Alliance And Leicester Young Worker Current Account Review

Overall Rating

Very friendly staff on the phone, easy to use website and excellent communication from them by mail and phone.

Confusing letters stating you have been issued with a different card than you actually have.

Staff in branch who do not really know the details of the account you have opened.

When my bank announced they were merging with Barclays, I decided I did not want to continue banking with them, due to dealings I have had with Barclays Bank in past. Anyway, I had heard good reports from friends and colleagues about Alliance and Leicester, so I applied for a Premier Current account online, and they emailed me to tell me my application had been declined based on my credit score, which was not a huge surprise to me, as it is pretty awful, and they advised me to call them and see if they may have another product which may suit me. So, I called and explained that all I really wanted was a current account with direct debit and standing order facility, and also internet and telephone banking. I wasn't bothered about an overdraft or cheque guarantee card. They suggested the Young Worker account. At first I wasn't impressed by the sound of it, it conjured up images of kiddies' accounts with piggy banks and special badges. But once the advisor explained the account in more detail, I was very impressed. She explained the account was for 16-24 year olds who credit over £500 per month and they didn't offer a huge rate of interest like the premier accounts did, or the extras like free travel insurance, etc.; but other than that, it was exactly the same and offered more services than my current bank. She said that the card issued was either a Visa Delta or Visa Electron, and which one was offered was based on credit scoring, so she predicted that I would be issued with Electron, but as long as I ran my account well for about 6 months, that may be upgraded to a Visa Delta later on, but that really doesn't concern me, as everywhere I shop, accepts Electron. She offered to run through the application on the phone, but I didn't have time, so I elected to apply online again. This time, my application was successful, and I recieved all my letters and passwords/pin numbers within a week, followed by my Electron card which also had the new Visa logo on it. Finally I got my paying in book and cheque book through. I went online and set up my internet banking, and also discovered that I had a savings account attatched to the current account, something I wasn't told, but a bonus all the same. You transfer monies between the current and saving accounts online, and the money is available within 24 hours. All very impressive. Overall, so far I have been very impressed by Alliance and Leicester, and I hope they will continue to do so.