NatWest Bank (Natwest Bank)

Member Name: Lorietta

Product:	Natwest Bank
Date:	24/10/09 (46 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good customer service, lots of freebies, convenient.

Disadvantages: Difficult to use online service.

I chose NatWest for my student account as they had a branch on my university campus and because of the freebies they offered. In order to receive these freebies (such as a railcard worth £120, a free memory stick and a number of online discounts) I had to set up the account online. I also had to use online banking and not have paper bank statements.

Setting up the account online wasn't that hard, but it was time consuming, and I did have to take some stuff down to the branch, and it took a couple of weeks to get it all sorted out. However, if I had been able to do it in branch, it would have been set up there and then, but I wanted the freebies.

Online banking was also easy to set up, but I have had some problems with it since. It always tells me my pin or my code or my password is wrong, even though I know it is correct, and I'm scared to try more than once, in case they lock my account, but this is a real pain, as it means I cannot check my balance easily, or find out if money has gone where it's supposed to.

I also have a savings account with NatWest, which took about twenty minutes to set up, and I was able to set up a standing order to transfer money into my student current account, without much difficulty.

The staff I have spoken to have always been very helpful and polite, and I have never had to wait too long for service (as I have at some other banks). No interest rates are very high at the moment but I would consider NatWest's to be competitive, however, that's not really what I was looking for, it was literally a place to store my money. Overall I would recommend this bank to others.

Summary: Natwest is not anything special, but there are no major problems either.