halifax moneyback account

YorkshireBoy

dazzaofdagenham wrote: »

is it just the Cashback accounts that are being changed ?

I have a standard current account with the Halifax and wondering if that was gonna get changed?

See post #32.

emweaver

Im not happy either my earnings has come from £180ish to £60 a year and my overdraft charges will be going from a few pence each month to £7ish so ill be a lot worse off. Am considering switching to A&L also for the £100 cashback they are offering plus £50 via quidco!

ernie-money

emweaver wrote: »

Im not happy either my earnings has come from £180ish to £60 a year and my overdraft charges will be going from a few pence each month to £7ish so ill be a lot worse off. Am considering switching to A&L also for the £100 cashback they are offering plus £50 via quidco!

This sounds as though you expect to get £5 a month even if you're occasionally overdrawn. I thought you only got the £5 if your account is in credit at all times, and that if you're ever overdrawn in a calendar month (even by a penny) you wouldn't get the fiver. Have I got it wrong?
Thanks!

emweaver

Yes you get it regardless of being overdrawn the only condition is you pay in £1000 a month

kerri_gt

rb10 wrote: »

Hmmm, something's been missed out of the first sentence here. Did you mean to type 'I can't also have a single one'? As that fits with what you go on to say.

If so, that's incorrect. See the T&Cs here: http://www.halifax.co.uk/HelpCentre/pdf/1_336608-3.pdf , special condition (b) page 23:

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yes, sorry, the perils of not checking what you type - I did mean that I was told I can't have my name own sole High Interest Current account because I already hold a joint one with my husband.

That's interesting about the T&C - I think I will phone up and tell that to the Halifax - regardless I am going ahead with moving my account - 0% on the overdraft (plus the £100) makes sense to me, and frankly, if the call centre don't know their T&C and can't be bothered to try and retain my business, they don't deserve it. Wonder what they will say when I tell them they have lost my business due to the incompetance of their call centre staff.....

Grade_A_Reject

emweaver wrote: »

Yes you get it regardless of being overdrawn the only condition is you pay in £1000 a month

So provided you pay at least £1000 a month into the account you can be overdrawn for up to 5 days a month without it costing you a penny. Surely that's what an overdraft is intended for, a buffer zone rather than a permanent state of finance?

opinions4u

Grade_A_Reject wrote: »

So provided you pay at least £1000 a month into the account you can be overdrawn for up to 5 days a month without it costing you a penny. Surely that's what an overdraft is intended for, a buffer zone rather than a permanent state of finance?

I think this thread shows a significant problem that people have.

Either through foolishness or genuine need, they have fallen in to a state of permanent reliance on their overdrafts. At some point in time they have lived beyond their means, borrowed from the bank, and then never repaid that debt. Dangerous game when overdrafts are renewable annually and a bank can demand repayment without notice.

I think the context of the change on this account needs to be looked at:

1) It is clearly a response to complaints about bank charges and their legality. This suggests other providers will also be reviewing their charging structure.

2) 6.9% is a ridiculously low rate for an overdraft and is probably loss making.

3) There is little doubt that the 1% moneyback payment is also unprofitable. Posts here from people who are always overdrawn getting £100 a year for it and being charged less in interest!

In other words, for many people with this account that spend and borrow, you've had it good for far too long (and I'm one of you).

So changes of some sort have been inevitable.

This means you need to make a decision to get the best deal for your money. Do you jump ship? Or adjust the way you operate your account? Or switch to an alternative Halifax offering?

Jumping Ship: Big problem here is what happens if the competition follows? You've gone through the account transfer hassle for nothing. A&L or Abbey often look appealing on the surface, but the complaint experience of their customers seems like a bad idea. Will you get the overdraft limit you need elsewhere?

Adjusting (1): If you slip overdrawn by a few quid every month for a few days, simply manage your money a bit better. Operate in credit and these guys will pay you £75 a year (gross, £60 net) for doing it. Even if you have just 1p in your account after your £1k+ wage has gone in. Make this work for you - it's a bloody good deal.

Adjusting (2): If your overdraft is over £2,500 get it down to less than this and you'll half your costs. Come on, prices are falling, mortgages are being cut in price. Take the opportunity to get your overdraft debt down. You've never had a better one!

Adjusting (3): If you have unused limit, but being overdrawn is an absolute necessity, be disciplined and run your balance up to near the maximum, but at the same time stick the extra borrowing in to a savings account and earn some interest back for yourself.

Alternative Halifax Accounts: Their URCA costs £12.50 a month, but gives you a raft of insurances and an interest free £300 overdraft facility. Beyond this, interest is charged, but no £1 or £2 a day. Price up the value of the benefits to you. You can transfer your existing account to this and keep your same sort code and account number. I reckon if you add up the value of family travel insurance, home emergency cover (knock it off your home insurance policy), breakdown cover and a few of the other bits and bobs this could easily be the best deal for you. Unless you're skipping the foreign holiday this year!

HICA would escape those £1 or £2 a day charges, and while the overdraft rate is 15.9%EAR which is more than Moneyback, it isn't a million miles off market norm offered elsewhere. Again, transferring to this will retain your sort code and account number and while it will cost you more than Moneyback may be the same as what you'd be offered elsewhere.

If you choose to transfer there are a couple of things to consider:

1) If you've not received your Moneyback payment yet, and transfer, make sure you insist on it being paid. If I've read the press release right, the HICA option won't exist after 8th February so it will be URCA or Reward only then.

2) They may well change HICA or URCA later on. Who knows? They do hint at it. But at least by then you'll be able to see how the market has responded to the Reward account. Rather than going through the hassle of switching provider only to be given no choice but something similar from your new provider a few months down the line.

3) Depending on how much you are going to be charged each month, if you are going to switch to another provider it may be worth waiting until the Moneyback payment has been made.

Weigh up the options. Work out how you can get what's best for you and don't switch elsewhere unles you can clearly make yourself better off longer term. In which case, moving is a no brainer.

Switching provider on the back of this may not be as good an idea as some suggest.

Laurenbelle

Thank you for this reply, i think you make a lot of sense. Perhaps the next thread we should see is a "Paying off my overdraft challenge" i'd be game! Thank you again!

mooomin

opinions4u wrote: »

.

1) If you've not received your Moneyback payment yet, and transfer, you'll lose it. If I've read the press release right, the HICA option won't exist after 8th February so it will be URCA or Reward only then.

Nope, if you leave the Moneyback account, you just go to the branch to process the closure and they will give you the Moneyback payment. Checked this with friends who work in HBOS branches. I am taking my £83 Moneyback and going to Alliance and Leicester for their 0% overdraft and £100 welcome bonus. When I have paid off my overdraft borrowing (Within the next 6 months at the rate I'm going) and have received my £100 bonus, I fully intend to move back to Halifax, I'm just not willing to pay £1 per day while I try to pay my debt back.

YorkshireBoy

flying_fresian wrote: »

I am taking my £83 Moneyback and going to Alliance and Leicester for their 0% overdraft and £100 welcome bonus. When I have paid off my overdraft borrowing (Within the next 6 months at the rate I'm going)

You do know that overdraft matching is not guaranteed at A&L? In fact, a great many are refused if their accounts haven't been returned to credit for x days per month, or they simply fail A&L's credit scoring assessment. As it says on their site, overdrafts and the overdraft matching offer is "subject to status". If you've already got the A&L facility in the bag, then well done. Just thought I'd mention it's not all plain sailing with A&L.

opinions4u wrote:

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Can't 'thank' you from this PC (for some strange reason!), but just wanted say...excellent post!