Investment banker Debbie Lane already had an Abbey National high-rate eSave savings account before she decided to shift her current account to the bank.
She had been a customer of Lloyds TSB, now seeking to take over Abbey, for more than 10 years before moving her business. She decided Lloyds was "very slow" and the staff "unhelpful".
Her experience with her eSave account, which allowed her to transfer money from her current account almost instantly, finally persuaded her to move over to Abbey for most of her banking business. She had to wait longer with Lloyds, a key element in her decision to move; she also liked Abbey's 24-hour access.
"With Lloyds, I don't find the staff helpful in the London area. They've never been wiling to help. The queues are long," said Ms Lane.
She used Abbey's "switcher" service through which the bank attempts to take the stress out moving direct debits and standing orders. She was kept informed during the process through regular phone calls.
Not all her ties with Lloyds TSB, where she once worked after qualifying as an accountant, have been severed. Ms Lane says her former provider is asking her to retain one "gold" account she holds with it - although the bank appears to have decided that the account will close eventually.
The time taken to close accounts means that Jim Lyons, a former company director in Dorset, also still has some links with Barclays, where he banked for more than 30 years.
Like Ms Lane, he feels he will be better off financially by moving his current account to Halifax, Abbey National's closest competitor in the fight to take control of current accounts from the so-called big four banks.
"My account has never been in the red in its life," said Mr Lyons. Hence his attraction to the 4% rate of interest Halifax is offering on accounts in credit.
