which bank to use ?

[martyh]

I got a nasty shock this morning from my bank (Natwest) ,they have applied £114 +28 of charges to my account for returned direct debits and going over my overdraft limit
They say that last month 3 DD's were returned unpaid on the same day ,the same day my wage chq was due to clear as it always does without fail .This week however the chq took an extra day to clear for whatever reason so the money was not in my account so they have charged me
Having gone through my statements i notice that no where does it say that these DD's have been returned .When i asked the manager why the chq took the extra day (4 days instead of the usual 3)his answere was "i don't know ,the bank has no control over how long a chq takes to clear" ,now i don't know if that's correct or not but on that day according to my statement my account was in credit showing a balance of over £400 the DD's in question were only for about £150 ,the manager went on to say that the chq hadn't cleared ,i asked him how am i supposed to know if the chq has/has not cleared if my account is showing a credit of that amount
To cut a long argument in the bank short ,i would like to move banks and would like some opinions as to which bank to use ,i have been looking at Barclays and would appreciate a few views from members

[webcrawler2050]

Originally Posted by martyh

I got a nasty shock this morning from my bank (Natwest) ,they have applied £114 +28 of charges to my account for returned direct debits and going over my overdraft limit
They say that last month 3 DD's were returned unpaid on the same day ,the same day my wage chq was due to clear as it always does without fail .This week however the chq took an extra day to clear for whatever reason so the money was not in my account so they have charged me
Having gone through my statements i notice that no where does it say that these DD's have been returned .When i asked the manager why the chq took the extra day (4 days instead of the usual 3)his answere was "i don't know ,the bank has no control over how long a chq takes to clear" ,now i don't know if that's correct or not but on that day according to my statement my account was in credit showing a balance of over £400 the DD's in question were only for about £150 ,the manager went on to say that the chq hadn't cleared ,i asked him how am i supposed to know if the chq has/has not cleared if my account is showing a credit of that amount
To cut a long argument in the bank short ,i would like to move banks and would like some opinions as to which bank to use ,i have been looking at Barclays and would appreciate a few views from members

Lloyds have never let me down. Always been fantastic.

[Wayfair]

I think you may find that you will get charged for returned direct debits regardless of who you bank with.

Would it be possible for you to stick with Natwest and maybe put some preventive measures in place, like increasing your overdraft limit, changing the date the DD's go out so you know you are covered.

If this is your 1st time of going over, could you have another word with the bank and see if they would, as a goodwill gesture refund your charges.

Changing banks, with DD in place is a nightmare in my opinion as one of the banks concerned always seem to mess up at least one DD, the only sure way of it running smoothly is to have funds in both accounts to cover all the DD's should a mistake arise.

[Tech_Boy]

I'm with Barclays, and they have been great with me, I swapped to them after getting treated like dirt by Lloyds.

[martyh]

Originally Posted by Wayfair

I think you may find that you will get charged for returned direct debits regardless of who you bank with.

Would it be possible for you to stick with Natwest and maybe put some preventive measures in place, like increasing your overdraft limit, changing the date the DD's go out so you know you are covered.

If this is your 1st time of going over, could you have another word with the bank and see if they would, as a goodwill gesture refund your charges.

Changing banks, with DD in place is a nightmare in my opinion as one of the banks concerned always seem to mess up at least one DD, the only sure way of it running smoothly is to have funds in both accounts to cover all the DD's should a mistake arise.

this is not the first problem i have had with natwest so i think i will move to another bank and i am aware that all banks charge for returned items and going over your limit but not as much as natwest

[LondonRoad]

I've been with Smile, the coop's internet bank, since it started.

[Mick Fisher]

I have been with Barclays all my life and have never had a problem or been treated unfairly.

[Graham M]

I've been with Lloyds for 8 or 9 years and they've always been really good

[Ben B]

RBS, then there isn't much difference in the services provided that you are used to because they own NatWest.

[Maggy J]

Been with Barclays for 39 years.Been treated either reasonably on some occasions or like a little kid at others,appallingly on one occasion and they have been great this past fortnight.I'm still thinking about the occasion when they put £2000 of someone else's money in my account...

It depends on the bank employee you are dealing with each time.

Anyway they have reimbursed me with the stolen money and have said(though not written) that I won't have to pay the bank charges.

I also bank with Nationwide and I like them even better as they are open on Saturdays.Still with Abbey and they have been great(they were my mortgage provider)and I still try and save with them.

[webcrawler2050]

Originally Posted by Graham M

I've been with Lloyds for 8 or 9 years and they've always been really good

Same as I moved to Lloyds from HSBC. Who are shocking. Lloyds seem to know what they are doing.

[Hiroki]

Originally Posted by Tech_Boy

I'm with Barclays, and they have been great with me, I swapped to them after getting treated like dirt by Lloyds.

Wow im the exact opposite, I switched to Lloyds after being treat like **** by Barclays and Have never had a problem since.

[Pauls9]

Another vote for Nationwide. Being a mutual, they haven't got shareholders to make profits for, and their internet banking is pretty good (although I'll admit to no experience of the others).

Could you get your employer to pay you via BACS transfer?

[Russ]

I have accounts with 2 banks, one of them being Barclays and I only went with them for the free Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 they give. I never put a penny in there

[Scarlett]

Nationwide have been reasonable with us. Had bad experiences with both Barclays and (especially) Lloyds.