Return of the First Direct 'Easy £25 Loophole'?

Rave

Hi,

I received a junk mail from First Direct today (or yesterday, since I'm posting after midnight). It is inviting me to open a First Direct bank account and promising to credit me with £25 if I deposit £100 to the account by 31/3/06. Now, I've read all the small print on the letter itself, and there is no mention at all of needing to transfer your salary to the account to get the cash. I've also had a quick scan of the full terms and conditions booklet (can't really be bothered to read it in full) and again no mention of needing to pay in your salary. This would be handy for me, since I'm currently unemployed and don't actually have one!

All you have to do (apparently) is open an account by phone on 0800 24 24 24. So, is this the return of the famous loophole? Anyone want to be the guinnea pig? I'm always a bit chicken about this sort of thing but if it really is quick and easy I'll jump on it.

Sorry if this has already been mentioned and is a repost. The loophole page on the site hasn't been updated though and I didn't see it in the email.

Edit: BTW, if anyone is interested in specific details of the letter, T&Cs etc., just ask and I'll reply tomorrow.

K9cuddles

I'm up for trying it too..just seen this!!

Rave

Heh....FiscalFox beat me to it by 52 minutes. I spent nearly that much time searching the website to see that it wasn't a repost and reading the T&Cs:doh:.

tomstickland

I've already got an unused account with them. Can I close it and open a new one?

Rave

It's clearly a new customer offer, the small print at the end of the letter actually apologises to existing customers who have received the mailshot in error. Still, you could try, if the account is unused you don't have much to lose by shutting it down.

hansi

I used to have an account with them but closed it down years ago. Would I qualify for this offer?

FiscalFox

Hi Rave! I spent some time looking for others who have posted it too! Usually i don't even read this kind of lousy junk mail, but with the ideology of this site in mind, I've gone ahead and opened the account!

Caped_Avenger

tomstickland wrote:

I've already got an unused account with them. Can I close it and open a new one?

Yeah, but you won't get your £25 incentive.

hansi wrote:

I used to have an account with them but closed it down years ago. Would I qualify for this offer?

No.

It's not for existing or previous returning customers. Don't waste your time, you won't get it.

Rave

FiscalFox wrote:

Hi Rave! I spent some time looking for others who have posted it too! Usually i don't even read this kind of lousy junk mail, but with the ideology of this site in mind, I've gone ahead and opened the account!

Quite right:). As I understand it, this was one of last year's best loopholes, it even merited its own article:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1109177798,56586,

tomstickland

I'll suggest it to my sister - £25 for free.

dixie_dean_2

Anyone had any joy with getting the £25? Just wondeerd if anyone could confirm whern the money would be creditited as, if i remember correctly from previous posts, there was a lot of different opinions based on T and C, customer service, rumour and rumour.