I've banked with Abbey for decades and, as Abbey branches go, this isn't a bad one. The place isn't…read morehuge but has recently be refurbished and only offers two counters now. The staff have been there a while and will generally bend over backwards to help you. There is a lobby with door for the cash machine which gives you somewhere to eat your kebab on a cold night. If you're lucky you may be able to park outside. Beware though, they open late on a Wednesday.

A friendly local branch who seem to spend most of their time battling - on your behalf - with the…read morefaceless bureaucrats at head office. Whilst the queues may be long, the counter-service is very personal and extremely helpful. As alluded to above, the current climate of head office make all the decisions means that this can seem a somewhat soft-soap approach, but at least they make the effort and seem embarrassed that the company as a whole is so remote.

Super-friendly staff here in my experience and there have always been an adequate number of people…read moreserving. One of my pet hates is when you have only one person serving and a queue of about 20 waiting! Having said that, that was a good few months back and with the credit crunch they may well have cut back also!

This is a credit union run by volunteers…read more It costs £3 to join and £1 opens your account. There are three branches - Parkstone, Bournemouth and Christchurch. Interest is paid at 1.5 percent per month, apr 19%. Yes folks! I am looking forward to doing some work with them from April as a budget coach - er no, not a bus! At present it is much safer to save money in Credit Unions as the base rate with banks is so low. Older people can benefit greatly as well as others on a low income.

This branch has a modern feel to it with television screens promoting their latest offers and…read moreinternet banking available to the customers in a private little booth. I was able to use the direct line to talk to a customer adviser who helped me with my credit card issue which was quickly resolved. There were four cashier counters with only two at the counter at the time. They seemed efficient enough as the queue was never more than three or four people.

Pros This branch is fairly standard in size and setup and similar to other Nationwide branches…read more What does differentiate it however is its staff service- when I opened an account the staff were really helpful and friendly and couldn't do enough to make things easier for me.

excellant way to save, also run by members so all profits put back into the union. loans available…read morewith no credit checks