Want to leave A&L after 2 months...

The_Moog_2

and return to my thankfully not closed Halifax account (having borrowed from elsewhere to clear the damned OD that was the bugbear that caused me to - rashly with the benefit of hindsight - stick two fingers up to them).

Does anyone know if I will be penalised for this? I appreciate that they will probably want their £100 switching fee back, but will there be any other penalty?

opinions4u

No idea if A&L claw-back their £100, but it may be worth asking the local Halifax branch if they still have the £50 incentive to move your direct debits and wage back to them.

MoodyBlues

How long would you have to keep the A&L account for them not to attempt to claw back their switching fee?

missile

AFIK there is no claw back by A+L for the switching fee. Be careful to keep funding the account until closure or you will be hit with charges.

ajharris

The_Moog wrote: »

and return to my thankfully not closed Halifax account (having borrowed from elsewhere to clear the damned OD that was the bugbear that caused me to - rashly with the benefit of hindsight - stick two fingers up to them).

Does anyone know if I will be penalised for this? I appreciate that they will probably want their £100 switching fee back, but will there be any other penalty?

I would advise you to go with one of the big ones i.e Barclays, LTSB, Natwest or HSBC/First Direct. Do not allow the paltry incentives to seduce you. Having read through these forums it seems that the vast majority of people who have been with their banks for many years and would never change are with one of the afore mentioned institutions.

The wannabe banks i.e Halifax, A+L and the dreaded Santander/Abbey:eek: seem to be constantly slated. In my opinion and that of many others on this site their customer service is poor. I made HSBC my main current account as I was very dissatisfied with Nationwide, the service with my new bank is better by a country mile. They deal with things far more quickly and are generally much more on the ball. The staff at Nationwide seem to have a siesta everyday and the in branch sercive is painfully slow.

Unimportant as it may seem I like the idea of being with a Bank who has not ponced billions from the taxpayer. HBOS of which Halifax is part have had an astronomical amount from the government.:eek:

onlypaddy

ajharris wrote: »

I would advise you to go with one of the big ones i.e Barclays, LTSB, Natwest or HSBC/First Direct. ............Unimportant as it may seem I like the idea of being with a Bank who has not ponced billions from the taxpayer. HBOS of which Halifax is part have had an astronomical amount from the government.:eek:

Bit contradictory don't you think, since LTSB and HBOS are both part of the Lloyds Banking Group, which ponced several billion from the tax payer...

Anyway, I agree. First Direct & HSBC rule!

ajharris

onlypaddy wrote: »

Bit contradictory don't you think, since LTSB and HBOS are both part of the Lloyds Banking Group, which ponced several billion from the tax payer...

Anyway, I agree. First Direct & HSBC rule!

There is nothing contradicory about that. I simply said that for a better service one of the big ones would be better. The fact that I like the idea of being with a bank that has not been bailed out has no bearing on this.

Also note the word UNIMPORTANT

The_Moog_2

missile wrote: »

AFIK there is no claw back by A+L for the switching fee. Be careful to keep funding the account until closure or you will be hit with charges.

Thanks - I have a plan of action ready. I have heard a few horror stories about closing accounts with them and charges over the past couple of days.

I really wish I hadn't moved to them in the midst of a Halifax temper tantrum now. Ah well you live and learn.

apt

If the £100 has been paid out it will not be clawed back. If it hasn't I would hang on for a few weeks and leave when it's gone through. If you applied through a cashback site again it would make sense to hold on until the £45/£50 has been paid out. Another thing to consider is that the Premier account has free European travel insurance. That is a decent perk which you could keep by just bouncing £500 in and out of the account once a month, but move your everyday banking to a better bank.

jambosans

ajharris wrote: »

The wannabe banks i.e Halifax, A+L and the dreaded Santander/Abbey:eek: seem to be constantly slated. In my opinion and that of many others on this site their customer service is poor.

Halifax is not a wannabe bank, it's a brand name for Bank of Scotland, who are and have always been a bank. Customer service wise, HBOS gets just as much stick as the other Big Four (if you count Lloyds TSB separately). They've done the rounds on this section more recently because of their new fee structure. Santander a.k.a. Abbey, B&B and A&L seem to tip the bar from average customer service to poor. The OP has even stated wanting to return to Halifax after a move prompted from a knee jerk reaction to their new overdraft fee structure.

ajharris

jambosans wrote: »

Halifax is not a wannabe bank, it's a brand name for Bank of Scotland, who are and have always been a bank. Customer service wise, HBOS gets just as much stick as the other Big Four (if you count Lloyds TSB separately). They've done the rounds on this section more recently because of their new fee structure. Santander a.k.a. Abbey, B&B and A&L seem to tip the bar from average customer service to poor. The OP has even stated wanting to return to Halifax after a move prompted from a knee jerk reaction to their new overdraft fee structure.

There was me thinking that the Halifax was once a building society!