When banking stops being free

[JonSmile]

free - no £170 plus £30 one off fee.

so about £14 a month

much prefer the zero per mnth abbey

[expat]

free - no £170 plus £30 one off fee.

so about £14 a month

much prefer the zero per mnth abbey

Yes, I looked and could not see why I should want to join. Not that that is any criticism of the FSB. But it sure is not a free way to get free banking.

[Sausage Surprise]

Cater Allen is excellent. Free banking (unless you're making some wacky amount of transactions a month). Direct Debit visa card (also free). Internet banking. And any time I've had to phone them up they've been professional, helpful and friendly. I'd recommend them to anyone.

P.S. I do not work for Cater Allen.

Agreed....another vote for CA from me

[pmeswani]

Hi all,

I'm guessing most of you have got to the stage where business banking stops being free, or even has a monthly "maintenance" charge on an account.

Has anyone switched business accounts to one that's pretty much free? Was it a painless process or were there lots of annoyances like "meeting the manager"?

I just took a look at an application form for a business account with a high street bank and it was 12 pages of intrusive questions. I'm wondering whether it's worth switching or putting up with the charges

To be honest, Banking (both personal and business) is not free and will never be free, no matter how they disguise it. What you don't pay in monthly fees, they take from you in interest and other charges (such as unauthorised overdraft, bounched cheques, etc). That is how they make their money. If you have been good, the charges are lower. But you will still be shafted on the interest.

[DimPrawn]

Ferrari do free banking.

You just need to buy a new Ferrari every 3 years to qualify.

[expat]

Ferrari do free banking.

You just need to buy a new Ferrari every 3 years to qualify.

Pity. I'm trying to stretch my Ferraris to 4 years to save money.

HTH
Threaded

[pmeswani]

Pity. I'm trying to stretch my Ferraris to 4 years to save money.

HTH
Threaded

Only 4? I would have pushed for 5 or 6.

[Pondlife]

For what it's worth I'm with Abbey and it's 100% free. Yes the website was a PITA but all seems fine now. Cater Allen are part of the same group and also free but expect them to get a similar 'upgrade' soon.

My prob with Abbey is that their customer service is atrocious if you want to do anything out of the norm. They have no business staff in the local branches anymore so you cannot go and see anyone face to face.

Recent PITA example was wanting to make a transfer into an international account. They email you the form and you have to fax it back. Fax FFS! Apparently email is not clear enough!!!

I suppose you get what you pay for.

[norrahe]

Moved from coop to cater allen.

Coop's internet banking leaves a lot to be desired, the facility doesn't work a lot of the time, is woefully insecure and they only allow you to access 6 months of accounts.
What use is that when you're trying to do your year end accounts!!!

I like the idea of ethical banking but...

[BolshieBastard]

But they've had their cockup, you should be safe for a couple of years... any other bank might do something similar any time

So if the garage where you have your car serviced damages your car then kind of fixes it, you'd happily take it back there again!?

I know I wouldnt. Once bitten...............