Time for me to get my rant on. Usually I have no problems with banks, but as someone who doesn't…read morehave a great deal of it I usually don't have to deal with them too often anyway! Fortunately for me though I came into some money due to an excellent donation from my prospective employers for next year to help fund me through my postgraduate year of education which was a welcome and unexpected donation! The cheque was in Euros though, which I thought wouldn't be much of a bother. I proceeded to lodge it and was informed it would cost a tenner to cover costs of translating the currencies which I was prepared to pay to get it sorted.3 weeks later I haven't got my money to my account yet. What they failed to tell me was it would take up to 6 weeks to lodge my cheque. When I asked why they just said procedure, rather than any real reason. So I had just paid good money for the worst and slowest bank service I had ever received. Uncool. Highly uncool.Avoid these numbnuts if you ever want to lodge a foreign cheque, the Halifax did the same for me in the past in a couple of days!

Just in nationwide newtownards and was assisted by a chap called Phil he was marvellous very…read morehelpful and very pleasant and friendly explained everything thoroughly and put me at ease I would definitely have no problem in recommending Phil. He should be the manager thanks again Eileen Courtney

Although Nationwide Building Society is now a large British Brand, it is branches like the one in…read moreNewtownards that help it maintain its large client base. This bank still believes in the personal touch and that is what keeps me coming back. When I began University I was offered all sorts of different student accounts, with some banks and building societies even willing to throw in sweeteners to seal the deal. But I stayed loyal to Nationwide, perhaps this was not the right choice as they did not offer a student account, but it was the customer service particularly at my local branch that helped me make the decision to stand firm. At the Newtownards branch the same staff seemed to have worked there forever and they are always sympathetic to your problems. This is what sets them apart from the rest.

I really can't complain about the First Trust...they've been pretty darn good as far as banks go…read more Only one complaint from me, but I'll get to that further into the review. I joined the First Trust as a student, as I had a) just gotten a part-time job and b) I was about to become a student (surprising, I know). Most of the bank's student accounts are pretty much the same - some sort of incentive to join, a large, interest-free overdraft, a debit and / or credit card - but for some reason I chose the First Trust. Think it was some competition to have your fees paid. But who knows. The First Trust were helpful and pleasant, dealing with my request immediately. The account was open in no time, and I got my bank card and debit card a few days later. Not once did I have a problem with them the entire time I was at university, and actually I was so satisfied with their service that I decided to opt for their credit card. Ar 12.9% APR, it was one of the lowest interest rates on the market. I called into the Ards branch, and was referred to Gary, who answered all my questions and offered me an appointment to get things going. I was back a couple of days later, and after a half an hour appointment, I was the proud owner of a new credit card. Shops, watch out! My only issue with the First Trust has been since I graduated, as they promised me a letter / some form of contact regarding my student account. I was told that I would hear from them as soon as I graduated, but it has been a month, and there hasn't been a thing. This did disappoint me, and I have since opened a new account elsewhere. However, the First Trust were always amiable and helpful when I had any problems, and they sorted me out with everything I needed. Great experience...not quite 'First' class mind you.

I think it is an absolute joke that in order to make a new payment transfer I need to wait 3-5…read morebusiness days in order to receive a card in order to make the transaction! No bank I know does it that way, it is a joke and if I knew that's how they done things I would not be with them. When I rang the bank to see if I could do it through them they said I would have to wait until the card comes through! Thanks to them I am now minus in my other bank account! Do yourself a favour and go to a bank that operates in the 20th century!

This bank hasn't been there for that long but it seems to have carried on from the previous bank…read morethat was in here with the same level of service, as I have never had to wait all that long any time I have been in, nor have I heard any horror stories from any of my friends that hold accounts here. They offer a large variety of banking products, with a friendly local staff you certainly can't really go wrong with this place. A slight problem may be parking but you should be able to get a space down at the marina.

The Open and Direct review is not going to be the most exciting review, I mean how can you be funny…read moreor cool writing about an Insurance Brokers? Open and Direct offer competitive insurance for you home, car, holiday and pet. Most of my family have something of theirs insured by Open and Direct and they tell me that they are pretty good at beating other insurance companies quotes. This branch of Open and Direct is in Newtownards and is in a rather nice building giving this branch a touch of class. The building it is housed in what used to be Newtownards branch of the Northern Bank. I hope that was at very least useful.

Priced cheaply but costly if you have a claim. They use a third party why do their best not to pay…read moreout or to pay as little as possible. The claims office they use are MIS and my experience their staff are not in the least bit interested in expediting your claim. Their job seems to be to find a way out of the claim.

For my holiday last year, my girlfriend and I severely underestimated the amount of cash we were…read moreneeding to take away as only a month after we booked our holiday we realised that our holiday was self catered rather than any board in the hotel, which meant a lot more money would be required for the likes of restaurants etc! We went to the post office in ards but unfortunately they didn't have any Turkish lira in stock, so we were directed here instead, and I refused to do any business with this place. I found that the rates that they were offering on currency was very uncompetitive, and once they took away their commission you were not getting a good deal at all. The only reason I would ever use this place would be to sort a money transfer out here, because otherwise you can't get your currency needs cared for a lot better elsewhere if you plan correctly!

This foreign exchange is a total joke and should be avoided at all costs as it advertises that it…read moreoperates a western union facility and when you ask if it is operating they say that it has not been working for a month or so but this is a downright lie as I have tried on numerous occasions over the last 3-4 years to use this facility and been lied to each time . This is misrepresentation and when you ask if they have reported this to western union central offices they say no . AVOID AVOID AVOID !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been a customer of the Northern Bank for as long as I can remember and have never had any…read moreproblems with this handily located branch. It is located in the Bloomfield Shopping Centre on the outskirts of Bangor and is handy and helpful if you need to do any banking whilst out at Marks and Spencer or Tesco. The staff I have always found to be friendly and were always able to help me out with change when I worked in the newsagent in the same shopping centre. There can be quite big queues from time to time but they give you ways to lodge cash etc without queuing so you can't really complain. A couple of times there hasn't been pens etc to let you lodge cash but that is really just nit-picking.