HSBC are the most unhelpful bunch of braindead imbeciles I have EVER had the misfortune of dealing with.

As soon as we get the money from the sale of our house we'll be closing all three of our accounts and telling them where to stick their banking charges.

herb

I have been threatened with court action for non payment of council tax ect because I could not get HSBC to make direct debits on the dates I requested, it took 9 months to get them to get it right.

I`m afraid that HSBC have now got so big they honestly do not care about customer service.

Coutts

http://www.coutts.com/

Ive banked with Barclays since I was 14. Fantastic bank. Customer service is brilliant. They were fantastic whilst I was a student and couldn't do enough to help.
No out services. 24 hour telephone banking system.
However, I wouldn't touch their insurance services or mortgages with a barge pole...but that's not what you were asking!:frog: They are very quick to rectify errors (which are very few and far between) they telephone you to check account withdrawals if you are out of your normal spending pattern (for example when I made 3 major purchases in the same day!)
Personal bankers acted as financial consultants after I finished uni showing me how I could cut my spending and manage my account better.
Just purchasing a house and mortgage company are being difficult. The faxed off all my mortgage details, bank statements that I couldn't find and everything. Even asked about mortgaging with them but accepted that they weren't competitive enough without a hard sell.
Can't sing their praises enough...:D