CLIENT UPDATE

Banking

Details of our current recommended banking facility. We reckon this is the cheapest on the market overall – If we’re wrong please tell us! All Clearers seem to regard businesses as the short cut to filling the Chairman’s yacht fund rather than the place to develop high value long-term business.

This account should prove to be a real asset to many clients including limited companies. Do examine the features of the account below, and feel free to ask your existing bankers to match them :-

.pdf of this briefing note here

J free banking – up to 25 cheques out per month. AND all direct entries included free anyway e.g. d.debits & standing orders. They say these terms will remain long-term which is good news

J account opening is simple, and is done by post. No boring meeting with someone who doesn’t give a tinkers xxxx about you anyway. Also no greasy review meetings later on to identify spurious reasons for ramping up the charges even more.

J internet access to manage your account, and make BACS payments

J all funds earn interest at highest rate – currently a range of 0.75-2.75% gross, no separate deposit account needed

J CHAPS payments by fax is possible –security system is OK

J standing orders/direct debits O.K. without limit on numbers

J cheque book and automated credits no problem

J excellent standard paying-in book style with a counter-foil

J no minimum account balance

J cheque guarantee card and VISA cash card

J telephone banking service – security is user-friendly !! Most of the call centres are still in UK which is good for data protection issues, although this is likely to change

J interest credited monthly

J website login – pretty easy esp. compared to HSBC

J credit card processing is possible – but why use it when PayPal is so fantabulousã?

J statements reprint – sort of

J transactions download – sort of

L international payments – by fax is possible

J reply-paid envelopes for banking

L even though it’s an Abbey National account they hate you in branches

L text on bank statements is poor to variable

L you need a hands-free phone because they can take aaaaages to answer the phone

L telephone number is 0845 so not included in your mobile phone bundles

L customer service – about 3/10 mostly

L if you go overdrawn in error it’s £47 for a first offence, and £32 for each one thereafter until you fix it ! + interest at 30% (usurious rates?). Do they pick up the phone and tell you – fat chance

L overdrafts are theoretically possible, but unlikely in reality due to……..

L no €uro accounts available. Like all banks they charge the same for €urope as rest of world.

L their website often goes offline for no admitted reason, just be patient

L you can’t pay coin in so shops can’t really use the account. Large amounts of notes are not easy either so it’s unsuitable for drugs laundering or racketeering

L at the end of the day it’s still a bank !!

When you speak to other banks you will find they always want to charge you monthly account management fees, internet access fees, money paid in fees etc……

It is very sad that all banks seem to be totally uninterested in providing real service to customers anymore. We have horror stories from all of them from our clients, and there is no sign of any bank breaking out from the pack and getting a marginally acceptable act together. Our fighting fund is £999,826.18 short of its launch target, then we can set up a proper bank and Tippex the opposition by providing what they all say they give you but don’t in practice --> service and value for money – pls. ask for details of how to subscribe.

If you need any further information please call us and talk to a member of our ever eager to help staff on +44(0) 207 719 8282, or email abell@chartered.org

PS. Unfortunately the previous facility we recommended of Cater Allen/Rbt. Fleming is no longer sensible due to the new customer-hostile account terms recently introduced. We predicted that Abbey National would take this action when they bought it, as they now have a near monopoly position in this niche market, and they are taking advantage of this.

---end---