Trying to open a current account

farquarpigmix

Hi,

At present with the halifax card cash account. Tried over the past 4 years to open a current account with them all to no avail. Yes had a bit of adverse history etc.

Tried 1 of them accounts which martin mentions but no got turned down. Am starting to think i got no chance of openning a current account with anybody.

Can anyone advise?

Dan29

Are you registered on the electoral roll at your current address?

Have you tried any "Basic" bank accounts?

farquarpigmix

Hi Dan,

Isn't the cardcash account a basic one? With that you get a cheque book & a debit card. Or am I getting the wrong end of the stick?

Thanks for reply.

NervousYetFeisty

Cardcash isn't even a basic account, is it? I thought it was a deposit account.
Have you tried Nationwide? I hate Halifax - as a mutual they were great but after the change they turned into gits. This was a few years back but I'm still a bit raw

Dan29

farquarpigmix wrote:

Isn't the cardcash account a basic one?

Sorry - yes it is, I didn't realise. Have Halifax said that it's your past credit history that means they won't offer you a current account, even though you've had the Cardcash account with them for 4 years?

farquarpigmix

Hi Dan,

Yes I phoned them up and thats what they said. Also I am on electoral roll as well.

Dan29

farquarpigmix wrote:

Hi Dan,

Yes I phoned them up and thats what they said. Also I am on electoral roll as well.

I thought the whole point of the basic accounts was that they let you show the bank that you can run an account successfully, and then after a while you can upgrade to a current account.

Then again, what does a current account give you that you don't already have?

NervousYetFeisty

I tell you, they're gits. They treated me so badly when I hit a rough patch at Uni (through no fault of my own) that I will never forgive them. They were completely inflexible and this contributed to my having to pack in the post-grad I was on (which would have led to a pretty much guaranteed job at the end) with only a few months to go. I'm still bitter.

Go to someone else. Try NatWest's Step account or go for a Nationwide Flex without the overdraft facility - you can pay bills online, which is fab, but you possibly won't get a debit card with the Flexaccount. I have a Capital One credit card wuith a huge interest rate which I use for purchasing stuff online and so on which I pay off each month (hence the interest rate isn't a problem) but I'd only go for that if you trust yourself.

Fedz

Another basic current account with online access and UK based 24/7 customer services is:
The Co-operative Bank : Cashminder account.

The debit card is obviously Electron and I understand that if you do faulter and have an unpaid direct debit and or go overdrawn by mistake they don't in general charge you but, give you 'three strikes' after this 'three strikes' they will then charge you for 'mistaken oversights' on your account!

Hope this helps.

tattooed_lady

I had a cardcash account for 6 years, requested an upgrade and was approved for a current account even though I had a very old default (it did drop off soon after I got account upgrade).

jonesMUFCforever

Dan29 wrote:

I thought the whole point of the basic accounts was that they let you show the bank that you can run an account successfully, and then after a while you can upgrade to a current account.

Then again, what does a current account give you that you don't already have?

Not quite. If no overdraft is permisable on account it is very difficult to show that you can run account succesfully! Banks can see by doing credit searches the 'bigger picture' before allowing an upgrade.
Late payments or defaults - no chance
Payments on time for between 6-12 months and no CCJ's - a chance!

It also depends on which bank your account is with.