Martin and the crew set up a mortgage for us last year on a buy to let property…read more I must say the service is great and the communication was 1st class throughout the process. Well done guys, it takes a lot to keep me happy.

This is the local branch of Halifax plc in Neath. It used to be a building society, but now it has…read morebank status - not sure what difference it makes for us customers though! I've held accounts at this branch for a very long time - I hate to think of where the years have gone! It's always been a friendly and efficient branch to deal with. As with most banks, you'll need to make an appointment to deal with some issues, but they can normally fit you in the same day. I've had a couple of problems with them over the years, and have thought of closing all my accounts before now. However, they normally manage to sort things out in the least painful way!

I worked for the AA for a little while earlier this year and my experience was generally a nice…read moreone. As it's a call centre, the job is either for you or it isn't and unfortunately, speaking to customers on the phone all day was not something I enjoyed at all. Mainly because I find it so difficult to be nice to rude people for a protracted length of time. The building itself is relatively modern and attractive, being built in 2000. Inside there are 4 floors housing everything from customer services and sales to the hub for the AA driving school. They have a very good training scheme at the AA, lasting about about 2 months and for which you receive a certificate approved by the Chartered Institute of Insurers (or something,,,). You hear horror stories about call centres immediately plunging you in at the deep end, with an irate, shouting customer on one end of the phone and you, a quivering, inexperienced wreck, on the the other. That's not the case here though. After your classroom based training (for which you still receive full pay), you are placed on a section called the "Grad Bay" for a couple of weeks. Here there are coaches assigned to each person giving you tips and help in general if you need it. By the time you actually get put into your team, you feel like a seasoned pro. I can't fault the AA as an employer at all. They have a very good bonus structure and realistic targets. The managers and everyone I worked with were all easy to get along with too and, although there is a certain amount of pressure involved (as your sales are targeted) I still think they do their best to keep a fun atmosphere around the place. All that being said though, and as nice as the people were, it is a very repetitive job, dealing with the same queries over and over. If you get bored easily, as I do, then I would avoid!

Natwest has to be the best local bank! Friendly, safe and above all not as money grabbing as some…read moreof the others This little branch is small but does the job

Pretty good bank. Try to avoid the busy times as there only ever seems to be twocashiers on at any…read moretime. Other than that they're efficient, fairly friendly and give general good service.

With only two cashier windows, this Lloyds is the tiniest bank I've been in, but it's also the…read morequietest - after countless trips here, I've only had to wait in line twice. When I had an account with Lloyds, this was my go-to bank, instead of the crazy sister branch on Queen Street. The staff here are extremely friendly (even complimenting me on a hat I was wearing), in addition to being efficient and helpful on pretty much every occasion. A cash machine can be found outside, which is normally less busy than the Tesco option a few minutes' walk away (especially on a Friday and Saturday night). The only downside is that it's not open as late as other branches and closed all day on Saturday and Sunday. Please not this branch also boasts a Financial Health Specialist.

A great little branch of this bank right on the main street. Friendly staff and not usually too…read morebusy so you don't have long to wait. The cashpoint outside is very useful too.

Located in the west end of Barry, this is a sub-branch of the main Baclays branch on Holton Road…read more Because it is in the suburbs, it is not very busy. It is a small but very friendly branch. Even though I only go into this branch every three months or so, the staff always greet me by name. It is just a few minutes walk from the railway station and it is also fairly easy to find short term parking nearby. The branch offers the full range of banking services including having a cashpoint machine outside. The inside of the branch is always neat and tidy. They often have notices of local community events and, quite often, they will also have collection boxes to support a local charity.

Now i like people, but I can only deal with them in small numbers. Sadly this place is always full…read moreof them. It is however the most striking bank in town (probably) so if its raining and you need to get some cash out then check out their machines. Can't quite believe I just said that. So yeah its busier than other branches and the staff are suitably a little bit more rushed but perfectly nice. I like that theres someone there to greet you and make sure your in the right queue. Still its doesn't beat my favorite branch down the road.

Towering in the middle of Queen Street is the massive HSBC building, its aged and beautiful…read morearchitecture concealing the most wonderful, frustrating, amazing and annoying bank in the entire known universe. You see, everything anyone could conceivably want to do in there is automated. Normally, this is fantastic. The queues move quicker, the awkward conversation is cut to a minimum and no one judges you when they look at your bank statement and see £135 spent on Bob Dylan CDs that one time. Awesome! Well, it is, until it isn't. Suddenly cashing in a cheque is equal parts a battle between the capricious whims of this proto-SkyNET system and your own fallible human nature. Did you put every single digit in the right place? Well you'd better be sure, because if you didn't, the digital gnomes that live inside the machines are cashing your £340 rent cheque into the bank account of a 39 year old street walker from Glasgow, giggling maniacally the whole time. Want to change some forlorn money bags into coppers? HA! No. We are a future bank! We do not offer such pedestrian services! Would you like a mortgage instead? Ladies and gentlemen, this is the future. And in the future, banks are made to mock you and your paltry funds as the executives sit atop the cash-turrets of their money-castles throwing pennies on the proletariat from such a height they become tiny, copper bullets, laughing, diamond-encrusted hands atop their gold-plated hips the whole time.