Recommend to potential buyers: yes

Full review
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have banked with Barclays since I became old enough to have a bank account. I often read press articles that “tell” us that the great British public suffers from terrible inertia when it comes to changing their bank account, and that over 75% of us never do. I don’t suffer from inertia – I like my bank, and have absolutely no reason to change accounts whatsoever. I often read the scurrilous tales of fees charged for bouncing cheques, which criticise the way banks, operate. Let me clarify one thing - I don’t believe that Barclays is any more sympathetic than its competitors but I never personally put them to the test because I don’t go overdrawn. It’s also worth remembering that your banking history is part of your credit scoring – the longer you have an account, the better your rating is.

My first Barclays account was a Barclays Plus account. This offered the basic cash point card and chequebook and was an ideal account for me whilst I was at school. Since then I have progressed onto a standard Barclays Bank Account, tried out the Barclays Addition account, and am considering migrating to a Barclays Gold Account. My experiences and views in this opinion relate to the normal Barclays Current Account.

Fees and Fines
==========

In the more competitive world of modern banking, all the banks have had to review the way in which they administer accounts – and Barclays is no different. Overdrafts have been given more leniency, with an agreed tolerance now if you exceed your limit, so that you don’t have to pay a fee. Personally speaking, I think it is unfair to judge a bank on its penalty fees – they all start charging penalties if you mismanage your account after all. That aside, with Barclays there is no charge for standard products such as statements (at whatever regularity you specify), chequebooks or a debit card. As long as you stay within the rules, a Barclays Bank account should therefore cost you nothing.

Unfortunately, that isn’t quite the case. One thing I have always objected to with Barclays is that they have some rather unnecessary fees associated with services that you may need every once in a while. To prepare and provide a banker’s draft will cost you £10 (it’s nothing more than a guaranteed cheque) and written banking references are debited to your account at £15 a time. They also charge horrendous handling fees on foreign commission and for using competitors’ cash machines. From July 2001 they also started charging for stopping cheques. These fees are totally unacceptable and in my view should be offered free to all account holders.

The interest rate paid on the account isn’t even worth mentioning – this is not an account to store money in long term.

Branch Service
===========

Much to the delight of it’s competitors, Barclays has suffered from its own accommodation policy over recent years, with many city centre branches migrating into trendy wine bars, and rural branches closing down at a rate of about one a week. This is generally bad news for customers – despite the onset of telephone and Internet banking, there is still only one place you can pay a cheque in, so a branch is never without its use. I tend to find that service in Barclays’ branches is slow – very slow. The counter service is often under staffed, with considerable queuing times, and no attempt is made to sort out different customer types. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve wasted a lunch hour, waiting in a queue behind four shop holders who’ve all decided to come and get their coinage for the day.

That aside, the counter staff are normally very helpful, very polite and very well informed. I have found that wherever I live and bank, the staff have quickly started to recognise and greet me personally – this has often speeded up security or authorisation processes. Most larger branches have Personal Bankers – queuing for these people can take even longer than the normal counter staff, and I tend to find that whatever I want them to do, they always have to go through about fifty screens on their computer before they can access my details. They are an invaluable source of information though – albeit rather biased…

Barclays seem to have the widest range of Saturday opening branches. Although transactions are not processed until the next working day (Monday) this can be a godsend if you can’t get to a bank all week. Saturday opening hours vary wildly from one branch to another – but some late night openings would be very welcome as well.

Additional Services
=============

The standard Barclays current account doesn’t come equipped with anything more than a standard set of services – the Barclays Additions account contains a lot more (including life insurance, free legal advice etc). Statements are well designed – the transactions are well laid out and the whole sheet is easy to read, with a brief summary of Total Ins and Outs at the top of the page. Barclays are one of the few banks to offer same day clearance on cheques – normally you have to wait several days before you can draw on cleared funds, but with Barclays a cheque will be credited as cleared funds the same day. (If the cheque subsequently were to bounce, you would be stung with a range of fees though).

Telephone Banking
=============

Telephone banking is a pretty slick feature with Barclays. When the service was originally introduced, you were issued with a separate “Barclaycall” account number. This has now been replaced with your debit card number (much more sensible) and using the service is generally very easy. There are a range of push button services (order statement, check balance etc) or you can speak to an advisor for actual account processing. Whilst the advisors are very helpful and courteous, these transactions can take a fair amount of time, especially if they’ve never been done before. For instance, the first time you pay a Gas Bill, make sure you take a cup of coffee because you could be in for a long wait. The second and all subsequent times, however will be light speed. The advisors quite literally spell out what they are doing, and confirm all the details to prevent errors – of which I have never been the victim. I use telephone banking for paying most bills and am generally very happy with the service. The only slight disadvantage is that the call is not free – although it is fixed local rate. (Demanding aren’t I?)

Internet Banking
============

Barclays online is probably one of the most sophisticated online banking services I have seen. The layout of the site is excellent, and offers varied customisation options of transactions (according to date, value etc) as well as a large menu of available transactions. The web site is a particularly useful way to check and amend your standing orders or personal details, but you can do it in your own time, without having to wait in a queue at the bank. Similar to the telephone banking system, I have processed a number of transactions, none of which have caused any problems. Security is high – you are issued with an account number, PIN number and two security passwords, and I sometimes find logging in a rather laborious exercise. When I first applied for the site you had to phone up and get your details set up, but I now understand that you can register for the service on line.

The two problems with Barclays online are speed and reliability. I often find that the site is inaccessible or just plain slow. Given that online banking is about speed and convenience, these are rather fundamental issues.

My Verdict
========

Barclays Bank have offered me reliable banking for over ten years. In that time I have not had any problems with my account – in fact, I have found the bank to be more than helpful. The telephone and Internet banking are free – and they are easy to use. The criticisms I read of banks could really apply to any of the major high street banks – and if you read Barclays profile they are always the first to introduce something (Internet banking, debit cards, credit cards etc).

Recommended.