Recomend a bank?

LTDHO · 29-06-2006, 07:23 AM

Can anyone recommend a bank?

I have had enough Incompetence with my current credit union. They have been fantastic until they were taken over buy another company and now their customer service is poor.

I want the usual from a bank, low cost, internet banking, etc.

cheers,

BlueRaven · 29-06-2006, 07:33 AM

St George. In Brisbane, they have about 2 ATMs all over brisbane, but the everday card is a VISA Debit card, so you just choose credit and sign for everything. The Internet banking is fantastic...its better than any other bank I've seen. Customer service is good and the Brisbane city branch (because I can speak for them) are very friendly.

Fees are pretty good overall...

mr_efxr · 29-06-2006, 07:54 AM

I guess you will have to shop around your self. Each bank has great benefits to a customer which are hidden and they don't mention openly. You have to ask all questions as an everyday person will not and they'll get stung thos nice fee's.

If you have a family member in the Medical or Police industry then Police Credit are fantastic. Otherwise NAB has some great deals going on all the time, so does WestPac. CBA have their moments along with ANZ.
You just have to question and question.

Racecraft · 29-06-2006, 08:20 AM

I think it comes down to the person you deal with.. I have been a CBA customer for ages but recently switched to Bendigo Bank...

S3SR · 29-06-2006, 08:36 AM

CBA are idiots in one certain branch dont no about others...westpac have been fantastic so far and are very helpful with students ie. free withdrawals..etc
ANZ i use for some investments...alright not the best
NAB...one particular branch are idiots
Suncorp...they have nice looking woman in every branch ive been in....also have some good deals, plans..etc

low cost, internet banking, etc.

i get that from westpac..though im a student and have a 'student' plan, but i guess if you have time go to a few banks that your interested in. ask them some info ie what plans, rates, fees, etc and your looking for a new bank some will sit down with you and talk about it (excellent customer service), others will point at the brochure stand and say nothing more (idiots).

hope that helps

AUIIIXR8 · 29-06-2006, 08:37 AM

Was with CBA since age 5. Morons IMO. Customer service to them is as up and down as a brides nighty. I closed my CBA accounts when they wanted to charge me $50.00 to check up on my business name to open a business account. My business name is T.R. Purvis (yes my name). I took offence to paying $50.00 for 0.01c worth of bandwidth (with markup). They said any bank will charge it. ANZ=nil, Westpac=nil,Suncorp=$20, NAT =$15. ANZ ans WESTPAC had the better service to back up thier pricing.

How dumb is it to charge someone to bring business your way?

Switched to WESPAC. Excellent service expecially with thier commercial HP and lease department. Staff all round are always freindly and want to help. They make getting finance easy too and pleasant too.

red_hotxr6 · 29-06-2006, 08:56 AM

Try the C.U.A. credit union of australia.

4.9 EF Futura · 29-06-2006, 09:03 AM

What Credit Union were you with?

What services are you looking for? I have detailed files

For product range - you cant beat a big bank. For pricing - the big banks + the regional banks (bank of queensland, St George, Bendigo, Adelaide Bank) are usually the market leaders. The 4 majors have 90% of the residential market so that comes as no suprise.

For lower transaction fees, i used to recommend a credit union but they're just as bad... if not worse... than the banks nowadays. Although their service is usually much better due to their small size.

The Police Credit Unions (well, pretty much all credit unions) have an open bond nowadays... i.e. you dont need to be in the police force or a public servant or whatever their credit union is founded on.

Personally i bank with the CBA... pers loan, transaction acc, sav acc, visa acc. Overall very happy with them.

red_hotxr6 · 29-06-2006, 09:16 AM

Two weeks ago i checked my account with the commonwealth bank on a saturday morning on the internet, i went grocery shopping and later that afternoon i checked my account again. It showed me two transactions were made with my card but for some reason money was missing and it did not show up. Monday morning 9.30 i rang the bank up and asked them to check my account and tell me what money was missing and where it had gone to.They could not tell me. Period. Tuesday morning i checked again, $60.00 had been taken out by the bank itself for their accounting fees.That is why i am now with the c.u.a. 15 mins after using my card day or night i can tell instantly where my money has gone to. Also if i was at the c.u.a and asked for a statement every day of the week i do not get charged for it.At the CBA it is $2.00 a pop.

devilracer_01 · 29-06-2006, 09:19 AM

Bendigo Bank been with them for over three years very very good.

max · 29-06-2006, 09:57 AM

Whatever bank or credit union it is I am wondering whether there is any point any longer in operating a credit card such as VISA anymore. I mean EFTPOS is available everywhere, and I operate on a balance of equity account, my pays go straight into that account so there's always money there. A lot of credit transactions now are incurring charges and apart from that, tracking debits/charges/credits on VISA using the internet is hard as there is always a time lag of days before things appear on the electronic statement. I'm convinced I am being ripped off somehow. I would need to go through an entire year's statements and compare debits with credits, add charges, and see where it gets me.

4.9 EF Futura · 29-06-2006, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by max

Whatever bank or credit union it is I am wondering whether there is any point any longer in operating a credit card such as VISA anymore. I mean EFTPOS is available everywhere, and I operate on a balance of equity account, my pays go straight into that account so there's always money there. A lot of credit transactions now are incurring charges and apart from that, tracking debits/charges/credits on VISA using the internet is hard as there is always a time lag of days before things appear on the electronic statement. I'm convinced I am being ripped off somehow. I would need to go through an entire year's statements and compare debits with credits, add charges, and see where it gets me.

Only reason i keep VISA is for online/phone stuff. 99% of people now accept bank deposit etc but there's the occasional transaction i need access to the VISA payments system.

It also offers limited protection whereas direct deposits etc you're pretty much on your own...

LTDHO · 29-06-2006, 10:30 AM

I'm not one to 'bad mouth' business so I'm not going to mention the CU I was with.

Has anyone had experience with HSBC? I'm thinking if trying them?

XRchic · 29-06-2006, 11:26 AM

Im with Westpac, they are ok, for a bank. Have been with CBA who are also ok.

I think it VERY much depends on what you need/want it for and what services you require as some seem to be much better at some things than others.

If you are talking about serious loans, or a mortgage or large amounts of money, I REALLY recommend a financial advisor! I never knew how much I didnt know until I got one of those!

Fairlane · 29-06-2006, 11:31 AM

Building Socieites are good. Ive been with Heritage and Newcastle Permanant and they were both awesome. Im also with the Commonwealth Bank and they are gay and they would be even worse if i wasnt a student.

See that you are in Victoria the only bank that i can reccomend that isnt too bad is St George.

4.9 EF Futura · 29-06-2006, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XRchic

If you are talking about serious loans, or a mortgage or large amounts of money, I REALLY recommend a financial advisor! I never knew how much I didnt know until I got one of those!

Lol, just watch out for the planners who recommend you invest your life savings into Westpoint property trust

XRchic · 29-06-2006, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4.9 EF Futura

Lol, just watch out for the planners who recommend you invest your life savings into Westpoint property trust

Um no...

Mine just got me a lot of information on various banks, how they work and just gave me a lot of education about financial things which I never knew about, and also helped out with doing forms and applications etc for me.

**Polyal** · 29-06-2006, 12:16 PM

+1 for Westpac!

ive got about four different accounts with them, all good servcie etc etc.

Although if I get one more indian trying to sell me some kind of insurance ill crack it

edit: I used to be with Bank of Melbourne until they got brought out:(

4.9 EF Futura · 29-06-2006, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LTDHO

I'm not one to 'bad mouth' business so I'm not going to mention the CU I was with.

Fair call. Was just interested really... i recently worked on a merger between two Credit Unions and was hoping it wasnt them you were referring to lol.

29-06-2006, 12:21 PM

Anyone have any info about ING saver accounts, and the company in general?

I'm with Westpac at the moment for regular transactions, which isn't too bad. They have good customer service.

I have the car loan with Resources credit union. There great for low interest rates.

Perana · 29-06-2006, 12:23 PM

Im with BankSA (St George in other states) They seem very good fees are about average I guess for a bank.. But their net banking is much better and easier to use compared to NAB and CBA from my experience..

Also have an account with a credit union that I havent used in months because the fees are very high compared to my BSA account and their service here leaves a lot to be desired.

LTDHO · 29-06-2006, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4.9 EF Futura

Fair call. Was just interested really... i recently worked on a merger between two Credit Unions and was hoping it wasnt them you were referring to lol.

Was one a Victorian based company?

Thanks for the feedback so far peoples.

4.9 EF Futura · 29-06-2006, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackLS

Anyone have any info about ING saver accounts, and the company in general?

That's the high rate online saver, yes?

Well as for ING the company, it's classed as a subsiduary of a foreign bank. This means that the entity has a banking licence and is subject to the same regulatory framework as any other Australian bank/credit union. i.e. it must comply with the Banking Act and the Australian Prudential Standards.. amoungst other things.

So basically you should have as much confidence placing your money with ING as you would with the CBA, the NAB or a local credit union.

LTDHO - nah it wasnt victorian. Think i know which one you're talking about now tho!

superpursuit83 · 29-06-2006, 02:48 PM

Bendigo bank have been brilliant for me too

Miss_XR6 · 29-06-2006, 02:50 PM

bendigo bank is good.. hate st george.. commonwealth is good too

Mark351 · 29-06-2006, 03:18 PM

ING online saving accounts are great. 5.6% interest, no fees and a great way to save for stuff. The banks are still trying to catch up, but they still charge fees, have minimum balances, etc. I wish ING would do normal accounts...

4.9 EF Futura · 29-06-2006, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeathXR

ING online saving accounts are great. 5.6% interest, no fees and a great way to save for stuff. The banks are still trying to catch up, but they still charge fees, have minimum balances, etc. I wish ING would do normal accounts...

I dont know if you'll ever see ING do 'normal' S1 accounts or if you'll see the banks match ING's rate... The model employed is very different. ING doesnt have many overheads so they dont need to take much of a margin... and can pay high rates like that.

Other banks are practically slitting each other's throats on lending rates and also have a lot of overheads to pay for... so they cant afford to pay more for the deposits that fund the lending...

Interest margin is about 50% of most bank's revenue... the other 50% comes from fees and other subsiduary businesses. A very different situation than was present a few years ago.

Miss_XR6 · 29-06-2006, 03:45 PM

the thing with ING its more for savings long term u cant touch the money it really depends on the type of bank if its just a regular day to day account ING isnt good in my opinion

gozza · 29-06-2006, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueRaven

St George. In Brisbane, they have about 2 ATMs all over brisbane, but the everday card is a VISA Debit card, so you just choose credit and sign for everything. The Internet banking is fantastic...its better than any other bank I've seen. Customer service is good and the Brisbane city branch (because I can speak for them) are very friendly.

Fees are pretty good overall...

Im happy your good with St George..I was with St George since i was about 4 y/o untill i was 18. Everything was cool untill they wouldn't give me a lousy 2000 limit c/c because of a tiny technicality....Im with commonwealth now becuase my girls with them.......i only ever use netbank and commbanks netbank services are good

gozza · 29-06-2006, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miss_XR6

the thing with ING its more for savings long term u cant touch the money it really depends on the type of bank if its just a regular day to day account ING isnt good in my opinion

What do you mean?...It takes 3 days roughly to get back into your account.....which imo is good becuase you can't get the compulsive buying syndrome....Interest is higher than most banks saver awards are anyway