With all the offers, how many current accounts?

With all the promotional offers for free wine, £25, £35, and £40 etc being offered for opening current accounts, is there any limit to how many you can have? Can it cause problems having a number of them? What is the most that anyone has? Do people take the incentive then close the accounts down a little time later or just keep them there redundant? Does anyone feel guilty for using the banks by taking the incentive and all the costs associated with setting the account up and then not using it? Is there such thing as a Current Tart rather than a Credit Tart...?:confused:


Just a few thoughts to mull over.

Anon

Comments

  • Rafter
    Rafter Posts: 3,850
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    I guess if the bank is sophisticated it can look at the number of current accounts on Equifax or Experian and decline you on that basis. Many of the offers have a £1000/month payment into account trigger to prevent 'gaming'.

    Because HSBC don't share account information yet you can certainly add this one to your wallet without triggering any controls.

    As for the ethics of taking the offer, I can't really be bothered for the amounts involved but I guess some people are. More fool the banks for making the offer in the first place I guess.

    With credit cards offers the cost is much larger. A balance transfer of £5000 at 4.75% (base rate) costs the banks £119 and is roughly what you could earn in interest in a cash ISA or similar. Someone who has £5000 existing card debt at 15% APR can save over £350.

    R.
    Smile :), it makes people wonder what you have been up to.
  • Anon
    Anon Posts: 14,545
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    I think the answer could be 5 unless others know differently - I tried to apply for First Direct but have been turned down due to "credit scoring" which apparently is not a sign of my creditworthiness just they are not interested in me (even let me know that my credit file is fine). It may not have helped that I ticked the box that I wouldn't be paying my salary to them and that I wouldn't be closing the other account...

    As I had applied in the past three months or so for Nationwide (overseas spending) and Smile (wine!), plus a few credit cards then maybe this counted against me. Never mind - I may review what I use my current accounts for and close some down.

    Anon.
  • VickyA_2
    VickyA_2 Posts: 4,533
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    My boyfriend and I have just (10 mins ago!) applied for a First Direct account as a joint account, which would be used for the paying of bills etc but our salaries wouldn't be paid into it. After what you've said Anon, we probably won't get accepted. Ah well, I'm sure that it's their loss. But the £25 would go down a treat!
    Sealed Pot Challenge #021 #8 975.71 #9 £881.44 #10 £961.13 #11 £782.13 #12 £741.83 #13 £2135.22 #14 £895.53 #15 £1240.40 #16 £1805.87 declared
  • Anon
    Anon Posts: 14,545
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    It may be the non-salary, but I doubt it - it is more likely that it is the five other accounts that I have and they have idenitified me as a current account promotions chaser!

    Anon
  • ashmit
    ashmit Posts: 622
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    It might be that the other banks have done credit searches and your total number of credit searches has counted against you, but credit reference agencies do not hold information on current accounts - I don't know why but it drives me mad when people think they do (I should get a life, eh?).

    https://www.econsumer.equifax.co.uk/consumer/uk/forward.ehtml?forward=fyi#whatinfo
  • M_Thomson
    M_Thomson Posts: 1,596
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    ashmit wrote:
    It might be that the other banks have done credit searches and your total number of credit searches has counted against you, but credit reference agencies do not hold information on current accounts - I don't know why but it drives me mad when people think they do (I should get a life, eh?).

    https://www.econsumer.equifax.co.uk/consumer/uk/forward.ehtml?forward=fyi#whatinfo


    I have my experian credit report here and both my Smile and Halifax current accounts are listed along with the amounts of the overdrafts on each. So maybe Equifax don't list them, but Experian do!! If you have a Visa Debit Card the bank is giving you a form of credit after all. If you use that card to guarantee cheques at £100 each you are given the potential to spend £3000.
  • Anon
    Anon Posts: 14,545
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    Equifax do list some current accounts - mine is showing the Cahoot and Nationwide bank accounts (report obtained this week).

    Anon
  • ashmit
    ashmit Posts: 622
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    Something incredibly strange is going on, because I have, like, tons of current accounts and not a single one is listed on my Experian credit report. Even the one with a Visa Debit card. I've checked the leaflet and I'm sure Experian didn't use to list current accounts but they obviously do now as they use one as one of their examples(!).

    But yes, I'll throw my hands up and say sorry. I should check my facts before shouting my mouth off shouldn't I? Sorry....
  • mary
    mary Posts: 1,584
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    For what it's worth, we claimed the £25 free money each from First Direct, ticked the box we wouldn't be transferring our normal banking to them. They offered us both the current account and the opportunity of their credit card. So we took the lot! Hitherto we only had our one normal current account and were only just starting out on the credit card game. The current account is languishing with just £1.00 each in it.
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