Is First Direct a hard bank to get in to?
Comments
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Switched from Santander to a joint FD current account with no issues, but to open the joint savings account was a nightmare..
They kept asking questions on exactly how much will you deposit in the next 3? months. I dont know what i will be doing next week never mind have a figure in my head on what im going to deposit.
I had to choose some numbers, and will transfer that in in the month i said i would and cross my fingers.
But its not as easy as that it seems, although its a joint account they wanted to know exactly how much i would be putting in and how much my partner would be putting in.
Post 19, was in the back of my mind as they went through the questions and would only speak to one of us at a time, its a joint account why cant we both make the call? Problem is you cannot do a joint account online.
Funny thing is i switched a joint current account to FD on my own and not once did they ask if i needed permission from the joint account holder and when i setup the passwords etc at no point did they ask for my partner to set one up.
I still need to open a regular saver.. hopefully i can do one online.Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...0 -
I still need to open a regular saver.. hopefully i can do one online.
I am on my second regular saver and opened both online with no hassle! Mind you they seem to think I have banked with them for years. I have had my 1st Account for just over 2 years but they remember my previous account that I switched away. They have a long memory.......0 -
Vastly overrated bank with poor online offering and mostly nondescript products.
Middle ground bank living off former glories that others have long since eclipsed.0 -
I used them for my main account for a few years - it's now relegated to a semi-dormant account that just pays one direct debit per month.
I don't remember the account opening process being particularly onerous, but it was 5 or so years ago so maybe things have changed. Although it certainly wasn't as easy as Barclays, where I did the whole thing online in a few minutes and had my new account number and sort code by the end of the process.
Like others have said, I've found FD to be good on the phone, but there's not really anything else good about them. I rarely call my banks - it's really only if there's a suspect transaction or something of that ilk - but I do use online and mobile banking all the time, so I want that to be easy, fast and reliable. Which I can't say is the case for FD's online and mobile offering.Let's settle this like gentlemen: armed with heavy sticks
On a rotating plate, with spikes like Flash Gordon
And you're Peter Duncan; I gave you fair warning0 -
I opened my FD account 1999. I had no issues with them. Over the phone they are great. Allot of people here complain about there online banking but I had no issues with it and does everything which all other major bank does.
Although I think First Direct need to change design of there internet banking and cards. I remember my brother used his credit card rather his debit card in cash machine at the airport when he was travelling. The card in design are so similar.0 -
I found my local bank hard to get in to, thankfully they now have an automatic door.0
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I switched to them 9 months ago.
The account opening process, phone respnse times, and customer service was so bad I closed the account 6 weeks laer.
It was so bad I didn't even want to wait the 6 months to get the £100 for not being satisfied.
Can't imagine how they get the reputation they seem to have.
I can't comment on today's current account opening times as I have had an account with them for over 20 years but I have never had any problems with the phone response time or customer service. You get to speak to a real person pretty quickly who isn't reading from a set script. Also no choosing from several menus of options only to be put on hold or cut off or told that the relevant service isn't available on that day.0 -
I opened my FD account 1999. I had no issues with them. Over the phone they are great. Allot of people here complain about there online banking but I had no issues with it and does everything which all other major bank does.
Although I think First Direct need to change design of there internet banking and cards. I remember my brother used his credit card rather his debit card in cash machine at the airport when he was travelling. The card in design are so similar.
Their internet banking website and app copies the HSBC style, however, First Direct lag slightly behind HSBC. I know they're the same company and the app does what it's there for but I'm not a huge fan, and sometimes has technical problems but I don't mind it
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I can't comment on today's current account opening times as I have had an account with them for over 20 years but I have never had any problems with the phone response time or customer service. You get to speak to a real person pretty quickly who isn't reading from a set script. Also no choosing from several menus of options only to be put on hold or cut off or told that the relevant service isn't available on that day.
I second that about the script. I mean some do skip to the script but I've spoken and had full on conversations with them before. I think I remember my grandad phoning them up to enquire about something once and he was asking them if they were in the Leeds call centre and they talked about it. We also live in Leeds to it's nice to stay local :rotfl:0 -
I used them for my main account for a few years - it's now relegated to a semi-dormant account that just pays one direct debit per month.
I don't remember the account opening process being particularly onerous, but it was 5 or so years ago so maybe things have changed. Although it certainly wasn't as easy as Barclays, where I did the whole thing online in a few minutes and had my new account number and sort code by the end of the process.
Like others have said, I've found FD to be good on the phone, but there's not really anything else good about them. I rarely call my banks - it's really only if there's a suspect transaction or something of that ilk - but I do use online and mobile banking all the time, so I want that to be easy, fast and reliable. Which I can't say is the case for FD's online and mobile offering.
I just opened an account with Barclays too and I have to admit that the process was so easy, and when I joined First Direct in 2014, it was pretty difficult, I was constantly on the phone switching and things, but after all that, it was worth it.
I rarely call banks either, but sometimes I've had issues where I can only talk to a person at the other end about it0
This discussion has been closed.
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