*Slight Bump*
Transferring my account across from HSBC to TSB this week. Classic Plus account - 5%AER on all balances up to £2000 in perpetuity (as opposed to Nationwide's which ends after a year). Provisos: Pay in £500+ a month, go paperless. Simple. Don't even need any DDs. Was done in 45 minutes.
TSB are currently 7th in the MSE rankings (up from 12th the year before, where HSBC now find themselves, measured pre-Switzerland scandal)
The TSB & Lloyds Bank relaunch news and information board
Also on the subject of TSB, they've finally updated their online banking app so its not powered by steam. The old version was basically a wrapper for the mobile website which meant typing in your password endlessly on the tiny keyboard. The new one is a proper native app with a rather nice little pink custom keyboard to prevent OSX seeing your typing.
Much better.
Much better.
"He has to be larger than bacon"
I joined TSB in January, solely for the purpose of banking £150 by switching that account to Yorkshire Bank. I feel kind of bad for them, they made the process of signing up so easy, compared to Yorkshire who insist on opening the account over the phone, then sending paper forms to fill in and return in the post like a bloody caveman. The final insult was being sent a flipping SwitchMaestro card! As if they're still even available.
I shall feel no guilt whatsoever in moving that account to another bank paying a switch incentive immediately following the £150 being paid in.
I shall feel no guilt whatsoever in moving that account to another bank paying a switch incentive immediately following the £150 being paid in.
Got a couple of those - good accounts.Alexia wrote:*Slight Bump*
Transferring my account across from HSBC to TSB this week. Classic Plus account - 5%AER on all balances up to £2000 in perpetuity (as opposed to Nationwide's which ends after a year). Provisos: Pay in £500+ a month, go paperless. Simple. Don't even need any DDs. Was done in 45 minutes.
TSB are currently 7th in the MSE rankings (up from 12th the year before, where HSBC now find themselves, measured pre-Switzerland scandal)
Halifax for £125? You can then get £5 a month by paying in £750 and paying two direct debits.WillPS wrote:I joined TSB in January, solely for the purpose of banking £150 by switching that account to Yorkshire Bank. I feel kind of bad for them, they made the process of signing up so easy, compared to Yorkshire who insist on opening the account over the phone, then sending paper forms to fill in and return in the post like a bloody caveman. The final insult was being sent a flipping SwitchMaestro card! As if they're still even available.
I shall feel no guilt whatsoever in moving that account to another bank paying a switch incentive immediately following the £150 being paid in.
Yorkshire Bank were my bank for years and they do indeed seem to think the year is 1999, their processes and systems are generally pretty outdated. They only started opening (limited) branches on Saturdays late last year! The Maestro card is an oddity and I can't believe they're still issuing them, I thought it was a bit odd when they issued me yet another one not long before I left around 2011, and now there are a number of online retailers that no longer accept them.WillPS wrote:I joined TSB in January, solely for the purpose of banking £150 by switching that account to Yorkshire Bank. I feel kind of bad for them, they made the process of signing up so easy, compared to Yorkshire who insist on opening the account over the phone, then sending paper forms to fill in and return in the post like a bloody caveman. The final insult was being sent a flipping SwitchMaestro card! As if they're still even available.
I shall feel no guilt whatsoever in moving that account to another bank paying a switch incentive immediately following the £150 being paid in.
They rarely offer anything that stands out from any other bank, in fact that £125 switch off is the biggest thing they've done in years. Shame about the bank really..
I moved to Halifax last year to take up the £100 switch deal which was paid in as soon as the 7 day switch was done, and I've got the reward account that jonathan suggested so I get the £5 a month. The branches are fine, mobile app is excellent, they issue contactless cards and you can't complain at the £5 a month, which can actually work out better than the TSB deal dependant on the largeness of your balance of course. I'd happily recommend them if you're planning to switch again.
oh it turns out they'd thought of this - they've just swapped the green stripe in the carpet for a blue stripe in TSB branches.Pete wrote:It's a bit of a shame that many of the TSBs had just been done out in the new LTSB style in the last few years meaning that they have green walls and green carpet highlights although those refits did haul many really tatty old branches up to a decent standard.
Clever.
"He has to be larger than bacon"
Like their online banking, the app appears to be a reskinned version of the Halifax/Lloyds/Bank of Scotland service. I like it all round; particularly the 2-factor authentication only requiring a phone rather than a dinky little calculator/card reader which you almost certainly won't have on your person when you need it.Pete wrote:Also on the subject of TSB, they've finally updated their online banking app so its not powered by steam. The old version was basically a wrapper for the mobile website which meant typing in your password endlessly on the tiny keyboard. The new one is a proper native app with a rather nice little pink custom keyboard to prevent OSX seeing your typing.
Much better.
I have one of those TSB accounts for the sole purpose of using it as a savings account - I suspect I'm not alone, as they wrote to me recently saying "have you thought about actually using us for your main current account?"
And stay in credit - yepp, I'm with them; I actually had a student account with them and they were happy to transfer another (dead) Smile student account in to get the £100. My other Smile current account, which I've had since I was 18 has also been closed and transferred over to Santander for the 1-2-3 account. I wasn't at all happy with "The co-operative bank" being 80% owned by US hedge funds.jonathan wrote:Halifax for £125? You can then get £5 a month by paying in £750 and paying two direct debits.
Once YB have paid in my £150 switching bonus, I think I'll be off to M&S Bank for their £125 gift voucher, then probably either back to Smile (temporarily) or over to First Direct.
So, Lloyds TSB planned to close the C&G network. Then they're told to sell off part of their branch network; C&G is saved to make the numbers work. Branch is refitted or at least rebranded.Alexia wrote:Turns out the Newport branch of TSB which WAS a Cheltenham & Gloucester is now one of the ones which is going to be closed.
Which is annoying, as it's at the right end of town for me. And opposite one of the best pubs in Newport.
Now, half a decade on, TSB is closing them. What a colossal fudge.
To be fair it's not much of a branch - one counter, one office, no ATM, deposit or other facilities. But it was nice to walk into such a small branch with only two members of staff and be treated as an individual, rather than a tick-box on a customers-served sheet.