Banks with decent customer service

[Chatbotsarerubbish]

Does such a thing exist?

I just contacted Natwest to ask about the interest rate on my ISA, which is pretty low. Managed to get around Cora (chatbot) to talk to a human. Interest rate was confirmed (low as thought) so asked if there were any better products. The agent then advised I move all of my ISA savings into my current account.

Now obviously this is not good advice, so I said that this didn't sound like a great idea. Agent disappears and chat says I've been inactive (despite writing a few "where are you"). I get transferred, new agent says they can see I want to close my ISA and transfer the money into my current account. At this point I'm pretty annoyed, and decide to end the call. However - it did make me think that this was a simple question, and it turned into a right HOOHAH, and what would happen if I needed help with something more complex or urgent.

Any recommendations for banks/building societies with good, easy accessible customer service.

First direct often get awards for their customer service and we haven't had any issues with them.
As for your ISA, you can usually transfer them (not to a current account obviously!) - money saving expert should have details of the best rates available.

First Direct are great. They are always infinitly patient and super helpful in my experience.

We're with First Direct. UK call centres and always had excellent customer service.

Nationwide. Actual branches with actual staff.

I switched to First Direct & have been very satisfied with their customer service

First direct are very good, have had no problems with them. Also bank with Chase and they're good too

Haven't had an issue with First Direct in 30+ years. Bonus points for having UK based customer service that you can actually talk to and understand.

First Direct are wonderful. I will never change. I have been with them since day 1.

Seems First Direct get a big thumbs up!

I just pinged them (and received a really quick response!) but they don't provide children's accounts. If I close my Natwest account I'll start getting charged for the Rooster card/account. Might need to look elsewhere for that too.

Been lazy and had all my products in one place but think I'll need to change that if I want to get a better rate.

Been with First Direct since the mid 1990s - can't fault them.

NatWest - both in-branch and on the phone - gave absolutely 100% brilliant service to my DF as he declined into ill-health, and were also fab when he died and I was waiting for probate. This was all about accessing his money in cash during Covid, paying bills, me exercising POA etc. I never dreamed of asking them for advice on how to get the best interest rates etc as I would never trust a bank not just to advise what's in their best interest rather than mine! IMO there's a great deal more to customer service when the shit hits the fan, and NatWest were just so good at it. It really, really helped me to be able to deal face to face with the lovely branch staff in my local town.

I agree Nationwide, the branch staff have been fantastic with my mum.

I had exactly the same issue with Cora on Wednesday. I had a simple question. It took an hour to get cut off. No answer. Argh!

I kept getting logged out, as replies were taking so long. So frustrating.

I used to bank with First Direct. They are great.
Chase are ok, but their app is below par.
Starling is my current bank and I love it. Their spaces feature is a particular win. However, I don't think they offer ISAs.

I've recently had great service from Aldermore, Skipton and Shawbrook when making changes to my accounts. Super responsive to secure messaging and decent interest rates.

@Cantabulous you might have a different experience now. My local branch is long gone, and up until now the online customer service has been ok. The transcript of the online chat I had is absolutely shocking. Constant timeouts, incoherent replies, incorrect advice. Whilst it's not anything serious now, it does concern me what would happen if I did need help with something complex.

I left my previous bank due to bad service and am now with First Direct. Brilliant service so far. Phone calls answered by intelligent people, fast.

Have had appalling non-existent customer service with Nat West concerning a fraud case, took over a year to resolve and hours and hours of holding on the phone while being passed around and no one ever knew what they were doing or wanted to help, am moving all accounts away from Nat West and been with them forever

I totally agree with you. It was the branch service, and the people they put us in touch with, that was so good about NatWest. Both my town and my dad’s still have a branch. I feel very sorry for older people who can’t access a branch. Dad coped with phone banking but gave up completely when it came to bots.

personally I’ve banked with Nationwide for 37 years. Loyalty actually seems to matter to them eg I and my 3 DC got £100 each from them last year, and I have a member-only interest-bearing account paying 8% fixed with them now 😊. I’ve never had a customer service or any other problem with them in all that time.

We're with first direct and they're great.

Nationwide - gets another vote from me 👍

Personally I wouldn't go near Nationwide with all their "transwomen are women"
and their pronoun badges.

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/about-us/inclusion-and-diversity/

Have been with First Direct for 25 years. They are very good.

I bank with First Direct. They answer the phone, they are clear and friendly. They'll share a laugh or a kind word but get the job done. No errors - and it's been decades.
Nationwide - good to be able to pop in to my local branch but I don't use them as much. Metro bank are also very good in my experience - I use them for business banking.

I’ve never had great service from a bank, so I can only tell you who to avoid due to their horrendous service: Santander, Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Nationwide aren’t perfect, but their customer service is still far better than the big banks, who have given up even pretending to provide any.

They seemed to completely forget that they are supposed to be a mutual for years as they took away almost all the perks which once set them apart from the big banks, eg interest on current accounts, free travel insurance, free withdrawals from overseas ATMs etc. Then, last year, they appeared to remember mutuality again & members got a £100 ‘dividend’. Long overdue but very welcome. Let’s hope they continue to actually behave like a mutual.