More than just a Bank Account

Well, after my last post things have moved on a bit. Firstly I'll deal with the banking issue.
On Tuesday I popped into town to get a bit of shopping, and walked past the Nationwide which is closing soon. Right next to them is a branch of the Halifax so I walked in (at a quarter to five) and had a very brief explanatory conversation with the lady behind the counter. To cut a long story short they offered me an appointment to see one of the staff to see about arranging a new account for me. I was offered one on the wednesday but I couldn't take that as my son was off school ill. They asked when I could come in and I suggested thursday. This was inconvenient for them as the lady I needed to see had a day off then, but from the background she piped up that she would see me thursday morning, and an appointment was made for 10.30am.
Thursday came, and I arrived at 10.25am. Five minutes later the lady I was seeing walked in (carrying her shopping) and just after 10.30 the interview began. It was a very pleasant experience, not overly prying and was run with respect and understanding (and a nice cup of tea) and an hour and fifteen minutes later I walked out with a new bank account, a buffer zone overdraft and a lot more than I expected I would get from anyone... a feeling of being a worthwhile person again. That feeling is priceless. I would like to say (and already have to their faces) a great big thankyou to the Halifax, and if anyone is being given a hard time, or a raw deal, by their current bank or building society give Halifax a try. You've got nothing to lose (you don't have to take what is offered) and you may be very pleasantly suprised as I was.
Next I am going to deal with the OneTel issue, but that's in another post...