Alliance and Leicester Overdraft Question

Gordon_the_Moron

They offer to match the interest rate on your existing current account if you can show that your account has been in credit.

Does anyone know if you have to ask them to do this when you open the account or can you contact them afterwards and ask them to increase it. I ask because someone I know opened an account and the overdraft they offered matched his existing one, but he didn't close the old current account with HSBC, now four months on HSBC have upped the limit by £500 and the account is in credit (only by about a fiver but in credit none the less)

Gordon_the_Moron

Anyone????

Milarky

Here it is explained: Premier Switching Service important information

Overdraft limit matching is only available if the Alliance & Leicester Switching Service is used... We will consider matching your current overdraft limit subject to your previous account being active and conducted in a satisfactory manner.... We may at any time after notifying you in writing, change your overdraft limit or withdraw your overdraft facility.

It does not say that you have to request this at the time of account opening but merely implies it as you would normally request 'switching' when you first apply. However they must employ people to do switching at any time in an account's life so it must be possible to apply for the matching overdraft at any stage I would think.

However I would caution against using this. A&L could give the O/D and then withdraw it - is your existing bank likely to do the same? Also it is advisable to move your direct debits over by yourself gradually whilst keeping both accounts running in parallel. Switching services have a bad name and too much can go wrong. Only you know your own circumstances best.

(Why not just call them on the freephone and ask?)

Sponge

Milarky wrote:

...However I would caution against using this. A&L could give the O/D and then withdraw it - is your existing bank likely to do the same...?

Don't all banks say this anyway? Is a new bank, with a new o/d more/less likely to withdraw an o/d as a long standing current one?

If you use the switching service, does it actually go as far as closing the old account? Surely not. Surely it just switches o/d & s/o etc?

Gordon_the_Moron

He doesn't need the switching service, he changed his direct debits manually from HSBC to A&L.

The thing is at the time of the switch his HSBC overdraft limit was £1000 which they've now upped to £1500, he doesn't need an overdraft at the moment but if he was to need one (for example to buy a car which he says he may in a few months) it would be cheaper to borrow from A&L than HSBC.

M_Thomson

Gordon_the_Moron wrote:

They offer to match the interest rate on your existing current account if you can show that your account has been in credit.

Does anyone know if you have to ask them to do this when you open the account or can you contact them afterwards and ask them to increase it. I ask because someone I know opened an account and the overdraft they offered matched his existing one, but he didn't close the old current account with HSBC, now four months on HSBC have upped the limit by £500 and the account is in credit (only by about a fiver but in credit none the less)

When I opened an A&L account, they offered me quite a small limit compared to what I had with my existing bank Smile. I sent in 3 months worth of bank statements, and they matched it. This was after my A&L account was open.