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Santander: 123 Current Account (discontinued) reviews

Name: 123 Current Account (discontinued)
Rating: 4.19 (1246 reviews)

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4.16

Based on 1,246 reviews, last reviewed 4th Apr 2025

1000% increase in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

No new 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

55%

27%

Latest highest rating:

4

The Santander 123 account pays interest I like the 123 account as I can leave money in the current account to pay bills as they come in and I get interest on the balance. Unfortunately the ... Read more Reviewed on: 3rd April 2025

Latest lowest rating:

1

Goodbye Santander Unable to withdraw my cash when needed. A real lack of proactive help from this bank to keep our business. All accounts now closed. Reviewed on: 4th April 2025

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About this product

The Santander 1|2|3 Current Account is no longer available to new customers.

Santander 123 Current Account (discontinued) reviews (1246)

Review of the Santander, 123 Current Account (discontinued):

Profiteering by withholding my money

I have been a loyal customer at Santander UK for around 20 years. I felt betrayed by them from the following event. On 3 July I received a large sum of money from my pension fund into my current account with Santander UK. I called them to transfer some to my saving account with another bank I had opened and deposited from Santander already. They carried out a number of checks with me to prevent fraud, and also asked me to call the bank to make sure the account is genuine and protected by FSCS, which I did. However, I was told that they would withhold my fund for up to 72 hours for further review (did not specify what exactly). I was under the impression that only the amount of money I intend to transfer out was withheld, so I moved more money into this account the next day in order to transfer out to my other saving accounts by myself. To my dismay, I could not move out any money at all from this account (very conveniently, I could pay in). Nobody told me this! As a resuly, I had more fund stuck in this account. I called them the next day and was told again the fund would be released and I would be able to transfer money out within the next two days. After 72 hours (on 6 July), I called them again because the fund was still in my current account without earning any interest. I was told that the "up to 72 hours" promise was a mistake and the truth was that there was no timescale for the fund release because my case was in a queue for the back office to process (for further checks) and there was absolutely nothing they could do to make this process faster. They would not let me know what they had done for the last 72 hours and what checks would be needed that had not been done with me already. I felt hopeless, betrayed and distressed because of the uncertainty. I was told the back office would contact me if needed. Nobody from Santander did call me. I was on holiday abroad from 30 June and came back home on Sunday 9 July. Having not received any call from Santander and having a large sum of money stuck in the current account, I called them on Monday 10 July. I was told at first the same old story about the queue and no timescale. I told them that I felt they were making excessive and unfair profit by deliberately withholding my money at the expense of my interest and that I would contact the press with my story and make a complaint to Financial Ombudsman Service. All out of a sudden, the queue at the back office disappeared and the reviews were no longer needed, they transferred my money out and I could move out money myself although the pay-in window for some of my accounts was closed. I asked them why my account was suddenly unblocked but did not get a straight answer. I strongly believe that there was no queue and no reviews were conducted for the seven days, and Santander was profiteering by withholding my money. If I had not made the call to push them, the fund would be stuck in my current account with Santander for a long time. Reviewed on: 28th July 2023

Goodbye Santander

Unable to withdraw my cash when needed. A real lack of proactive help from this bank to keep our business. All accounts now closed. Reviewed on: 4th April 2025

The Santander 123 account pays interest

I like the 123 account as I can leave money in the current account to pay bills as they come in and I get interest on the balance. Unfortunately the interest rate is no longer as attractive. The web site and phone app are very easy to use and very helpful either when at home or away. Reviewed on: 3rd April 2025

Standard

It’s a standard bank and it does the job Reviewed on: 2nd April 2025

Good app.

Good app. Friendly service inn my local branch Reviewed on: 2nd April 2025

Good well run current account.

Good well run current account, now move on to the Edge A/C with good rewards, customer service and value Reviewed on: 2nd April 2025

Whenever I have had an issue they have been quick to...

Whenever I have had an issue they have been quick to resolve, make good money back on the of the rewards Reviewed on: 18th March 2025

No longer worth it since benefits slashed

No longer worth it since benefits slashed Reviewed on: 4th March 2025

Very reliable and banking system

Very reliable and banking system Reviewed on: 3rd March 2025

Reliable and have been using them for years.

Reliable and have been using them for years. Would appreciate more competitive interest rates. Reviewed on: 3rd March 2025

Better than the Edge for my circumstances

I went from a current account with no benefits to this one. I would always get around £20-30 back in interest and cashback which always more than covers the fee. The main downside is the the rate of return is less with reduced cashback and higher fees. I have worked it out that based on my spending I am still better off sticking with this account rather than switching to the Edge account Reviewed on: 1st March 2025

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