To be honest, I first switched to First Direct because of their £125 switching bonus. Being a broke student, this sounded great. Even better was that if they were worse than my already crummy bank, I'd get another £125. Win-win. Turned out I did even better than the second £125 by staying. Although they don't have the face-to-face availability of some banks, their phone service is superb, not to mention their products. You get to speak to a real person, in England, who is knowledgeable about what they have and how it works for you and, wait for it, helpful! It's so refreshing to have a bank that generally seems to recognise its customers are human beings and treats them that way. For example, when I lost money in a cashpoint, they were incredibly responsive and restored the balance to my account straightaway recognising that every little bit counts. I'd definitely recommend them, with or without the £125.
Reviewed on: 7th February 2015
