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

nollag2006

CopperPlate wrote:

But if something goes wrong, I'm happy to have sacrificed the few extra pounds a year I'd make on my current account balance to make sure that the person I spoke to didn't fob me off, give me duff information, or just didn't bother their backside to do anything for me.

I think we could be both making the same point here CP. Both of us would probably pay a bit extra for decent service, that could help out when things go wrong

I’ve been with First Direct, as a very satisfied customer for 10 years, and was always impressed by their apparently good customer service.

It wasn’t until I needed their assistance in tracking down fraudulent transactions on my account, while I was in Turkey, that I realised how superficial all this was. The lady I dealt with in the first instance was really lovely and very helpful, but once I got behind that, I found First Direct to be inflexible and unhelpful in the extreme.

In the end, I have given up in despair, and have taken them to court for the £800, that I am out of pocket, as a result of their intransigence.

The Daily Telegraph have also agreed to take up the story, should I be successful, which I expect to be.

Its not too much to ask of any financial institution (whether it be FD, A&L, or anyone else) that they would help out the victims of crime, when asked to do so, by loyal customers.

digp

let us know how u get on

sprathore

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6148776.stm

First Direct to end free banking
First Direct office
First Direct says it is costly to maintain some accounts
First Direct is set to charge its customers for running a current account unless they pay in or keep a balance of at least £1,500 a month.

It is proposing to charge people who only have a current account a £10 monthly fee, potentially affecting up to 195,000 customers.

The fee will be waived if customers open a savings account or buy products such as home insurance or loans.

The bank said the move was aimed at dormant or rarely used accounts.

Primary customers

About 40,000 of its basic accounts are not used at all while a further 250,000 accounts see fewer than 10 transactions a month.

The new charging structure, part of an overhaul of fees for accounts and overdrafts, will come into effect in February.


I want to focus our efforts on our most important customers
Chris Pilling, First Direct chief executive

End of 'free' accounts?

First Direct, the UK telephone and internet banking arm of HSBC, will write to all its 1.3 million customers to let them know how they can avoid the £10 charge.

The fee will apply to those paying less than £1,500 into their account each month or those who have an average monthly balance below £1,500.

"I want to focus our efforts on our most important customers: those who use us as their main bank or who have a number of products with us," said Chris Pilling, First Direct's chief executive.


HAVE YOUR SAY
I closed my First Direct account this morning
Chris, London

Send us your comments

"Many of our customers do not enjoy the full benefits as they use us for a secondary account."

First Direct said it believed 85% of its customers would be unaffected by the charges.

"Some customers are more important than others because those customers who have the deepest relationship with us, benefit from the offer we have got," Mr Pilling said.


Maybe First Direct is a sacrificial lamb, put out there to see what's going to happen
Mark Gander
Consumer Action Group

Mark Gander of the campaigning website Consumer Action Group said First Direct's move was the first step towards the end of free banking in the UK.

"This is an example of banks putting their toe in the water of ending free banking," he told the BBC.

"First Direct is a small bank and maybe it's a sacrificial lamb to put out there to see what's going to happen."

I am glad its first direct as I bank with HSBC but if the customers of first direct leave it and change their accounts it will certainly teach them a lesson to me this seems like a test/experiment to see how people will react so that HSBC could decide if they want to follow FD or not.

Best wishes for 2007

Shradhey

Whitefiver

Closed my account - made it clear that the only reason was the imposition of the charge - did they care, not a jot!

Admittedly, this wasn't my main current account, and I used it only for my expenses, but it had a running balance of around £300, and usually only two transactions per month.

Regards,

White.

CopperPlate_2

Well, have opened two savings accounts and two current accounts and about to transfer from smile to fd. Have found their CS to be excellent, okay not great interest rates, but I'm not overly bothered about 1% on a reducing balance monthly over a year. So exempt from the charge as I've a daily savings account which admittedly pays rubbish interest, but it's there for immediate access and transfer to my current account and acts like a small pot for any spare cash/pence at the end of the month which, if I don't spend it, can be put into my ISA or somewhere else for the long term.

So I'll give them a go - swim against the tide... :rolleyes:

Redbedhead

I have found FD to be very good over the past 4 or 5 years I have banked with them. What I feel really lets them down is that if you want to use a branch you have to use HSBC and they are terrible. Machines are regularly out of order, you have to pay in cash and cheques seperately.

If I change from FD it will be because of that.

Phoenix79_2

Redbedhead wrote:

What I feel really lets them down is that if you want to use a branch you have to use HSBC and they are terrible.

Glossing over the fact that FD are actually HSBC anyway! :rolleyes:

CopperPlate_2

Phoenix79 wrote:

Glossing over the fact that FD are actually HSBC anyway! :rolleyes:

Of course

I have used the HSBC machines a couple of times - prefer to use the PO to pay in cash or post cheques if I'm not in a hurry for it to clear - and cash usually clears that day if I do it that way. They are like something out of the Ark though!

scaldyflash

As stated before they are penalising those who are less well off. They are disgusting parasites and I will close my account with them which includes a credit card, current account (with over £1500 going in) personal loan and child account. I am doing this because I believe that the banks make enough money by having our money. They do not need to charge us, they are doing it simply to provide more for the fat cats and for the shareholders. 17 billion pounds per year ! is that not enough profit ? Obviously not, they want to hit the little man. Well fu*k em I say, Fu*k em.

scaldyflash

Phoenix79_2

scaldyflash wrote:

As stated before they are penalising those who are less well off. They are disgusting parasites and I will close my account with them which includes a credit card, current account (with over £1500 going in) personal loan and child account. I am doing this because I believe that the banks make enough money by having our money. They do not need to charge us, they are doing it simply to provide more for the fat cats and for the shareholders. 17 billion pounds per year ! is that not enough profit ? Obviously not, they want to hit the little man. Well fu*k em I say, Fu*k em.

scaldyflash

A passionate statement! Personal banking equates to a minute percent of a Bank's actual profit. As for penalising those not so well off? Well....they give you the choice to leave. They aren't forcing you to bank with them. There will always be free alternatives. I myself wouldn't pay the 'fee' either but i wouldn't get so worked up by it! I'd just move my account to a different organisation. It'll be their loss at the end of the day