It shouldn't take 785 years to switch current accounts!

We've collectively spent 785 years looking into current accounts in the last 12 months. But switching current accounts doesn't need to take a long time!

There are certain things a lot of us enjoy shopping for – financial products generally aren’t one of them! But still, we take a lot of time choosing our bank account, credit card and energy provider because getting a rubbish deal could cost us big.

In fact, new research from Santander has revealed exactly how long we spend researching financial products. In the past 12 months we’ve collectively spent 3,504 years researching car insurance, 1,368 years on savings accounts but only 785 years looking into current accounts.

Santander puts this low amount of time spent looking around for current accounts down to the commonly-held view that it’s too much hassle to switch providers.

But here at lovemoney.com we think that’s rubbish! Switching current accounts isn’t a hassle and it could save you money through lower fees and allow you to pick up extra interest payments as well as other rewards.

So here’s a quick guide to the various types of current accounts to make sure you can all pick up the right deal without spending too much time looking around for it!

High interest accounts

You should be looking to get a high interest account if you’re always in credit and intend to have over £1,000 coming into your account every month.

Santander has a couple of high paying current accounts. The Zero Account and Preferred In-Credit Account will earn you 5% (4.8% gross) for the first 12 months – that’s more than most savings accounts pay out nowadays!

The interest is only paid on balances up £2,500 – but that’s still a possible £125 out there for you to trouser by keeping your account topped up at £2,500 for a year!

The Zero Account is also fee-free, so you won’t pay anything if you go into an unarranged overdraft or exceed an arranged one. Overseas transactions are also free.

Unfortunately this account is only available to Santander mortgage holders and those with Santander savings accounts of £10,000 or more (from Jan 2011).

Here’s a table outlining the various high interest current accounts:

*Only available to Santander mortgage and savings (from Jan 2011) customers.

If you’d rather stay clear of Santander (and I’ll look at why you might a bit later on) Lloyds also offers a couple of accounts to consider. Vantage earns you 4% if you have between £5,000 and £7,000 in your account- you’ll make 3% for a balance between £3,000 and £5,000, 2% between £1K and £3K and 0.10% between £1 and £1,000.

 But if you don’t keep much money in your account you’re probably better off going for a classic account with Plus – this will earn you a set 1.5% up to a balance of £2,500.

Overdrafts and rewards

If you usually hover around the zero mark on your account before payday you’re probably better off going for an account with a cheap, arranged overdraft. That way if you do slip into the red you won’t find yourself being hit with spiralling charges – to read more about overdraft charges head to Overdrafts are more expensive than payday loans.

The Santander Preferred Overdraft Rate Account offers a 12 month interest-free overdraft, after which the rate jumps back up to 12.9%. Santander will also match your previous overdraft limit up to £5,000 but you’ll still need to pay £1,000 into the account every month or you’ll be hit with a whopping 19.9% overdraft charge.

If you do go for this account you really shouldn’t be using the overdraft for longer than 12 months – for some top tips on getting yourself out of the red head over to Three ways to get rid of your overdraft.

Both Halifax and Bank of Scotland also offer 0% overdraft accounts – but you’ll pay a usage fee of £1 per day if you go into the red. But these overdraft accounts do come with some extra perks – if you pay in £1,000 every month you’ll get an extra £5 thrown in courtesy of the bank!

First Direct's 1st Account also offers you rewards for joining them – you’ll get £100 when you open an account and if you’re not happy with them they’ll give you another £100 if you decide to leave within a year! This account is also a great overdraft option if you need a smaller limit, as it's interest free up to £250.

On the downside, you will need to pay £1,500 into the account every month and this won’t earn you any interest as it’s a 0% account. It’s also worth pointing out that if you’ve already banked with First Direct you won’t be eligible for the bonus £100.

Customer service

So, now you know about the numbers, you'll want to find out about the providers. After all, if you’re going to hand over your money to a new bank you want to know that they’re going to take care of it.

Well, unfortunately in numerous customer satisfaction surveys the giants of the banking world such as Lloyds Banking Group (which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland) and Santander have not fared well. You can read more about this at Britain’s worst bank revealed.

One provider which seems to always come out on top is First Direct – it’s won more than 30 customer service awards!

But if you’re after a large overdraft or high interest rate you may have to grin and bear some shoddy customer service. To find out more about fighting back against bad customer service read How to complain when things go wrong.

More: The top six current accounts 5 reasons why you should ditch your current account