Traveler20

Hi,

I recently relocated to the UK from Canada. I opened a bank account with HSBC but I found their customer service and phone app absolutely terrible relative to the services offered by Canadian banks. Specifically, i found their customer service hours of operations very limited and the staff lacks knowledge of basic app functionality and general banking. Occasionally i have to spend time doing my own research and then call HSBC to confirm the steps and they end up apologizing for not knowing the correct steps.

Is this a common theme across UK banks? Or should I switch to a different bank? Any suggestions? All I am looking for is a good retail banking service with good customer service. The availability of a global money account to use when traveling abroad would be a plus.

Many thanks in advance

Helen1964

Would you consider a building society? I’m pretty happy with the Nationwide.
For international travel, however, I’d open a Wise account.

christmasoompa

I have had a Starling account for years and wouldn’t go back to a High St bank now.

Twitcher1958

I’ve heard people complain about Canadian banks but in many ways I find their service far better than the UK, if only for the fact that they actually have branches that people use. I’m with TD and setting up any sort of DD type payment is so much easier than in the UK, as is use of things like etransfer. All I hear in the UK are complaints about branches closing and difficulties in talking with anyone. Good to hear that Starling is a good option.

BritInParis

Forget about a bank - go with Nationwide. I’m very happy with their FlexPlus account.

christmasoompa

It's worked well for me, my husband loves it too after finally giving up his Lloyds account of 30+ years. Even when I had a bank account (actually Nationwide, so not a bank), I didn't go in to a branch. Don't think I've set foot inside a bank (or building society) for at least 15 years! Everything can be done online these days.

Pollyana

My elderly mum, who has had issues with TSB, is wondering about an online account as its hard for her to get to a physical branch.

I've seen some good reviews of Starling, are they easy to deal with? Most of her stuff is direct debits or small transfers to family members.

TSB actually closed her account, she only found out when a DD bounced. They said they thought she was dead, turns out it was someone with the same (admittedly common) surname & forensme. All her dd details were deleted, as were accounts listed for transfers. And she couldn't access her account at all. She had to get to a branch to prove she was still alive, Meantime she was getting hassle for thr cancelled dds, electric threatened to disconnect her, contents insurance cancelled. Took 3 weeks to get the account open again, no apology, and the bank wouldn't reinstate all the list info so she had to set up the lot again from scratch

so she needs a new bank!

jimjam92

Monzo, Revolut, or Starling.

I use Starling as my main bank for as long as I can remember (maybe four five years?) and Monzo for day to day stuff.

christmasoompa

Is she tech savvy? Everything is done via the app (customer service, depositing a cheque etc), so if she is then I'd recommend it. I love it and now I'm in the US and appear to have gone back to the 1980's in terms of banking, really miss it!

Pollyana

Yeah she's more than happy using an app; she already does with TSB, and is happy to continue like that. I just got her a new iphone and she managed the move from an Android phone without a twitch!!
Its a real problem for her to get to a branch due to transport issues, so online is the way forward.

robin1234

My UK bank is Barclays and I have no complaints. The app works really well, whether I’m in England or America. The original account setup was extremely easy & trouble free. I’d previously had M&S Bank but was dumped by them when they decided to get out of the business of current accounts & retail banking in general.

I think all British banks, including the legacy high-street banks, have made brick and mortar branches largely irrelevant. I mean, when I set up my Barclays account online, it was set up in a national centre in Leicester - not a local branch. As far as I can see, local branches are now just locations for marketing & customer assistance (if needed,) rather than having accounts based there. I do use a physical bank for one traditional function - depositing a cheque, if I ever get one. Not that actual cheques are used very much in the UK.

In the US, bank branches are still very much a traditional thing. I still go into my branch, which, by the way, has been in the same premises since 1870. I know the manager and the bank president, who have offices right by the tellers. The pandemic did massively cut down on foot traffic in the branch, though, and the place is very quiet.

Pollyana

My experience with Lloyds has been like yours with Barclays. Admittedly I now live round the corner from my branch so have been in twice, but I think everything could've been done equally well online.
Mum with TSB however - they closed her account because of one piece of paper saying someone named XXYY had died. Her name is hugely common, especially in Wales, but they asked no questions even with a very active account. Even when my sister went ballistic (I have yet to meet someone not scared by this phenomenon) my mum, in her mid 80s, was required to travel at least 5 times into the branch 10 miles away to sign bits of paper and prove her ID. No allowances for age, or the problems of travel for an aged non-driver. Nothing but rudeness and inflexibility.

Pulaski

US bank branches exist, though as you noted, I don't think many people use them; the pandemic cut traffic further, but branches were dying before the pandemic. If you have a retail business a branch might be useful for making cash deposits.

My most recent experience, several years ago, of doing anything other than depositing cash, was to discuss a personal loan, and some problems I'd been experiencing. The "loan officer" offered to enter an online application for me, exactly as I had done at home, as the "loan officer" had no means of communication with the loans department other than the loan application website accessible to the public. So completely useless.

robin1234

Yup. Where I live (a small, remote town in NY that has at least twelve churches and a liberal arts college) is idyllic & other worldly in many ways. Like living in the 1950s. The bank seems to have virtually no normal levels of security in place. Signing in online is just username & password, as if I was signing in to the Washington Post or whatever. And when we do go in to do some actual business, absolutely no checking of ID happens.. presumably because everyone in town is supposed to know everyone else, plus be married to their cousin or whatever, so why would you need to prove your identity.

I once transferred $350,000 to the account of a lawyer in Massachusetts, simply by talking to a bank officer and giving her the two account details. No verification of my identity required.

mikelincs

Some of the On Line banks have had some bad press recently, they have not signed up to the law that requires banks with a physical presence over the returning of money that may have been scammed, a couple of problems with Revolut and Monzo were featured on 'Rip off Britain'