Business Bank accounts - Barclays #FAIL - any recommendations?

[sausagerolemodel]

I am currently with Barclays but my patience with them is wearing thin.(reasons below - its made me very cross, which is why I have vented)

Does anyone bank with someone they can recommend and enjoy banking with? If so what are the reasons?

When I opened my account I was told I would have my own support via my personal business manager who has proved less than competent in the past (in a face to face meeting she recommended I apply for a CC online with a £100 fee, instead of offering me her in branch fee waiver application which I could have done there and then. Her business advice when I asked for help in creating a profit and loss spreadsheet was "maybe google it?")

I sent an email a week ago requesting information about an overdraft and business credit card. No reply.

Today I emailed again, to check if she had seen the email and got this...

Hi X,

Apologies but I did not receive your email ? not sure what happened there.

I am however no longer a Business Manager but you can pop into your local branch or call 0845 605 32345 to apply for a credit card.

Regards,

REALLY??? So do I have a business manager now at all? Has someone taken your job now that you have moved departments? I don't suppose you might tell me who my contact would be now that you have left? Were you planning to let me know at any point?

Honestly - barclays centralised business support has some great stuff but if this is how they treat their business customers I might as well go elsewhere. Other than not charging me to have an account, I am not sure what the benefit of banking with them has been. Fed-Up of South London

Sorry you're having trouble with Barclays.

We've had a business account with HSBC for around 6 years. Very happy with them though I never need to see our Business Manager. From opening the account to transferring money abroad they have been very competent plus when I phone up I get a dedicated UK Business call centre.

However I do most of my banking online apart from depositing cheques at the branch.

It also work seamlessly with my First Direct personal account.

We had a useless Business Manager at Lloyds TSB!!! avoid them at all costs!!! Could never get in touch with her and she was massively unhelpful! We didn't need to speak to her often but when we did it was a nightmare!

We're with Barclays and our Business Manager is fab. Goes out of his way and is genuinely interested in the business. Hope you find a decent bank soon.

I'm just about to open an hsbc account. they came highly recommended.

We have used Cater Allen for 2 years and so far, so good.

Avoid Natwest. Avoid avoid avoid. No business manager. Poor response times. Awful

Haha. The advert above is for Barclays... Coincidence :p

Pressed post too soon.

Have been a premier customer of HSBC in Australia, Asia and UK and never had a problem with them, but this is as a personal account.

We're with the Co-operative. Free banking as we're members of the FSB and all sorts of other perks like holiday insurance, breakdown insurance, etc. It's all online, though, so if you like seeing your bank manager in the flesh, it might not be ideal.

HSBC has been great for us, no problems at all.

My business ac is with HSBC and as long as I remember to do stuff online, I get free banking! Four years now, I'm really happy with it. Easy to get hold of the business manager too - nine times out of ten she's available on the spot and tenth she can see me later the same day or will ring me.

boxoftricks....hmmmmmm curiouser and curiouser!!

Sounds like HSBC might be worth thinking about if we ever get fed up with Barclays! Would never ever go back to Lloyds TSB unless I had it in writing that they had dismissed that particular Business Manager.

Thanks for all the responses (and apologies for my delay responding to my own thread!). Sounds like HSBC seem reasonably competent, although Cater Allen also work with my online accountantcy firm Crunch so they might be useful.

In case its helpful for those who have a branch near them, -I have heard good things about Metro bank and they are one of the few (perhaps the only?) one who don't charge a fee for a business credit cards.

Cheers all,

Sausage

About to set ours up with HSBC, personal account with them for years, recently re-mortagaged all went OK. Their small business type account has no fees for 18 months, but have not investigated business credit card with them as I think this covers the basic account. I guess they have to make the money from somewhere!!