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Matt

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Review of the Newbury Building Society, Savings:

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Confusing and awkward online service

I expected a fairly low-tech experience, and I thought I would be comfortable with that. However, the reality of applying for a savings account online was more frustrating than anticipated. The application process itself felt confusing and somewhat flawed. In particular, the information around making the initial deposit was misleading. It suggested that funds would be automatically taken from a nominated account once verification was complete, but in practice this didn’t happen and I had to arrange the payment manually. This inconsistency made the process feel unreliable. Once the account was open, things didn’t become much clearer. There’s very little guidance on how to actually manage the account. The leaflet mentions that you can operate it via branch, post, or online, but doesn’t explain how any of these options work in practice. For example, if you wanted to deposit cash in a branch, it’s unclear how you would do so without a card or passbook. There’s a general lack of practical, step-by-step information. Overall, the systems I’ve interacted with feel quite rudimentary—almost homemade—and that doesn’t inspire a great deal of confidence when it comes to managing money. That said, I haven’t been into a branch or had any direct interaction with customer service yet, so I can’t comment on staff helpfulness or how easy it is to get support. Hopefully that side of the experience is stronger than the digital and onboarding journey. Reviewed on: 17th March 2026

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