should unused accounts be closed?

Paul_Herring

Porcupine wrote: »

If you have accounts that pay interest and you do Self Assessment, you have to declare to the taxman that you received 3p in interest last year on your account, and extract a tax certificate out of the bank to prove this.

The banks should be sending them automatically (and it's rare for HMRC to ask for them anyway.)

I'd close unused accounts because it reduces the risk of fraud. If you want one or two as fallbacks (as WhiteHorse points out,) I'd start using those a bit more often than 'never,' otherwise you may find that the bank concerned has suspended the account when you try to use it (or even closed as Barclays did to me.)

powerone

HSBC - I know they expect you to put in £1 every three months theat keeps the account ticking over. For the older accounts that is. The new ones expect more than that.

powerone

HMRC expect you to tell them about all your accounts on your self assessment form. You also need the Certificate of interest, which some banks make difficult in sending them to you. The wonders of computers.

Whilst most current accounts dont pay interest anyway is always worth considering.

Albansanne

After seeing these posts, I went through all the banking files last night, which were in a bit of a mess and I've started to log down any old or unused accounts. It's a great way to feel organised without too much effort.

adindas

This what I will do (Senior Member please provide your expert advice)

1. Close all saving a/c if I do not use as this is very easy to open.
2. Keep all of unused current a/c as long as there is no dormancy (underfunding) fee, no minimum regular fund requirement.
3. I will use my current a/c as a bait in case there is a switching incentive. In this case, I will Put 1 DD such as from you CC (as this is under my control), put 1 SO from my regular saving (as this is under my control) if there is no damange for switching a/c.
4. What I do not know here whether unused current a/c will effect my credit score ..

Could you please see whether I have missed something here.

Thank you

ADINDAS

evei wrote: »

I keep reading on here about posters having problems closing bank accounts.

Why do they want to close them?

I have quite a few bank accounts from when I used to follow interest rate increases and freebies and when finished with them I withdraw most of the money and leave a balance of 1p.

At the last count OH and I had 5 savings accounts and 4 current accounts all with a balance of 1p, between us.

Should we close them and if so why?

knightfox

adindas wrote: »

This what I will do (Senior Member please provide your expert advice)

1. Close all saving a/c if I do not use as this is very easy to open.
2. Keep all of unused current a/c as long as there is no dormancy (underfunding) fee, no minimum regular fund requirement.
3. I will use my current a/c as a bait in case there is a switching incentive. In this case, I will Put 1 DD such as from you CC (as this is under my control), put 1 SO from my regular saving (as this is under my control) if there is no damange for switching a/c.
4. What I do not know here whether unsed current a/c will effect my credit score ..

Could you please see whether I have missed something here.

Thank you

ADINDAS

As for credit score the latest accounts have started to show on my credit files. So as long as you keep to the T&C in credit and using the account correctly. Then there would only be benefits on your credit file. I dont think banks are that upset with having a couple of extra accounts when asking for a loan or something.

What I have found is that leaving an account ticking over helps me get a history with a bank.

nzseries1

adindas wrote: »

3. I will use my current a/c as a bait in case there is a switching incentive. In this case, I will Put 1 DD such as from you CC (as this is under my control), put 1 SO from my regular saving (as this is under my control) if there is no damange for switching a/c.

That's a really good point and actually I've done this before. I keep one old current account open just in case I need to set up a DD on it that can be transferred to another bank, and therefore get the "switching" bonus!

I like the way you used the word "bait"

adindas

Dear Albansanne

The easiest way to change the address is to get Internet Bank access, so you could change it by yourselves and after log on it just takes few minutes to complete.

ADINDAS

Albansanne wrote: »

This is really useful. My husband used to deal with all the finances but it's down to me since we split up. I keep finding statements etc so really need to keep track and probably close down accounts that I don't actually use.

adindas

I have done that myself to switch my 1DD and 1SO to get switching incentive 1 year insurance free with Coop.

nzseries1 wrote: »

I've done this before. I keep one old current account open just in case I need to set up a DD on it that can be transferred to another bank, and therefore get the "switching" bonus!

nzseries1 wrote: »

I like the way you used the word "bait"

I takes this one as a complement, Thank You

fenwick458

yes, close all unused accounts .

i made the mistake of leaving my alliance and leicester account open and eneded up getting charged £165 in fees. they wouldn't let me close it straight away because there was charges due to come out at the end of the month, but by the time the charge came out a new charge had gone on and i would go overdrawn and get charged more again. took 2 months to get it closed in the end, i'm sure they are not allowed to do this but i just though whatever and shut the account and got over it as they had already paid me £125 just for joining.