I have lost patience with Lloyds TSB, which seems to be a street-corner bank for private individuals and has no interest in business customers' requirements. The worst feature is the lack of any plans to introduce internet banking for foreign currency accounts, ever. To transfer Euros or Dollars to suppliers I have to complete a form in black ink and take it to any branch from where they fax it to a central location (Chelmsford) where it might be unreadable.
This wastes much of my precious time. Taking it to Guildford branch requires me to park the car half a mile away and walk to the bank at a time of its choosing, i.e. when I should be by the telephone. Bracknell branch is easier for parking but the staff like to give customers the third degree, inventing different problems each time. The also use misleading jargon that can cause confusion, e.g. referring to currency accounts as 'off-shore' even if they are not those run by Lloyds-TSB in Jersey or IoM.
Also, if I try to reduce exchange rate rip-off by transferring euros to Travelex, Lloyds charges extortionate transfer fees even though the movement is between two UK banks. If I pay in a Euro cheque into my Euro account there is a charge although none for the equivalent sterling transaction. If a cheque is fraudulent I have to pay 50 pounds even though I am the innocent victim.
I rest my case with regards to Lloyds-TSB. Now to my search for an alternative.
Boost Energy Systems uses HSBC so I tried HSBCnet from there with training by telephone from the call centre (in India ?). It certainly handles the Euro account via the Internet, although it is not free and using it is non-intuitive. I have appointments with Barclays and NatWest in the coming weeks to see what they can offer.
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