Santander

Dear Santander,
I appreciate that your new ATMs are all shiny and fancy, but they’re also bloody annoying. I know that by feeding in notes the money is in my account straight away, but:
1. I don’t really care about having access to the money on the same day
2. Feeding unenveloped notes in is only okay if I can get into the branch (I’m really not fine with doing that on the street, here take all my money passers by!)
3. After standing there having to do several transactions (because you’ll only accept 50 notes at a time) your machines ALWAYS end up rejecting a handful of notes, meaning I have to end up queuing at the counter anyway (which as a business customer I’m not supposed to do).
Honestly, just sticking all my notes in one envelope and putting it in the deposit slot was so much quicker and easier.
Yours frustratedly,
Rachel

Santander is one of the most aggravating banks I’ve ever tried to open an account with. I moved from the US to UK and as such proof of address can be tough to come by early on. I was allowed to apply via phone, told with certainty that the proof of address I had available would be accepted, then made to wait for weeks before actually receiving the necessary information, sending all the things in that I was told would be fine, only to find out that they wouldn’t accept the information I provided. This was so inefficient and infuriating, I will never attempt to bank with Santander again. NatWest offers the same interest rates available at Santander, but didn’t waste weeks of my life on inaccurate information. Highly recommend avoiding Santander if possible — there are many other banks to choose from which might hopefully be less incompetent!

This branch used to be part of the Abbey bank before being taken over by Santander.
I have been served in quite a few occasions and my experience has been always pleasant and quick: opened new current account and credit card with an advisor, deposited money with a cashier’s help and discussed issues rather than using phone banking, used the advanced automated machines in the branch for immediate deposits.
There was only one particular case that seemed a bit bizarre to me so thought to share with the community. A friend was about to buy a flat and she had to do a CHAPS payment to the solicitor. Although she had her debit card with her, photo ID, confirming her PIN, the representative had to go through some extra security checks before allowing the CHAPS payment because she ‘was not a regular customer in the branch’. She managed to complete her job though but taking a bit longer than someone would have expected.
Considering the rates they offer in cash back on their current account and credit card, I would highly recommend them, having in mind the great customer experience so far.