Fear of switching current account provider!!

PC1984

Hi,

I have seen that First Direct offer a current account where you can get 2 x £100 bonuses for switching over to them for your main current account.

That sounds great to me! But ive held my current account (for my salary deposits/direct debits etc) with Lloyds since the day i got my first bank account over ten years ago!

For some reason i feel reluctant to switch - altough i dnt think i have any benefits at lloyds. Is it bad to switch between current account providers? Does it have any kind of negative effect or am I remaining loyal for no reason....

Thanks!

Sagz_2

Thanks for posting PC 1984, I've been dithering about this too..... I've been with my bank since starting work 30 years ago!

Olipro

no, it makes absolutely no different whatsoever unless you try to agree overdrafts with all of the banks - best to stick to one at a time.

If you want to open a new current account, there's nothing stopping you from keeping the old one open as well - especially if your employer is a bit useless when it comes to paying into a new account.

Paul_Herring

PC1984 wrote: »

But ive held my current account (for my salary deposits/direct debits etc) with Lloyds since the day i got my first bank account over ten years ago!

For some reason i feel reluctant to switch

(Yes, I've been selective.) Open an account, any account, with another bank.

Start with a standing order from Lloyds to the other account. A tenner a week. 100/month. Whatever.

Use the second account for spending up to the standing order amount.

When you feel able, move some (one at a time) bills to the 2nd account. Increase the standing order accordingly.

You now have 2 current accounts. This should get you over the 'I've only been with one bank all my life' attitude. It may take a year, months, or weeks.

But you appear to be in the mindset of 'this is the only bank I've known.' Moving away isn't a sea change (well, it actually is, but still) - you can do it gradually.

Having done this once, and with the knowledge that most of the transations you moved manually (and, please! do it manually!,) can be done automatically, moving accounts can be painless.

Bloomberg

PC1984 wrote: »

Hi,

I have seen that First Direct offer a current account where you can get 2 x £100 bonuses for switching over to them for your main current account.

That sounds great to me! But ive held my current account (for my salary deposits/direct debits etc) with Lloyds since the day i got my first bank account over ten years ago!

For some reason i feel reluctant to switch - altough i dnt think i have any benefits at lloyds. Is it bad to switch between current account providers? Does it have any kind of negative effect or am I remaining loyal for no reason....

Thanks!

By all accounts First Direct are first class in every department. I use HSBC and have never had any problems with them. If you feel that you can get a better deal elsewhere then go for it, worst case scenario you can always change back.

I would not advise anyone to change banks because of the initial financial reward. Look beyond that, consider what they offer in general and ask yourself if you will be getting a good deal thereafter.

morg_monster

I banked with HSBC since I was a kid (well, Midland bank it was then!). Stuck with them through uni and was generally pleased with them. But I took a year out to temp and travel after uni and then I went back to uni to do an MSc, so when they withdrew my student overdraft I wasn't quite ready for that yet.

I changed from HSBC to Alliance and Leicester to get a free £1000 overdraft and some good savings rates. (and quidco cashback!) Once I was back in the black for good and had the A&L account for a year, the good rates dried up and I didn't need the overdraft anymore.

So I moved to Nationwide, again for good general rates and the cheaper money abroad. Both myself and DH had our own accounts from when we went travelling and then we opened a joint account too when we moved in together. 4 years later the good rates have all gone, I can't believe how the overdraft rate has gone from about 7% to about 19%. Also we have just bought our first house and will probably need a bit of a cushion overdraft for the next few months.

Anyway we are now in the process of moving our joint account over to First direct. The £100 is certainly going to come in handy but really it is the interest free £250 overdraft and all their good press that enticed us to switch over. We've been very impressed with their service so far. Their rates aren't amazing but they do have a good regular saver and ISA. The slowness of Nationwide to embrace faster payments also was a factor although I do see they have finally implemented this now. I'll certainly be moving my own current account from Nationwide over to FD shortly too.

It's a bit scary the first time you do it, but then gets easier!! I guess I'm a current account tart!!
Certainly I would echo the poster who says don't change because of a lump sum reward; choose an account that suits you - if you go overdrawn every month, you need a cheap/free overdraft. If you're in credit all the time, get a current account with in-credit interest. And i would say FD seem great and don't touch santander with a very long bargepole...

Rafter

Go for it.

The only scenario where it might count against you is when applying for credit - particularly a mortgage. The lender might want to see 6m bank statements which would be complicated if you had recently moved.

Can't fault firstdirect after 15 years with them. 2 minor issues (not FDs fault) in all that time and both resolved within minutes by calling them up and speaking to someone who could solve the problem there and then.

Good luck

R.

Bloomberg

Rafter wrote: »

Go for it.

The only scenario where it might count against you is when applying for credit - particularly a mortgage. The lender might want to see 6m bank statements which would be complicated if you had recently moved.

Can't fault firstdirect after 15 years with them. 2 minor issues (not FDs fault) in all that time and both resolved within minutes by calling them up and speaking to someone who could solve the problem there and then.

Good luck

R.

If for some unforeseen reason I reason I was to leave HSBC I would most certainly consider First Direct.

PC1984

Firstly, thanks to everyone who has responded to my post! All comments are really helpful and I feel much better now about switching accounts.

Paul_Herring posted a reply which suggested that I should switch direct debits etc manually myself - is there a reason for this? I know that with First Direct, they do it all for you (and it think that you have to allow this in order to receive the £100 incentive).

Im now wondering if there is a negative implication to letting FD do the swap over for me?

Also thanks for the wise words about considering the account in general long term - I was just looking at the intial incentive but will now go back and look in more detail.

Thanks!

Paul_Herring

Paul_Herring posted a reply which suggested that I should switch direct debits etc manually myself - is there a reason for this?

Nothing against FD, it was just a suggestion so you know you can do it manually, and so you don't get the impression it's some magical thing that only the banks can do.

PC1984

Thanks for clarifying! Your post was very helpful.
P