Is First Direct a hard bank to get in to?

Jlawson118 · 12 October 2016 at 5:24PM

I opened my first bank account with HSBC when I'd just turned 17 back in 2013, but after just over a year (2014), I was unhappy with them, and my grandad is with First Direct and he recommended them to me. So I applied and was accepted.

But I never see anybody with First Direct accounts. And I remember having my internet banking closed off due to a fraud attack in 2015 and the guy from there helping me set it back up was telling me it was unusual for somebody my age (about 18 at the time, turning 19 a few months later) to actually have an account with them as it was mostly people much older and with more of a credit history and things who hold accounts with them.

But seriously, the whole bank treat their customers like royalty most of the time, it's so quick and easy to get through to somebody. Last week I phoned them up to change my telephone number, telephone password and my memorable date and I was finished within 3/4 minutes. If ever I call other banks, I have to be on hold for 20 - 40 minutes at a time.

Sometimes I feel like First Direct are too good for me :rotfl: but I rate them the best bank I've been with. I've tried other accounts from Halifax, Lloyds, HSBC again and none of them even compare anything close to FD. And even recently, I just phoned up tonight and applied for their Gold Credit Card and I was accepted. I needed to borrow some money about two months ago so they gave me a £1000 overdraft with no questions asked pretty much. Halifax wouldn't even give me a £300 one. And yet I'm glad they didn't, because borrowing £1000 for a week whilst waiting for a cheque to clear with First Direct, charged me 28p in interest. I found out today Halifax charge £5 a day.
FD's savings accounts offer high interest, and low interest on loans. It really does feel like an elite club.

Is it a hard bank to get in or something? Or do people just not really know about it or trust it?

agrinnall · 12 October 2016 at 5:30PM

There are plenty of people on here with FD accounts (including me) but I'm not sure how many of them use it for their main account. I am with them only for their 6% Regular Saver (and a 1st account to feed it, plus a Savings account with very little in it so I don't have to pay the 1st account fee) and a lot of people will be the same. They are more difficult to become a customer of than some other banks, and while their telephone banking is regarded as about the best there is their online banking is pretty mediocre, and of course they have no branches which will put some people off.

[Deleted User] · 12 October 2016 at 5:33PM

They're quite picky. There's also been something of a backlash against them in recent years, as their customer service, to be fair, isn't what it used to be.

But I still rate them as a decent bank.

Jlawson118 · 12 October 2016 at 5:40PM

agrinnall wrote: »

There are plenty of people on here with FD accounts (including me) but I'm not sure how many of them use it for their main account. I am with them only for their 6% Regular Saver (and a 1st account to feed it, plus a Savings account with very little in it so I don't have to pay the 1st account fee) and a lot of people will be the same. They are more difficult to become a customer of than some other banks, and while their telephone banking is regarded as about the best there is their online banking is pretty mediocre, and of course they have no branches which will put some people off.

I definitely consider it my main bank. I originally opened a savings account too to avoid the fee, but then over the years I opened a Cash ISA with them too and earning 1.30% on that was really good (it's dropped to 0.95% now in the wake of Brexit but I still think it's really good. Well I thought so but I checked their website and it still says 1.30%)

Their telephone banking is great most of the time, though I feel it depends where you're put through to really, I'm from Leeds and being put through to their Leeds call centre is always nice and the staff talk to you like friends. But I just got put through to Scotland this evening and it didn't have the same touch, seemed like they couldn't wait to get me off the phone really. And their mobile banking is pretty much the same style of HSBC's which isn't the best..but it still works most of the time and that's all I could ever want really

Jlawson118 · 12 October 2016 at 5:42PM

Deleted_User wrote: »

They're quite picky. There's also been something of a backlash against them in recent years, as their customer service, to be fair, isn't what it used to be.

But I still rate them as a decent bank.

I just replied to the other post as well about their customer service to me depends in which call centre you get put through to. Their Leeds one are always friendly and the Scottish team today seemed like they couldn't wait to get me off the phone, but the man on the other side accepted me for their Gold Credit Card so I guess it's not all bad news.

I did have some friction with the fraud attack in 2015, where they refused to pay me my money back as it didn't look fraudulent to them. But after a complaint, everything was sorted out then

System · 12 October 2016 at 5:53PM

They don't offer child, teenager or student accounts - this alone would discount them as people's first current account and would skew their demographic.

They are also not a stand alone bank but a brand name of HSBC/Midland bank.
You (strictly speaking) didn't move banks but changed brands.

Dird · 12 October 2016 at 8:04PM

I got refused the first time, accepted the 2nd time.

How the hell do you deposit cash to First Direct? This is a reason you don't see so many of your peers banking with them, they like to just walk into a local branch and deposit cash

You're a ridiculously positive person. You'd think their CS had cured cancer

Deep_In_Debt · 12 October 2016 at 8:14PM

Dird wrote: »

I got refused the first time, accepted the 2nd time.

How the hell do you deposit cash to First Direct? This is a reason you don't see so many of your peers banking with them, they like to just walk into a local branch and deposit cash

You're a ridiculously positive person. You'd think their CS had cured cancer

My understanding is that you can use HSBC to deposit cash in to your FD account.

Doctor_Duke · 12 October 2016 at 8:18PM

Easy you deposit cash in an HSBC branch (as it's a subsidiary) or a Post Office no problems!

zagubov · 12 October 2016 at 8:19PM

Dird wrote: »

I got refused the first time, accepted the 2nd time.

How the hell do you deposit cash to First Direct? This is a reason you don't see so many of your peers banking with them, they like to just walk into a local branch and deposit cash

At HSBC branches and Post Offices.

They seem to be a low-key bank as far as advertising goes.

[Deleted User] · 12 October 2016 at 8:29PM

Dird wrote: »

How the hell do you deposit cash to First Direct?

If it's notes, the easiest way is to fax it to them. The coins sometime cause a paper jam though.

Is First Direct a hard bank to get in to?

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