Banks! Is there a good one? (HSBC)

Member Name: moneyman

Product:	HSBC
Date:	26/10/09 (19 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: well run, professional local branch

Disadvantages: Terrible phone banking service

HSBC bank ....or Midland as it was formally known. I Joined the bank as a Griffin saver, For those of you old enough to remember, when you joined the bank as a griffin saver you received a new school bag, pencil case, and dictionary as 'free' gifts.
Over the years i ve had a good relationship with the bank. I ran my own business for a while and i found them helpful during this time.....at a price! After all they are a bank, and as such a business, geared for profit. I would advise anyone dealing with a bank to do some research before asking them for anything, weather this is a straight forward loan, Mortgage, or overdraft, etc , as banks try to pull the wool over customers eyes by using a series of standard 'tricks', eg, big words and creative accounting all designed to sound appealing but, inevitably, forget to read the small print a your own peril. This goes for all banks, not just HSBC.
The staff in my local branch are fantastic, they are professional, polite, and competent. This is more than i can say for the HSBC telephone banking service, of which i could go on for hours, but one word can sum it all up.....atrocious. In all, i am content to call myself a HSBC customer, they are no worse than any other bank , and in many ways better, And as banks go, this is one of the better ones.

Summary: Best of a bad bunch