First Direct Internet Banking 'Available Balance'.....

Altarf

Seems reasonable. I must admit on the limited number of occasions I use a debit card, I have never noticed a delay between using the card and it appearing on the online statement.

nitr02007

Seems to me if you need a "Live" balance on your account then you're admitting to not knowing how much you're spending.

Hmm, I had £1000 in my account yesterday - I have absolutely no idea how much is in there today. :eek:

Make a budget and track your spending - its the MSE way aint it?

I use FD and they're the best by far IMHO - and I've tried a few different banks over the years (Barclays, Natwest, A&L) with depressing results.

stella2009

nitr02007 wrote: »

Seems to me if you need a "Live" balance on your account then you're admitting to not knowing how much you're spending.

Hmm, I had £1000 in my account yesterday - I have absolutely no idea how much is in there today. :eek:

Make a budget and track your spending - its the MSE way aint it?

I use FD and they're the best by far IMHO - and I've tried a few different banks over the years (Barclays, Natwest, A&L) with depressing results.

Okay I see what you are saying, but I still like to see the true picture.

I'll hang in there for a while and see how things go.

heloid

I called and asked and they told me where it was. UK internet banking doesn't compared to the ones I have used back in New Zealand. You can do EVERYTHING and it's logical. Miss it.

ERICS_MUM

nitr02007 wrote: »

Seems to me if you need a "Live" balance on your account then you're admitting to not knowing how much you're spending.

Hmm, I had £1000 in my account yesterday - I have absolutely no idea how much is in there today. :eek:

Make a budget and track your spending - its the MSE way aint it?

I use FD and they're the best by far IMHO - and I've tried a few different banks over the years (Barclays, Natwest, A&L) with depressing results.

Not necessarily, the balance might include cheques paid into the account which are shown in the balance but where the money is not available for use until "tomorrow", i.e. after the Day 4 Unpaid process deadline. Or cheques that have actually been unpaid. Or automated credits passed on day 2 for availability on day 3 of the clearing cycle where the banks involved don't use the faster pay system.

Personally I like to do a "reconciliation" of the actual (incl uncleared items) balance against the available (all cleared items) balance every few days to (a) account for the difference and (b) identify items I expect to see on the account but aren't. To do this I need to see the available balance.

I'm with Nat West and find their on-line banking perfect for my needs. I must just be lucky in that I very rarely need to contact their call centres so I have no idea about the quality of their customer service.

Linda :T:T

mrmajika

Altarf wrote: »

A kludge solution I have used, is to phone them and get them to change the payment details to one of your First Direct accounts. Then if you did mistakenly use the obsolete bill payment the money would only go to one of your accounts.

I do something similar, I now ask them (after FD suggested it) to put 'DO NOT USE' next to the bill payment.

curiousgeorge1

Thanks for that tip Susanjane et al. This has been bugging me for a while that I couldn't see the available balance (after all pending transactions). I've phoned them up just to ask about the balance and have told them that the website doesn't show it. They really need to do a redesign.

nitr02007

ERICS_MUM wrote: »

I must just be lucky in that I very rarely need to contact their call centres so I have no idea about the quality of their customer service.

Linda :T:T

You are lucky indeed as when you finally do contact them via a call centre it might be because you need a quick answer or you've hit a problem that needs to be resolved asap, and then you find out you have to wait 20mins to be answered by an sub-contractor in India who reads from a script.

What I hate is when they say they will phone you back - i.e. for security conformation, and they can't say when that will be.. :mad:
(FD phones you back immediately:cool:)

Patchthedog

I've not had much experience of internet banking but I have found First Direct very user friendly, also it's been said before but again their telephone service is excellent.

lijaloo

I have used first direct for more years than I can remember, I was probably one of their first customers. It was originally a telephone banking service a long time before internet became the norm and that service is second to none. Someone is available 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Any problems have always been dealt with quickly and efficiently. Internet banking is convenient but I am sure that it is still mainly a telephone banking service.