I will be changing my small business banking soon due to very poor service from Natwest. I have been waiting ages for details of my online banking, only to find out it's been sent somewhere else! In addition to that, they sent out my cheque book (which I received) before my signature was on their data base and it took ages for me to receive anything. My personal banking with them is brilliant, but business banking was a big let down!

I wouldn't recommend them to anyone!

I am now a member of the FSB (was cost effective for me) so will be taking advantage of their free banking with the co-op.

If anyone would like to recommend a bank or tell people who they would not recommend, perhaps we could add it here.

oh no! I am with NAT WEST I hope they are better with me, would be good to hear other opinions about them!

I have heard good things about ABBEY

I wouldnt return to NW I had terrible service once it moved away from local branch management and onto call centres.

I now use A & L for personal and business accounts.

The business account is free online banking, is easy to use and the call centre staff have been good so far.

I bank with HSBC, who have been great, but the free banking via Co-Op/FSB is something I've considered. The only problem for me is paying cash in - there is no Co-Op branch near me, and the post offices are further away than the HSBC,and tend to have bigger queues.

At the moment I'm paying cash into my HSBC personal account (for free) and transferring it to the business account online (free) - I don't like being charged to pay money in, especially when I use the machine because there are no cashiers at my local branch :)

I use HSBC for my business accounts and they are really helpful.

I think you will find that all of the banks are pretty much the same.

All can offer good service when they want but equally they can offer poor service as well.

Due to their free business banking a lot of businesses are moving over to the Alliance and Leicester, but I have no personal experience of using them.

I banked with HSBC which was great untill I went £1.30 overdrawn, I was not aware I was overdrawn and was charged £8 per day, HSBC didn't tell me this untill I owed them over £80!

We are currently with Natwest and are suffering pretty much the same problems we opened the account in April and have only just got online banking and I mean only just!!!

We have been trying to get hold of our business manager for the last 3 weeks even the staff at my local branch have emailed him and he has still not got back to us. It would seem that there is no-one who can talk to us about overseas banking and setting up a Euro's and a Dollars account even though we said that we needed these when we first joined so I am very interested in people's views with regards to who is the best. Any info on Euro / Dollars accounts and related charges would be much appreciated.

the co-op. you can also bank via post offices.

I agree with Eco Smart, if you like the high tech stuff HSBC are definately worth a look. I bank with them and their internet banking and "behind the scenes" IT systems are great. You pay cash in at the counter and it appears on the account live from that moment.

also the branch at the top of fargate has a dedicated business team downstairs - no appointment necessary and i've never waited more than 5 minutes to see someone. also 18 months free banking.

p.s. if anyone is thinking of signing up with HSBC then give me a shout as I have some vouchers.

Also joined the Coop via the FSB membership for free business banking. Well recommend it.
They have been good all round. They charged me by mistake 2x 0.75 for cashing cheques which i hadn't noticed. They send me a letter a few weeks later to apologise and credited my account for £25 for the inconvenience!! I can't remember the last time any company did that to me (never mind a bank) without having to send a letter of complaint first.
Also use Coop for home banking and never had a problem.
Like mentioned before you can use post office for transactions which makes life easier

I'm with Abbey - totally free business banking for my needs - worth a look.
Over the years I have sacked:
First Direct
Nat West
Lloyds
HSBC
Co-Op

All failed to deliver what they promised :confused:
Cheers
GoG

My company is with RBS business banking and they are fantastic....based at St Pauls in town...if of interest I will give you a contact name but maybe better to contact me via PM if you want to know this as I do not know how the people there would feel about me plastering their names all over forum postings!

My company is with RBS business banking and they are fantastic....based at St Pauls in town...if of interest I will give you a contact name but maybe better to contact me via PM if you want to know this as I do not know how the people there would feel about me plastering their names all over forum postings!
Great umberellas and affordable. I might want one of those with my company name on!

No problems give me a shout at the office on 0114 2754150 and I will take down some details if you are interested.
Cheers

I am with HSBC as they offered 18months free business banking. I will be changing when thats up as the counter service is poor, my branch only has two booths which is a nightmare at lunchtime as there is only one open.

Can anyone recommend Barclays?

One to definitely steer clear of is The Bank of Scotland! I was with them and they were totally useless - they even managed to LOSE 2 cheques. I'm now with RBS and they're a lot better.

Josie
Freshaire Business Services
www.freshaire.co.uk
"Helping the Business World Communicate"

grrrrrrrrrr

been charged again off NATWEST!!! Even though I have the 2 years free banking, already thought this had been sorted once as they forgot to tick the free banking button,

have u tried the CoOp I use them and I think they are great!!

no however I may be moving if I get another charge on the account

I was with Barclays and found them very shifty and hard to deal with. Now with HSBC, very helpful and easy to deal with. Meadowhall branch is great.

Most people can relate to good and bad service from all banks/telecons/delivery firms etc etc and the banks are seemingly "blamed" for the current economic crisis.

*Maybe* Halifax (and all banks) are in trouble because they have moved away from core skills. Skills they were founded on and skills that made them big in the first place.

In the case of Halifax, it was provided savings & investments & mortgages to the people of ummm... Halifax

As soon as they move up and start with car insurance, funeral plans, travel money etc - "customers" become just something to exploit and get more "value" from - ie they want you to buy more.

The personal touch has gone and they are just looking to get leverage. If that means a £10 charge here or there - then so what? (from their point of view).

HSBC can be free for life I've heard depending on your requirements.
I have sent you pm who to speak to.

We moved to Co-op with the FSB, you don't have to be near a Co-op you can use any post office (I think) this has made it a lot easier to get change/put money in the bank and we have saved so much money. I would definitely go with them

We moved to Co-op with the FSB, you don't have to be near a Co-op you can use any post office (I think) this has made it a lot easier to get change/put money in the bank and we have saved so much money. I would definitely go with them

Totally agree. I also like the fact that if you call them, you get a "real" person who follows up on exactly what you discussed with them.

We have been with them for 5 months and have no major complaints. A minor one is that their Internet Banking is r.e.a.l.l.y. slow. However they are working on it, and have kept me informed on changes and timetables since I flagged it up.

I was with Barclays and found them very shifty and hard to deal with. Now with HSBC, very helpful and easy to deal with. Meadowhall branch is great.

I've had two bus. acct's with Barclays in my time, none at the moment though. Never had a grumble with them, but it was only small fry stuff so we generally stayed out of each others way! Last time, they had a deal on for free banking for a year which was nice, though they didn't feel like the cheapest when the charges kicked in.

Back to the OP.... you might want to consider your personal bank first. Good online banking was a priority for me so the direct benefit of this was to have all my accounts integrated into the same online banking session, and the ability to transfer funds between personal and business accounts instantly, and free, was nice. I also found it convenient to visit one branch to do personal and business stuff together in the same visit.

We moved to Co-op with the FSB, you don't have to be near a Co-op you can use any post office (I think) this has made it a lot easier to get change/put money in the bank and we have saved so much money. I would definitely go with them

Agreed.

After 30 years with Yorkshire Bank - who didn't care at all when I instructed them to close the account - I moved the business account to the FSB Co-op a/c.

Should have done it years ago and I now have free banking.

We use Alliance & Leicester online banking and we are quite happy with the service so far. Haven't had any problems with the call centre when making enquiries etc.

Only thing to bear in mind is that as most people will be aware, they have now been taken over by Santander and my (Spanish) husband says we need to watch out for 'Administration' charges appearing in the account.

He says Santander are notorious in Spain for their famous 'Administration' charges and used to charge him a fee every month, and that was just an ordinary current account.

If they start that here - we will be 'binning' this account!

I'm with A & L and I'm now being charged £5 per month on my current account. I do get a small amount of interest but I'm still paying them!

Never had any difficulties though but it is low volume activity.

Agreed.
After 30 years with Yorkshire Bank - who didn't care at all when I instructed them to close the account - I moved the business account to the FSB Co-op a/c.
Should have done it years ago and I now have free banking.

Even though I'm not a small business, I've had quite a bit of trouble with Yorkshire recently and was thinking of moving to the Co-op. Having seen this thread quite by accident I think I'll do it sooner rather than later. I liked using the Yorkshire Bank cards and cheques when I travelled round different parts of the country but they're so utterly useless I need to bank somewhere else.

My personal experience has been:

HSBC - Crap
Natwest - Brilliant

Within 2 weeks of applying for a business account and loan it was all open and the funds in our account with Natwest. Plus the bank manager couldn't be any more helpful.

I have been with Lloyds TSB for many years and they have always been very good. There are, however, bank charges and I sometimes contemplate moving to Abbey who are free.

We use Alliance & Leicester online banking and we are quite happy with the service so far. Haven't had any problems with the call centre when making enquiries etc.

Only thing to bear in mind is that as most people will be aware, they have now been taken over by Santander and my (Spanish) husband says we need to watch out for 'Administration' charges appearing in the account.

He says Santander are notorious in Spain for their famous 'Administration' charges and used to charge him a fee every month, and that was just an ordinary current account.

If they start that here - we will be 'binning' this account!

Mmmm - I have a Paypal credit card and in my statement received yesterday, was a letter from Santander saying they have taken over this credit card company.

The first scentence of the letter states that there is going to be an increase in charges, and it is quite substantial (here we go!).

You will see from what I posted previously, why I'm not at all surprised by this but I will be settling this account promptly and 'binning' it however at the rate they are taking over businesses in the UK, finding another provider that they do not have a hand in, may prove to be a bit of a 'Krypton Factor', however I'm on the case....

Hubby is already looking for another business bank!

I chose the co-op because they are the only bank who have a customer led ethical policy and they actually seem to care about people. So far they have been totally upfront with me about everything, set my account up quickly and effortlessly and I couldn't be happier. I do pay about £3 per month for their banking which is a small price to pay if you ask me. I would rather pay that and deal with an nice ethical bank than get 1 years free banking with an untrustworthy multination with no scruples what so ever!

Just started looking at opening a business account, anybody else got any thoughts.

MOST DEF USE THE CO-OP!

As you said with FSB you get free banking, I am with A& L (abbey) who are really Santander. Dont like them and cant get out of it just yet! They charged me for a cheque bouncing and it wasn't even my name on the cheque! they didn't realise until I phoned them. They never apologised and didnt offer me any good will gesture. A & L come across as always the best deal, but everyone I know who use them are v dissapointed.

My personal banking is with Co Op, I cant wait until I can change my business banking to them. They are nice in the branch - dont try to sell you stuff (usually..) And when you phone up its always an english person on the other end (so they can understand you) - in addition if you know you are going over your overdraft they allow it and negotiate a sort of paying back scheme over a couple of months to give you bretahing space. All in all, banks are in it for themsleves, but Co Op is the best of a bad bunch. Hope this helps. :)

I use Cater-Allen, they're owned by Abbey (and thus Santander). They offer free business banking, and when interest rates existed a better rate on the current account than any high street bank.
The online banking is straight forward, I don't use cheques or cash though.

MOST DEF USE THE CO-OP!

As you said with FSB you get free banking, I am with A& L (abbey) who are really Santander. Dont like them and cant get out of it just yet! They charged me for a cheque bouncing and it wasn't even my name on the cheque! they didn't realise until I phoned them. They never apologised and didnt offer me any good will gesture. A & L come across as always the best deal, but everyone I know who use them are v dissapointed.

My personal banking is with Co Op, I cant wait until I can change my business banking to them. They are nice in the branch - dont try to sell you stuff (usually..) And when you phone up its always an english person on the other end (so they can understand you) - in addition if you know you are going over your overdraft they allow it and negotiate a sort of paying back scheme over a couple of months to give you bretahing space. All in all, banks are in it for themsleves, but Co Op is the best of a bad bunch. Hope this helps. :)
The Cooperative Bank have also the advantage of not having to pay profits to shareholders, they can be held in reserves or used in the business as it is a mutual organisation they exist for clients not for shareholders.

Natwest have such a poor system of dealing with Business customers as you have to deal with call centres and different depts., yet some things have to be dealt with by your 'Business manager', who is difficult to get hold of sometimes. It can all get rather confusing and long winded.

They also wanted to charge me £100 to set up an overdraft, which is frankly ridiculous as you can get better deals on any personal loan.

However, on the plus side you get free banking for 2 years, which is more than most banks are offering.

grrrrrrrrrr

been charged again off NATWEST!!! Even though I have the 2 years free banking, already thought this had been sorted once as they forgot to tick the free banking button,


Ive been charge before too, wasnt sure what the 'free banking' covers, should I be complaining about this??

I'm with Abbey - totally free business banking for my needs - worth a look.
Over the years I have sacked:
First Direct
Nat West
Lloyds
HSBC
Co-Op

All failed to deliver what they promised :confused:
Cheers
GoG

First Direct don't do business accounts

I wouldnt bother with Natwest. Been with them since July with a new business and it's been dire. Still waiting on a call from over a week ago which is still about the same problem that wasn't properly sorted out during 3 previous calls. Will be switching to HSBC, even if I got same service at least they have branches half a mile from my home and the office, both on my way home.

Categorically avoid LLOYDSTSB the bank that likes to say NO.

Join FSB for all the benefits it offers (most you don’t think you need yet !!)
And use their Banking Services provided by CO OP free.

HSBC have generally gone down hill with very poor branch access.

After being with LLOYDSTSB personal for nearly 2 decades loyalty counts for nothing.

Overall I would rate them as great when going is very good but as soon as things get a little tight or your not making them enough money (turnover under 125k you get farmed out to the most incompetent bankers you ever get the misfortune to deal with.

DO NOT USE LLOYDSTSB

I think you will find (NUCAD) that lending for small businesses from all of the banks is judged primarily on credit rating agency reports, assets backing up the deal etc far more than things such as loyalty these days. Bank managers no longer have the personal discretion with small businesses that was once the case, though loyalty, how you present a case etc can still have an effect if the case is marginal.

I have had a good experience opening a small business account with Santander. Although I opened it online and I think it would have been quicker to go in to a branch.

Bank for free with the Co-op if you're an FSB member for a small business membership is cheap as chips and you get a free legal advice helpline.The banks release a savings bank account. They promote it, utilize it to attract new customers or encourage present clients to move their savings to their bank.Online banking with the Co-op is currently a major downside but they plan an upgrade soon.Personal banking is done through the Post Office.

HSBC have generally gone down hill with very poor branch access.


I have the opposite experience. Since I opened a business account back in December 2006, it's been very well serviced. It's the Business Direct account, so free banking as I rarely use cheques and never pay in cash. I pay only for the very useful text messaging service.

Branch access was never a problem in the City Centre, especially when they opened the new Fargate branch. I rarely need to drop in anyway, when I do someone is always available to see me, and they have wide access to the system to do what I wanted (things like changing details, depositing foreign cheques etc).

They provided me with credit cards early on. And then they also replaced the cash card with real Visa Debit cards a few years ago.

My customers are all over the world, and they pay by wire transfer. Being HSBC, it is never a problem, they are always recognized by the sending bank.

On the rare occasion US customers send me a check (their spelling :) ) by US bank, they can accept that as well.

They are on the Faster Payment System, so when I pay my invoices by BACS it's speedy.

Internet banking is good, I can access it anywhere in the world during holidays (to the protests of the family of course!).

All in all I can highly recommend HSBC.

hi how much does the co op bank charge for business banking?