Avoid First Direct - They are gonna charge all customers £10!

moonrakerz

I moved to FD a few months ago because I was not happy with A & L, primarliy because of the good write-ups they got on sites such as this.

I got my demand for £10 a month this morning, I rang them and they will not budge on this. the fact that I have retired, do not have a mortgage, do not need another credit card/loan or anything else from them is irrelevant, they just want my money.

FD have now joined the rest of the banking community - what a bunch of shysters !!!!!!!!!

opel2000

I simply cannot believe there has been someone on this board saying "Its only £10.00 per month, and he seems to think that is a bargain to make possibly how many calls to FD's customer services"
If FD was any good you should not be needing to use the customer services.

Also if someone came up to me and offered me £120, pretty damn sure I wouldn't say no.

Absolute lunacy on the part of FD, Account moved, Muppets.

truth_2

opel2000 wrote:

I simply cannot believe there has been someone on this board saying "Its only £10.00 per month, and he seems to think that is a bargain to make possibly how many calls to FD's customer services"
If FD was any good you should not be needing to use the customer services.

Also if someone came up to me and offered me £120, pretty damn sure I wouldn't say no.

Absolute lunacy on the part of FD, Account moved, Muppets.

It is firstly a telephone bank so of course the customers phone the call centres. They have the internet as well. Unfortunately the bank cannot read minds so if a customer wants something done they do need to phone and ask!

EagerLearner

Truth - the staff have the power to pass on customer feedback to management, which in turn can get passed back to HSBC.

If FD do try and charge me £10, I will leave but not because I want to, because a good bank has turned greedy.

truth_2

EagerLearner wrote:

Truth - the staff have the power to pass on customer feedback to management, which in turn can get passed back to HSBC.

If FD do try and charge me £10, I will leave but not because I want to, because a good bank has turned greedy.

I am aware of that being a former employee. I have alot of friends who still work there and we have talked at length about this. However, there will be no movement on this, it is non neogoitable.

nwkat22

I have just logged on the site and seen the message. Also they are experiencing high call volumes - I wonder why. I have sent an email and told them in no uncertain terms that I think their decision is despicable and requested they contact me urgently as I wish to close my account. I suggest everybody do the same. I am in a position to deposit the money but would not stay with them as I have friends that are on low incomes, pensioner parent and student children. We need to vote with our feet NOW and hit them where it hurts and preventing other banks doing the same.

nbbradshaw

On their website today "we are currently experiencing high call volumes. You may wish to call back later. If you have a query about the charges announcement, you will be receiving a letter with details shortly."

digp

Paul_Herring wrote:

There appears to be a lot of "big bad bank" comments on this thread, all based on a single unsubstantiated "from a friend" comment by a new poster.

humble pie - eat - words coming to mind?

dchurch24

For a telephone bank, their number is decidedly hidden on their website.

jmfwilts

I worked out you need to earn £24000 per year to take home £1500 a month, assuming you have no P11D expenses such as company car or private medical. Seems a lot to me. The average wage is around £23244 (acording to ONS) - looks like FD don't want anyone who is below average.