A GOOD AND A BAD BANK ACCOUNT (Halifax)

Member Name: leeanne160480

Product:	Halifax
Date:	11/05/09 (42 review reads)
Rating:

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I've been with the Bank Of Scotland for the whole time i've had a bank account. They were the closest bank to me, and now, even though they aren't the closest, I still chose to bank with them.

A few years ago Bank of Scotland merged with Halifax, so it is now known as Halifax, Bank Of Scotland, or HBOS for short.

So what do I think of the bank? They do what they are meant to do. Since they merged I find that they are always trying to sell you insurances, asking about your mortgage and so on. If I wanted these products, then I would sort it out myself. I got a home insurance quote from them once and it was £10 a month more expensive than who I was going with, so they seem pricey.

I have 3 accounts with the Halifax. I have a websaver account which used to give me a 6% interest rate paid annually, and you could withdraw and add money any time you wanted. Unfortunately the rate is down to 0% now, so no benefit of using it now.

I have an electron card. Since I got into trouble with money about 7 years ago, they never renewed my Visa debit card, and stuck me with this 1. I hate the card. Although it does what I need it to, as in take money out and pay things the numbers aren't embossed onto the card, and my card looked beaten up and tatty after about 3 months. The numbers have worn off after this time as well, but the bank said I didn't meet their criteria - even though i'd been approved for 2 mortgages in this time, and had a credit card which I maintained well. However this changed a few months ago.

Bank account number 3 - Halifax reward account. I saw this when I went to the online banking, and thought I would apply. I guess I though I wouldn't get the account, but they said Yes! Yippee. So what is the account? If you pay in £1,000 a month, they give you £5. The money doesn't have to stay in the account for a certain amount of time or anything, just as long as you have this amount going into your account once a month. If you don't have that going into the account one month, then no big deal, you just don't get the £5. I was also given a £100 overdraft. I was happy with this as well, until I read in the smallprint that even if I used 1p of the overdraft, they would charge me £1 a day, until I put it back in the black. Surely not? I phoned the bank, and they confirmed they would keep taking the £1 per day if I used any of the overdraft. Stuff that. Take the overdraft off please.

So I find theHalifax a good enough bank, and now i'm getting a little bit extra from them. Not bad for a bank to give you money!

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