What happens to First Direct customers when they lose their job?

praxisizer

First Direct sounds OK if you have the 1500 a month coming in.

So, I sign up, pay in my > 1500 per month, then lose my job. So I cancel my account, because I can't pay the ten quid a month. What is supposed to give me confidence that I'll be able to get any normal bank account? Maybe all the banks suddenly find themselves noticing all of those accidentally-missed credit card payments now that I don't have a few thousand quid in my current account and a few thousand more coming in every month?

That doesn't appeal to me very much. If they instead showed that they put people in that boat onto some more-basic account that comes with the usual crappy telephone service, that would be not-so-bad. But they don't, right?

masonic

No, they charge you £10 a month and you get to keep the account.

Soubrette

Do they still have that condition where they waive the £10 if you have a second product with them?

Could you open an e-saver account and put a small amount in there or apply for a credit card or something if that is the case.

Sou

praxisizer

masonic wrote: »

No, they charge you £10 a month and you get to keep the account.

That doesn't appeal to me either.

masonic

...then you'll need to open an alternative account now rather than after your income stream dries up. I always take the precaution of having a backup account sitting there ready to take over in case I have to stop using my main account for whatever reason.

masonic

Soubrette wrote: »

Do they still have that condition where they waive the £10 if you have a second product with them?

They do still have that condition, although it only applies to 'selected' additional products. It isn't clear from the website what qualifies and what does not and it is probably subject to change at any time. I wouldn't want to rely on something like that as a way to get the fee waived.

EarthBoy

masonic wrote: »

It isn't clear from the website what qualifies and what does not and it is probably subject to change at any time. .

It tells you on the Charges page:

http://www1.firstdirect.com/1/2/rates/charges;jsessionid=0000cSsNT1mFU9Lu1RmK8b6chcp:11hkli840?clear=true

Banking Fee Waivers

You will not have to pay the Banking Fee:

• for the first six months following account opening
• for any month in which you:
  • pay into your account* (other than by internal transfer from another first direct account) a minimum of £1,500 or you maintain an average monthly balance on your account* in excess of £1,500 (month means calendar month and we will work out the average monthly balance by adding together the end of day balances for each day during the month and dividing the sum by the number of days in the month) or
  • hold a first direct mortgage, credit card, personal loan, savings account (*excludes Regular Saver Account and a Regular Saver ISA held for less than 12 months), first directory, or first direct car or home insurance policy; or
• in relation to any second or subsequent 1st Account in the same name. (If you hold a sole and joint account, your joint account will not be considered to be in the same name unless all joint account holders are the same); or
• if your account is inactive for more than 90 days and the balance of your account is less than £10

praxisizer

masonic wrote: »

...then you'll need to open an alternative account now rather than after your income stream dries up. I always take the precaution of having a backup account sitting there ready to take over in case I have to stop using my main account for whatever reason.

Interesting, thanks. I didn't imagine I'd find anybody here more pessimistic than I am

Do you have reasons in mind for why you might lose access, other than the First Direct scenario I raised? Fraud, maybe?

Does your backup bank ever threaten to close your account due to lack of money flow / minimum balance / phase of the moon? Which bank do you use for that?

masonic

praxisizer wrote: »

Interesting, thanks. I didn't imagine I'd find anybody here more pessimistic than I am

Do you have reasons in mind for why you might lose access, other than the First Direct scenario I raised? Fraud, maybe?

Does your backup bank ever threaten to close your account due to lack of money flow / minimum balance / phase of the moon? Which bank do you use for that?

Fraud is the obvious reason, but there are also lesser problems where I might want to switch to a new bank quickly like changes to T&Cs/interest rates and charges, or problems with the online banking site. You don't really want to be waiting for a month to get a new account set up and running when you decide you want/have to stop using your main account.

I have never known a bank complain about lack of activity on one of my accounts. I have accounts at Nationwide (Flex account used just for foreign cash withdrawals) and Halifax (basic bank account with visa electron card just for booking budget airline flights). These are sitting totally dormant most of the time. I also have other current accounts at Halifax and A&L where I just cycle through £500 or £1000 to meet minimum funding requirements to get certain account benefits (free fiver per month, high interest rate or travel insurance). Prior to that, I held a standard Natwest current account, empty with no transactions at all, for almost a year before I decided to close it.