for a loan this year (I have actually withdrawn from university) so that they do not withdraw my overdraft facility.
http://money.msn.co.uk/Student/BankingandFunding/StudentAccountsHome/Info/StudentAccounts2003Table/
So now I'm looking for a new bank....
HSBC have always been great with me but I didn't want to loose my current account with them by transfering it back to a student account. I'd have no overdraft as a student that way since It's already completely in use.. pmsl.
Nationwide aren't very helpful it des have to be said. But I got all my savings with them cos they do have the best rates. I only got 4 accounts with them at the mo. pmsl.
Well...me's thinking this too.