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Rachel S

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All reviews (14)

Review of the Santander, 123 Current Account:

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Nearly lost me a home

First they increased the monthly fee from £2 to £5...then they cut the interest rate from 3% to 1.5%...well ok that's market forces at work, I guess I understand...but what really got my goat? When we moved house earlier this year, I needed to transfer a lump sum for a rental deposit...Santander blocked it because it "didn't fit my regular spending pattern". Well of course not, moving house is not a regular occurrence! There was easily enough money in the account to cover it, but despite having received certified proof that I'm a grown up when I opened the account Santander seem to think they have the right to stop me spending my own money! When I asked what I could have done to prevent this, they said "nothing, as it's automated" - how comforting! I got £30 compensation, but that's nowhere near enough for the stress of nearly losing the home we wanted (&needed) and the embarrassment of the letting agents and landlord treating me like a wanted criminal. Am looking to switch in the very near future. Reviewed on: 21st November 2016

Review of the Santander, 123 Current Account:

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First they dropped the rate, then they nearly lost me a home

Review of the Halifax, Online Saver:

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Glad I got it when I did

Was very quick and easy to set up online, and was a market beating rate at the time (4%) for a Help to Buy ISA. Only pays out annually though, so can't say for certain will get that rate, although they have said that existing customers will get the rate they signed up with rather than the new customer rate (which has fallen twice and now stands at 2%) I won't believe it for certain until I see it in December. This is not because I have a reason to distrust this bank in particular, I'm just not a very trusting person! Reviewed on: 30th August 2016

Review of the M&S Bank - Marks and Spencer, Current Account:

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Farce

We were drawn to the account by the generous switching bonus so moved our joint account, but had we known how hard we'd have to work to get it we'd have thought twice. Pretty much everything that could go wrong did: they couldn't find me through credit search (other banks have with no probs) so we had to make a 50 mile round trip to the nearest branch to prove my identity...where they kept us waiting over an hour, because the address was slightly different on my two identifying letters...not different relevant details mind you, just one said 'Durham' and one said 'Durham, County Durham'. When I tried to explain that given the house number and postcode were the same the rest was irrelevant they talked over me, patronised me then left me unattended for ages while they went to phone someone about it..meanwhile due to the partitioned cubicle set up I could hear them greeting other customers (no privacy!) and offering them hot drinks - I wasn't offered so much as a cup of water despite being kept there much longer, which hardly seemed fair. Eventually everything was sorted and we went home, thinking our troubles were over. If only! The joining incentive wasn't paid correctly so I had to chase it up (took several phonecalls), my husband's bank card didn't work, the M&S reward scheme points didn't track properly on at least two occasions, the online banking page was often out of action...had high hopes for this account, but sadly not impressed and will be switching again soon. Reviewed on: 18th February 2016

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