Man it's crazy in here, even more insane that it is a bank…read more Not being a Barclays customer, I haven't much use for this place but it does make me laugh how their actual customers intrepidly stomp across the mass expanse that is their lobby, only to be greeted by a bullet protected fading smile. Natwest will continue to suffice for me, although I am a little bit jealous and disappointed that they haven't made any effort to create a similarly Minority Report styled outfit.

Who-ever designed the interior of Barclays main Brighton branch needs stringing up by the short 'n'…read morecurlies. Really. The effect is supposed to be slick and stylish but in reality, it feels horribly cold, soul-less and space age. Everywhere you look, there's gleaming silver and white 'information points' with no staff or information, empty open spaces or a massive queue of frustrated looking customers. If you do manage to find someone to help you and judging by my experience it's a big if, they usually try to book you in to speak to an advisor another time! The cash points are okay but if you're trying to pay in or take money out over the counter, heaven help you. The queues are usually 5-20 minutes long and lunchtimes are best avoided altogether.

This Natwest location is well and truly still open, so I don't know why it is marked as closed, it…read moreis their "Brighton City Centre" location, located inside Churchill Square Shopping Centre. Opening hours of 9:30 am to 5 pm, opening half an hour later on Wednesday's, and opening half an hour earlier on Saturday's are pretty common and generic for a bank, still for me closing at 2 on Saturday is really poor and unreasonable, considering almost every other bank is open until at least 4 pm nearby, with the exception being Nationwide which closes at 3 and Metro Bank, the closest rival which is open until 5. Considering this is a mall location which isn't too common for banks, especially in Brighton, the decor makes you feel like you're in an actual Natwest store, with a good amount of seating and basic banking machines for doing everyday activities. The staff could have been a little more outgoing and helpful, yet they did seem to be busier as anticipated and in need of another staff member or two. 3* - Let down by staffing levels and opening hours. They do also have coin facilities which many banks seem to be phasing out either completely or with machines.

This is probably the best place to pick up some cash in Churchill Square, as, unlike some of the…read moreother ATMs littered around the place, you won't be charged money here, which is always a bonus.

HSBC's main branch serving Brighton centre is located close to the buses on North Street, it is an…read moreaverage sized branch by HSBC standards, albeit smaller than locations I'm more of a "regular" too such as Manchester St Ann's and Liverpool. The store has a good amount of seating and express banking machines, although I didn't like the fact that there were too many different machines for different things, such as for paying in cash and cheques and withdrawing it, considering nearly every other bank does it all in one machine now, with probably Halifax and the Lloyds Banking Group the only exception, I don't like this approach as it is confusing and slightly time-consuming depending on if you need to queue and switch between machines. There is also a small counter, which is slightly hidden into the back of the store, the waits didn't seem to be too long. Open 9-5 Monday to Saturday, the hours are pretty generic and common, but with many local banks shutting earlier especially on Saturday's, the opening hours are pretty decent here and the minimum of how they should be for a bank. Decent bank. 3*

Like the Falmer HSBC, this place is very good as banks go. There are loads of free cash machines…read moreand it's the most easily accessed place for free cash withdrawals on this end of the North Laine. There's usually a queue for the counter, but never a long wait. And there're always plenty of staff on hand in the week to help with whatever (new accounts, internet banking, loans...).

Every time I go to this branch of Halifax it usually annoys me…read more The staff are slow. There's always a queue. And whenever you ask the customer service rep for advice, they usually go and ask someone else and then return, a few minutes later saying they didn't know either! Trust me, I've experienced this on a handful of different occasions. This morning however, I experienced the exact opposite. The staff were acute and helpful. They actually knew the interest rates and had leaflets on the different accounts. There was only one lady waiting infront of me. And the guy behind the counter tried to chat me up.

This Halifax branch provides a handy cash point right at the bottom of North Street, facing Old…read moreSteine, and is frequented by many a pre-night out/ mid-night out student as they get off the 25 and head either up North Street or towards the seafront. They used to have this distorting mirror on the door when shut in the evenings, which was always good fun with beer goggled eyes. These days, I'm no longer a student, and the mirrored door is no longer there. Still, the cashpoint provides a useful service as the next bank - North Street's Natwest - is a good three minute stumble up the road.

Lloyds Bank's main central Brighton location is located on North Street. It is fairly close to a…read morebranch of HSBC which I found to be much more modern, but that's a different story. Opening hours are pretty common for a bank in the area, opening at 9 Monday-Saturday, albeit opening half an hour later on Wednesday's (not great, but considering most local banks open at 10 it's an improvement), closing at 5 pm every day, except Saturday's where they close an hour earlier. Opening hours aren't something which often ranks and justifies a business, but in my opinion for a bank it can make or break whether you're going to become a member of that bank because let's face it you want a bank with flexible hours and even in 2019 some banks are open for a short space of time, so they're becoming used less and shutting down, causing even more problems which we sadly face right now in the UK. Back to my regular review - Inside the bank, as per the grand old building it is located in, it is a little old but still feels nice, it is a different feel to other Lloyds branches such as my local store on Manchester - Market Street. There are a few basic banking machines here to conduct activities. The staff seemed friendly enough, but where they lacked was knowledge. I was sat down in the bank checking my emails, avoiding the busy crowds and sun so bright I could barely see my phone on a sunny south coast day, and I noticed a member of staff giving incorrect advice regarding online banking. Having been a member of almost every UK bank, I consider myself an expert in the British banking world so I was shocked to find out she was giving out incorrect information and the wrong advice to a customer who had lost their phone, she talked through the method which would take more time, compared to getting the issue sorted today which for me either shows a lack of training or the staff member being rather lazy. Friendly staff who seem happy to help, but perhaps an issue with their training, decent location for Lloyds Bank customers yet it is probably one of the older banks in the city, compared to every other bank, with the exception being TSB who used to partner with Lloyds, having much nicer, newer banks. 2*

A medium sized branch of Lloyds TSB bank situated close to the Royal Pavilion on North Street…read more It has two entrances, one of which provides level access for wheelchair users. It can get busy at lunchtimes but generally has shorter queues than the West Street branch.

I am not a happy bunny. Went to B. of. Scotland this afternoon and discovered that their business…read moreaccounts are now run by Lloyds TSB. If I'd wanted an account with them I'd have opened one in the first place!! I had an account with Lloyds years ago and their customer service was soooo bad, I actually hung up the phone once and smashed it into pieces. And I'm usually a pacifist!

Obviously, this company is the focus of the crunch, and it seems to have been deeply affected by…read moreit. I'd booked to access a notice account on the day of the run on Northern Rock, to pay my builders, and I therefore had to be part of those queues that we all remember from the TV. They handled that well enough. But I've used the place since, and the level of service has been appalling. For instance, I also have a loan at Northern Rock, and I was enquiring about paying it off early, which was a fairly complicated enquiry that took a couple of goes to get straight. But it shouldn't have been complicated - it wasn't until my third visit that somebody said NR loans are a different company from NR branches. I'd made a special trip in, and was fairly annoyed about this lack of information, and I literally received a shrug of the shoulders. This was months after the crisis, when things should have stabilised, but as far as I'm concerned, Northern Rock has gone down and down and down. It used to have quite an old fashioned feel to it, in that it was leisurely, concerned with service, and wanting to make the best of things for you. Not the best rates in the world, but extremely dependable. That has simply gone - though ironically enough, because of the government guarantee, its one of the safest places in the world to have your money.

Santander on Brighton's Western Road is a fairly poor branch of the major banking chain, which is…read morequite large in England and Spain. To start with, the opening hours aren't the major issue with this bank, of course, they could be improved slightly but they are basically in line with the average hours of any bank being open Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 5pm, albeit they do close an hour earlier on Saturday's, and open an hour later on Wednesday's - again this is common practice for most banks nearby. The store didn't feel too modern, so did lack in that sense compared to other Santander stores compared to both branches in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The queuing didn't seem to be handled very well, unlike most other banks, there wasn't a runner approach which is used to help customers who perhaps might not need to queue, perhaps this is something which can be done via the banking machine / ATM or online banking with staff assistance - this didn't seem to be going on here, and it really could have made the whole in branch experience much quicker. The bank had a satisfactory amount of machines for basic banking, and perhaps below average seating but the main flaw about this store is the fact it does need modernisation, especially to serve a city centre, and it also needs more focus on improving the speed of the customer experience, until then this branch is a big let-down, and feels more like a branch you'd find in a small town which wouldn't get that many people and is basically there because of regulations and being forced to stay open through local media and protest, and not a branch serving a large city like Brighton. 1* - In a city which has nearly every major bank within 5 minutes walk away (and some minor banks including Metro Bank), you'd expect this bank to be doing so much better - Santander have their work to do here!