Santander experiences? Looking to set-up new account

[cambridgealex]

Martin Lewis from moneysavingexpert.com seems to be a smart chap and from looking at his site he seemed to recommend the Santander 123 current account as being the best thing for what I need. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest#bestbuys

Basically I want an account that will earn me some interest, I can plonk some cash there, move it about instantly when I want online, and don't mind jumping through the hoops paying in £500/month like it requires to get 3% interest rather than have the money sat in a 0 interest account doing nothing. 

Who's had good / bad experiences with them?

Bear in mind I'm "unemployed" so the activity that will go on in that account may be out of the ordinary for them. Can't be dealing with phone calls and hassle with them if I want to move large amounts in/out of it.

[The Camel]

I use Santander to fund betting and poker accounts (Although not the 123 acct)

Never had a declined transaction or had to answer any questions about source of funds.

Recommended.

[Swordpoker]

Santander's service is atrocious. I moved away from them to Nationwide because of it. They are also really bad for hard selling every time you visit the branch - every time I went in to bank a cheque they would try to sell me a mortgage, never having a clue that my mortgage was already with them. Expect long queues at their branches.

If you are only banking online then it might be worth it for the interest rate.

[BorntoBubble]

I have the account been great for me. I dont transfer my salery directly into there i just transfer x amount each month. They have no clue whether it is coming from poker or work or whatever. I also have the 123 credit card, which if you use them both "correctly" can be very beneficial!

[david3103]

If you have any plans to actually visit a branch of the bank at any time, (perhaps to deposit cash?) then I would avoid Santander like the plague.

The gains from the cash back or interest are likely to be minimal for you and the losses from spending up to an hour queuing and risking all sorts of infection are potentially huge.

First Direct / HSBC have machines for paying in cash in bigger branches, and really good online/telephone banking. You can move money in an instant and I'm sure they will have a similar sort of deal on rates.

[Woodsey]

Just be careful with any account like that that offers xxx to entice you over, very often that interest rate will be non existant within a year. I've had various stuff like that happen to me by not reading the small print over the years. Guess its ok if you don't mind chopping and changing every year or whatever.

[Sheriff Fatman]

I've got the 123 account as a second bank account to take account of the interest rate (NB: balance needs to be above £3k to get the 3% rate) and the cashback on various direct debits (including 1% discount on council tax).  I just transfer enough funds in to cover these (which basically satisfies the deposit conditions on the account).

No problems with them at all, and it's used to house my bankroll so I've done 'gambling transactions' from it without any problems (but not massive volumes).  The cashback and interest easily cover the £2 monthly fee.

The only negative I can recall was the application paperwork was a bit long-winded and I think I got credit-checked even though I'd not asked for an overdraft facility or credit card, so not sure how your unemployed status will impact that, but I doubt you'll get declined.

There's a refer a friend offer somewhere.  Can't recall what the benefits were, but I'll dig it out and fire a link if you like.

[technolog]

Santander's service is atrocious. I moved away from them to Nationwide because of it. They are also really bad for hard selling every time you visit the branch - every time I went in to bank a cheque they would try to sell me a mortgage, never having a clue that my mortgage was already with them. Expect long queues at their branches.

If you are only banking online then it might be worth it for the interest rate.

Their service was atrocious, they are definitely improving (my last few visits have been pleasant and the staff efficient & helpful - it wasn't always the case) and it's somewhere better than atrocious now. I bank with them - not 1-2-3 but it does seem a very good account in terms of the interest & cashback. I would give it a go.

[StuartHopkin]

Got a card with them that I had never used, tried to use it once and it turned into a complete farce. Terrible customer service and ridiculous need to find a Santander cash machine to unlock the card. Gave up in the end and used my trusty HSBC card.

HSBC all the way for everything for me these days.

[mondatoo]

If you trfr money a lot to other people they are abs terrible at that, constantly mess it up.

Nut worst bank that I've experienced.

[EvilPie]

I have no experience with them at all so I can't speak for their service levels.

One thing I'll say is that generally anybody who has to offer by far the best rates has a reason for needing to buy your custom.

Going on recommendation doesn't work so they have to entice you with these rates that they know will get them on Martin Lewis' list.

Once they're on that list lot's of silly people who watch daytime TV transfer their accounts there and you end up with the infectious queues that David mentioned.

Probs avoid but as I said I have no experience with them whatsoever.

[BorntoBubble]

If you trfr money a lot to other people they are abs terrible at that, constantly mess it up.

Nut worst bank that I've experienced.

never had an issue myself (although never tried large sums regularly normally less than 1k) I do this because i don't need a card reader or whatever else i need with natwest, just do it online then they text me a verification code and its shipped in less than 5 mins. The only person i transfer large amounts to is myself in between my natwest account and that account. Personally in West Bridgeford the natwest has one of those cash paying in machines and also cashiers that are helpful once the money is in my natwest account i then just ship it over to santander... sucks to be natwest! 90% of the time i use the machine but the 10% ive used the staff at the desk they have known about DTD and instead of being a pain in the back side sat they have chatted about there son/father/brother/sister playing poker etc! think im selling natwest here not santander! but anyway you get the jist!

[EvilPie]

My personal recommendation would be Halifax. Never had any problems whatsoever. Shit interest rate but everything else is great.

You might find it best to have more than one account. I have a decent rate one that most of my money goes in and Halifax for day to day transactions.

I can then transfer between my accounts as and when I need to to earn the best interest whilst keeping the benefits of a decent account with decent branches all over the place.

[Acidmouse]

First direct best customer service and £125 for swopping.

[StuartHopkin]

Must not miss this opportunity to point out that Martin Lewis is a complete tool.