Natwest vs Halifax???

I would say Natwest - as you say customer service top notch, and you shouldn't really need a huge overdraft - afterlal your going to have ot 0pay it all back at some point.

The freebies at Natwest are better!

I think Halifax is a bank...

You can use most cashpoints for free with your card, so i don't think you need bank specific ones so i don't think cashpoints are problems. Natwest has at least a one bank in most towns, not as many in scotland, but still enough. Overall i would say natweszt ahs most cashpoints at a guess though.

Its simple to move banks, go to natwest, open your account, go into HSBC demand to close your account and transfer your money across to the new account. (probably best to wait for the natwest one to be properly open first though). I think you can get your new bank to take control of the transition, but i think its best to do it yourself...

I think SLC will need at least 2 weeks notice to be safe.

Reply 2

snu

2

vasehedar

Also, is Halifax a bank or building socity?

Halifax was a building society until 1997. It's now part of Halifax Bank of Scotland PLC and is very much definitely a bank.

If the latter than, i guess NW is the better since u can;t pay bill in a Building Society.

What? You can pay bills from a building society.

Cash point is also a big factor, which has more cas h points in the country in general?

What does it matter? They're both members of LINK (and so are all the other big banks), so you can pretty much use any cash point. The only cash points that charge you are the privately owned ones in pubs and clubs and stuff, in general - and they have to warn you that they are going to.

Lastly, i am currently with HSBC (big mistake!!_) and i was wondering how easy/difficult is it to change banks?

Fairly easy. There's a form you can fill out and your new bank will transfer all your direct debits and standing orders and so on and so forth. The only thing you'll need to change separately is if anybody uses your sort code and/or account number to pay you (like an employer, SLC, etc) or you have any recurring card authorisations for your existing debit card.

Reply 3

EskimoJo

18

vasehedar

But, many ppl have said that NW's customer service is top notch + u get 5 years worth of rail card, which **may** come in handy if i decide to commute to uni in my 2nd year. This is not yet knwon, so there is 50/50 chance of exploiting the full use of the card.

Just to note, the trains on which you can get a discount are non-peak-time trains only (I think), so if you have a 9am lecture or something, you'd have to pay normal ticket prices.

Reply 4

Thats probably true actually - its designed more for people going long distances...

Reply 5

vasehedar

OP

Just to note, the trains on which you can get a discount are non-peak-time trains only (I think), so if you have a 9am lecture or something, you'd have to pay normal ticket prices.

Damn it!!!, Thought it mite be too good to be true!!!

Reply 6

Its just the normal young persons railcard - you can't use it till 10am during the week, unless its an advance booking on a advance ticket. You can use it anytime in July and August i believe.

Reply 7

DavieC

Opened my HBOS account today, got £1750 overdraft to start and it will increase once my first loan payment goes in.

Reply 8

DavieC

Opened my HBOS account today, got £1750 overdraft to start and it will increase once my first loan payment goes in.

what form of information did you provide. i don't have a passport (or at least an up to date one), no driver's license or provisional, and none of the other ones asked for except bank statements. apparently i need two forms so after much deliberation between the three of them and to the confusion of a long line of customers they told me come back tomorrow when someone could help :confused:

they didn't seem like the brightest people in the world

Reply 9

DavieC

cloudless

what form of information did you provide. i don't have a passport (or at least an up to date one), no driver's license or provisional, and none of the other ones asked for except bank statements. apparently i need two forms so after much deliberation between the three of them and to the confusion of a long line of customers they told me come back tomorrow when someone could help :confused:

they didn't seem like the brightest people in the world

I already have an account with them, so I didn't need to do anything. In fact, I wasn't even there. I'm working all the time the bank is open, so I gave my Dad my UCAS letter and he did it for me, no problems.

Reply 10

i brought in my ucas letter and they said they wanted a different one

Reply 11

Did you bring in your unconditional UCAS letter, the one with a slip at the bottom to send back to your uni?

Reply 12

as12 letter. they said they needed another one :confused:

Reply 13

Usually they take that one - have you had a letter from your uni accepting your offer?

Reply 14

yeah. halifax seem to suck from my limited experience. when i didn't have the forms of identification asked for they gave me a list to read. then i had to wait 30 minutes to talk to them again. and then i had to explain that i could get proof from being on the electoral register which he didn't seem to understand even though it clearly said it in the book he gave me to read, and that's why he needed to call two other guys over to check it out. if they weren't offering such a high overdraft i would never go back!

Reply 15

stepheh

12

apparantly, you also need a letter from your uni stating how many years your course runs for [at least halifax told me this when i went in].

Reply 16