MSE News: Reaction to Halifax's changes

marcharrison1979

rb10 wrote: »

What an odd post...

Your friends may think that you are ever so slightly strange for doing that.

Do you reckon I should send an email to everyone I know warning them never to deal with Sainsbury's again. After all, they put up the price of Baked Beans by 10p last week. That really isn't on, a company changing the way it charges for goods or services.



Did it ever occur to you that it might be better to pay off the overdraft with the savings? That way, you can pay zilch in overdraft interest, and benefit from the whole of the £5 Reward from Halifax.

I somehow think that you're not entirely for real...

Mmmm... when ya put it like that I finally see the error of my ways. The £5 per month is a cracking deal and would come in real handy, I could splash out on 7 tins of sainsbury's beans for that!

Honestly the way you guys keep banging on about that £5 reward each month, like it's something special. LOL!
We'll charge ya 50p a day for your overdraft but we'll give you a WHOLE £5 back! like you're doing people a favor! LOL!
Everyone can see that deal for what it is and they can see you for what you are!

opinions4u

marcharrison1979 wrote: »

Mmmm... when ya put it like that I finally see the error of my ways. The £5 per month is a cracking deal and would come in real handy, I could splash out on 7 tins of sainsbury's beans for that!

I got 8 tins of Heinz beans in Tesco for £3 yesterday.

The offer expires on 3rd November, if that helps.

You really aren't savvy when it comes to getting a great deal on beans.

never-in-doubt

opinions4u wrote: »

I got 8 tins of Heinz beans in Tesco for £3 yesterday.

The offer expires on 3rd November, if that helps.

You really aren't savvy when it comes to getting a great deal on beans.

Well in cuba, I got 20kg of beans for 1 peso but had to send them back cos they were the wrong sort! I wanted coffee not bloody broad beans!

funky_snow

I'm the type of person who is going to be hit by this - I generally go about £300-400 overdrawn (authorised) for a couple of weeks each month and typically its costing me a couple of pounds - and would now cost about £12. At least I'm not living hand to mouth though - and am able to shift some savings into my current account to stop these charges.
However not impressed by the way its been done - and the way it seems to hit the people that have small overdrafts - whereas the real spendthrifts with huge overdrafts will be sitting pretty.

On a separate note... I may through circumstances have to change my bank as getting a new job with a bank and I think I have to open a current account with them for my salary. Am I right in thinking that if I keep my Reward account and transfer £1000 over each month to Halifax - even if I then transfer it straight back out the next day I will get £5 per month - so £60 for doing nothing other than setting up 2 standing orders???
Or am i missing something in the small print????

bristolleedsfan

funky_snow wrote: »

Am I right in thinking that if I keep my Reward account and transfer £1000 over each month to Halifax - even if I then transfer it straight back out the next day I will get £5 per month - so £60 for doing nothing other than setting up 2 standing orders???
Or am i missing something in the small print????

Yes correct. Even worth keeping a SO or DD in it so as to use it for a A+L, Abbey, Nationwide switch for cash incentive without such a switch affecting much of your life. Also for a short space of time 3 reward accounts can be opened so that 1000.00 into Halifax can be turned into 15.00 a Month in cash.

solutionary

I will still keep some accounts with Halifax but not my current account - It's so easy to switch why would you stay!

lisa701

realshannon wrote: »

I am like dooie, its all well and good if you are lucky enough to be able to move and repay the overdraft just like that but what about the overdraft if you cant?

I'm in a similar situation. After 3 years where we have both experienced several episodes of unemployment and low paid work we have fortunately both got work. However, having no income for such a long time has meant our savings have now been cleared out as we had to find the money from somewhere to pay our mortgage, utility bills etc. The next blow came when we were told that we would both be transferred from weekly to monthly pay which has meant we had to go through a period where no money was deposited into our account but all the usual bills were still withdrawn. No one offered us any sympathy or help so the result is a £1100 overdraft that we will find impossible to clear as we don't earn the sort of money needed to clear it in a short period of time.

Just as we thought we could begin to see light at the end of the tunnel, HBOS decided to increase the overdraft charges so we now face a £30 per month bill. That money would have helped reduce what we owed but will now disapear into the bank charges black hole. Long term this will only go to increase what we owe and make it taken even longer to clear the debt.

Due to redundancy we fell behind on our mortgage repayments (so called protection insurance we paid for was useless) so we now have a poor credit score. This means we cannot take out a loan, credit card or new bank account, so we have been forced into a corner and will now have to pay the £30 per month charge to HBOS.

Babbler

This article may be of interest to those who can move:

http://www.lovemoney.com/news/current-accounts/beware-of-this-outrageous-bank-ripoff-4069.aspx?source=1000405

and this was discussed here originally:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=26332739#post26332739

WRITE TO THE BANK!!

If every customer wrote to them with disgust they would have to re-think this.

PROLIANT

Babbler wrote: »

If every customer wrote to them with disgust they would have to re-think this.

.....every customer who doesn't fit the status quo.

For those of us who are happy with our accounts there is no problem, like I have stated previously, the ideal solution would be for the bank to transfer those overdrafts of people who will struggle on to a fixed, low-rate loan and either zero their overdraft facility or offer them a free £300 overdraft if they wish to switch over to the Ultimate Reward Account.

Problem solved.

neil9313

lisa701 wrote: »

I'm in a similar situation. After 3 years where we have both experienced several episodes of unemployment and low paid work we have fortunately both got work. However, having no income for such a long time has meant our savings have now been cleared out as we had to find the money from somewhere to pay our mortgage, utility bills etc. The next blow came when we were told that we would both be transferred from weekly to monthly pay which has meant we had to go through a period where no money was deposited into our account but all the usual bills were still withdrawn. No one offered us any sympathy or help so the result is a £1100 overdraft that we will find impossible to clear as we don't earn the sort of money needed to clear it in a short period of time.

Just as we thought we could begin to see light at the end of the tunnel, HBOS decided to increase the overdraft charges so we now face a £30 per month bill. That money would have helped reduce what we owed but will now disapear into the bank charges black hole. Long term this will only go to increase what we owe and make it taken even longer to clear the debt.

Due to redundancy we fell behind on our mortgage repayments (so called protection insurance we paid for was useless) so we now have a poor credit score. This means we cannot take out a loan, credit card or new bank account, so we have been forced into a corner and will now have to pay the £30 per month charge to HBOS.

Surely you got an interest free loan from yr employer?