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Budgeting & bank accounts

Discuss bank accounts, banking apps, budgeting hacks and how to organise your money.

first direct - paying in cheques...
..the other day I noticed I'd just put a stamp on one of my envelopes to post a cheque to FD to pay it in... Smile used to give me a neat little bundle of pre paid stationery .. but there's no mention of anything like this from first direct.. however if you send them a message from the electronic banking site enquiries…
Halifax Cardcash - Cheque Clearing
I put a cheque into my account (from my employer) on the 9th March and it will not clear until the 17th !!! I called the bank about the long clearing time and they said that they get alot of fraudulent cheques with this type of account - hence the long delay. I was really annoyed as they are saying that I am guilty until…
Raising cheque, without a cheque book
I have a bank account which pays slightly higher interest if I don't have a cheque book. I need to write a one off cheque to someone, but I don't want to change the account to one with a cheque book. Can anyone give advice on how I can say take cash somewhere and get a cheque written out to its value?
Halifax Interest Rate Reduction
From 16 May 2005, if you pay less than £1,000 into your Halifax Current Account for two consecutive months or more, the amount of interest paid on your credit balance will change to 0.10% AER regardless of the balance on your account. In other words, they have reduced the interest rate from 0.5% to 0.1%! The interest rate…
which account?? - help needed!
hey, all advice would be greatly appriciated! i'm currently on a gap year doing work experience, no job or income apart from a monthly allowance from my parents. i have some money saved up and currently hav a cash builder account with nationwide but i would like to have an account where i am able to buy things online and…
Advice required on lost BACS transfer from one bank to another
Dear All If anyone else has been in this situation, I'd welcome your advice. A couple of weeks ago I made a payment from my current account to a credit card. This was done online using Internet Banking. Sadly, although the 16 digit card number was right, the sort code wasn't and - from what I can gather - the money went to…
How many bank accounts can you open?
Just following on from someone's advice to have separate accounts for bills etc etc, how many CAN you have open? We were turned down for a new account a while ago but think that may be because we applied for the wrong account (another one with overdraft etc, which we don't need). But it must be possible to get a few on the…
Paying in a cheque in $
I went to pay in a cheque made out to me in $ from an American betting company at my bank (HSBC) today and I was told that they would charge me £5 for the pleasure of doing so. I promptly told them where to go and moved on. I think this is outrageous. Is there any way around this? Anywhere that will let me cash it for a…
First Direct/Telephone
I have received application pack for current account with £25 bonus but there was no second page which had to be signed & returned. Has this happened to anyone else - is it a delaying tactic or am I just being cynical? Also I am with NTL telephone line & calls only - little usage evenings & W/E. Am I going to have to…
Egg Money manager free £10
I hope this is the right place for this post! I have just gone to my Egg card statement via their notification email and the website says that if you sign up for the free Moneymanager service before 1st March they will credit your card with a '£10 reward'. Firstly, could anybody advise if the service is any good? Secondly,…
Will they check....
I want to get a new Current Account but am having difficulties as my credit rating is shot to pieces!! I am stuck with my Halifax acct - which is the most basic one I can get - Visa Electron - and virtually no interest.... So I want to get therefore the best current acct available - I will look on the various threads…
UK Only Bank Account
Call me a grumpy old man but does anyone know of a bank that I can go to whose Call Centre is UK based only? I know that First Direct are but they are owned by HSBC who have their Call Centre overseas (based on the people I speak to). I would like to know that my hard earned cash is being used to pay the salaries of people…
Help! Paid using Visa Debit - Unauthorised sum taken.
I pay my Mortgage every month simply by Visa Debit. The sum varies slightly each month and so I simply contact them by phone - ascertain the amount and give my card no - worked well up til now. Previously I paid by Direct Debit but found that they were actually taking the money a month early and I wasn't getting the…
What is the promotion code for the First Direct £35?
Hi, When I call FD they asking for promotion code to get the £35. otherwise go apply through the website for £25. :( HELP
First Direct,free £35
Got a First Direct letter through the post today telling me they will add £35 :D (Was £25) to any new bank account.Must be opened before 31/05/05 and have a balance of £100 0800 24 24 24 is the number. Steve.
Funding your current Account
When a current account advertises that you must fund £1,000 a month to get the better rates. I understand that your wages payed in will act as funding this , but if you have 2 current accounts with the same Bank and have your wages of over a £1000 payed into one but then transfer via online banking over a £1000 to the…
Co-operative Bank £25 reward
Walking by my local branch in Belfast there were big red signs saying: "£25 when your salary is deposited for the first time!" Thought it may be of use to someone.
Best online current account user interface
So after listening to Martins advice on current accounts I started thinking. Apart from Interest what is wrong with my current account. Currently I am with HSBC, what I really hate about the internet page user interface is that displaying account details is based around statement dates. This is a problem because it is not…
Halifax paper-free statements
Just signed into my online banking at Halifax, and they're advertising the possiblity of receiving all your statements by email instead of post. Great benefits are mentioned, like, er, you get less paper. I've gone with this for the time being, but it would have been nicer if they'd offered me a bit of cash for making the…
My bank account has been raided!
I am really upset and worried, hope someone can help me. I went to Dublin for work last week (Tuesday) and when I got to the airport I took out 120 Euros from a cash machine for cabs. The first time I did it, I mis typed my PIN - I still go to the requesting cash stage and then it rejected me. The second time it worked…

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