I have been loyal to Natwest for over 15 years and never had any problems with their service but as I am lining up a help to buy ISA elsewhere anyway (for better rates), I did some looking around at offers to switch.

First Direct offer £150 to switch via money supermarket (£125 otherwise) and they offer a 12 month no withdrawal savings account at 6% interest

The help to buy ISA is limited to £200 per month so I could do with somewhere to throw extra cash so it seems ideal and as of April, basic rate taxpayers can earn up to £1,000 interest without paying tax.

Epic customer service rating for First Direct apparently. The Government has also introduced the 7 day account switch guarantee to make it hassle free. One more thing, their pre-arranged overdraft offers 0% interest on the first £250. I can count on one hand the times I have slightly drifted into mine with Natwest but they have charged me £6 so there is extra peace of mind with the offer from FD.

Any thoughts/experience?

Not a customer but I worked for HSBC Group for 9 years ;) Much better than HSBC, you don't get fobbed off to other offices as everyone on the phone is UK based. The HSBC Group as a whole has had internet banking issues in the past few months so worth bearing in mind if thats really important.

All in all, the UK Retail Banks all have good and bad service points, the best bet I think is to go with whichever suits your finances in terms of rates, don't just be taken in by the one off payments :)

I've been with FD for 3 years now! Absolutely fantastic customer service 24/7.

For the HTB ISA, I'm with Halifax as it offered the best rate. I have a savings account as well (with FD). Not a fantastic rate - but it does allow me to access my savings should I need to.