Halifax £125 Switch Offer

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  • Don80
    Don80 Posts: 300 Forumite
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    I have just opened the Halifax account, will let you know if that worked ok. The person on the Live Chat said it would be ok. Now I am wondering how long I need to keep the account for before I switch it out.

    Also, I noticed that when I logged in to my new Halifax account I could see my Bank of Scotland accounts, it works the other way too! I know the Halifax is just a trading name of the Bank of Scotland, but since I had to register for internet banking with Halifax, I was a bit surprised!
  • Samsung_Note2
    Samsung_Note2 Posts: 774 Forumite
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    Don80 wrote: »
    I have just opened the Halifax account, will let you know if that worked ok. The person on the Live Chat said it would be ok. Now I am wondering how long I need to keep the account for before I switch it out.

    Also, I noticed that when I logged in to my new Halifax account I could see my Bank of Scotland accounts, it works the other way too! I know the Halifax is just a trading name of the Bank of Scotland, but since I had to register for internet banking with Halifax, I was a bit surprised!


    Can i ask what the online banking is like...for me any account that i use and keep has to have decent clear online banking.

    Like the natwest online banking...hate the bank with a passion..hence why looking to make Halifax my main account.
  • Don80
    Don80 Posts: 300 Forumite
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    Samsung_Note2 wrote: »
    Can i ask what the online banking is like...for me any account that i use and keep has to have decent clear online banking.

    Like the natwest online banking...hate the bank with a passion..hence why looking to make Halifax my main account.

    Hi

    I actually don't like the RBS online banking (which I assume would look a lot like NatWest), though their mobile banking app is great.

    Halifax has an online banking tour on their website at
    http://www.halifax.co.uk/aboutonline/things-you-can-do/quick-tour/

    Since Halifax is a trading name of the Bank of Scotland which is also part of Lloyds Banking Group, their internet banking looks and feels much the same as Lloyds Bank (they all use the same IT platform):
    https://www.bankofscotland.co.uk/aboutonline/quick-tour/
    https://www.lloydsbank.com/online-banking/internet-banking/using-internet-banking/quick-overview.asp
  • binaryuniverse
    binaryuniverse Posts: 906 Forumite
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    Got my banking activation code in the post today.

    Logged in to internet banking. £125 already in there and they haven't even sent me any confirmation that the switch is going ahead.

    They also sent me an email on the weekend asking if I wanted an account switched.

    Is this normal?
  • Ed-1
    Ed-1 Posts: 3,904 Forumite
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    binaryuniverse wrote: »
    Got my banking activation code in the post today.

    Logged in to internet banking. £125 already in there and they haven't even sent me any confirmation that the switch is going ahead.

    They also sent me an email on the weekend asking if I wanted an account switched.

    Is this normal?

    If you requested to switch at the time of application then yes. The switch starts on the day the account is opened (providing it's before like 5pm on a working day). They pay the incentive before the switch completes.
  • binaryuniverse
    binaryuniverse Posts: 906 Forumite
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    I did. But they haven't even told me if the switch is going ahead. I would have expected at least a text message.

    Either way. The easiest £125 I'll ever make.:beer:
  • binaryuniverse
    binaryuniverse Posts: 906 Forumite
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    Ah there we go. Text me this morning.
  • BaldacchinoR
    BaldacchinoR Posts: 135 Forumite
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    It should be noted that the £3 a month current account Reward, which is part of the Halifax Bank's switching incentive, is not classed as interest by HMRC. Tax is deducted by the Bank so the £3 payment is net of interest. It cannot be part of the £1000 annual tax free interest a standard taxpayer has been able to receive since 6 April 2016. MSE's posting about Bank Accounts currently describes this £3 a month as interest so I sent a them message about it. Not sure if I used the right way to do that. There does not seem to be a specific way of notifying MSE about things like additional information or possible corrections about their own postings.
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 31,375 Forumite
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    BaldacchinoR wrote: »
    It should be noted that the £3 a month current account Reward, which is part of the Halifax Bank's switching incentive, is not classed as interest by HMRC. Tax is deducted by the Bank so the £3 payment is net of interest.
    You mean 'net of tax'?
    BaldacchinoR wrote: »
    It cannot be part of the £1000 annual tax free interest a standard taxpayer has been able to receive since 6 April 2016. MSE's posting about Bank Accounts currently describes this £3 a month as interest so I sent a them message about it. Not sure if I used the right way to do that. There does not seem to be a specific way of notifying MSE about things like additional information or possible corrections about their own postings.
    I believe they're already well aware of this potentially ambiguous wording as http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts#halifax specifically includes
    What about tax on the interest? We've called it interest, but it doesn't work in the way other accounts do, as the amount you have in the account doesn't change how much you get. HMRC tells us this is not counted as savings income and therefore not covered under the personal savings allowance.
    as well as other references to the £3 being a reward rather than interest.

    To be fair, alongside all the other posts about this on here last year, they published an article about this at the time, the URL of which pretty much covers the content: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/banking/2016/07/halifax-barclays-or-co-op-bank-customer-you-may-need-to-pay-tax-on-your-rewards
  • WineDarkSea
    WineDarkSea Posts: 89 Forumite
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    I switched a nationwide account to get the bonus. Very quick and I was surprised to see the account pop up on my Bank of Scotland mobile banking app. Still waiting for the first reward - two Tesco savers I'm hoping will work. From reading it seems transfers from bank of Scotland are allowed.
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