First Direct - Bank Minimum £ per month

davidoliver221

I am considering opening a First Direct account to get the £100 and I have read reviews that they are great for customer service.

On this site it states that £1500 needs to be credited each month (which is equal to £23,300 per annum). I have a salary greater than this but after tax, National insurance, pension, student loan, etc my take home salary is less than £1500.

Is it legal and still within the rules if I take money out and then put it back in i.e. creating 2 standing orders day 1: £1000 out, day 2: £1000 back into account. Would I be eligible for the £100?

Fiddlestick

davidoliver221 wrote: »

I am considering opening a First Direct account to get the £100 and I have read reviews that they are great for customer service.

On this site it states that £1500 needs to be credited each month (which is equal to £23,300 per annum). I have a salary greater than this but after tax, National insurance, pension, student loan, etc my take home salary is less than £1500.

Is it legal and still within the rules if I take money out and then put it back in i.e. creating 2 standing orders day 1: £1000 out, day 2: £1000 back into account. Would I be eligible for the £100?

It depends.

People on here have reported doing just that and claiming the money.

stephane_2

In principle it should work...but will it...that is a different matter. You'll have to do it for at least 6 months in a row...and if you don't want to have to pay the monthly fee after that then you'll have to take one of their other product like a saving account or credit card...their scoring is very harsh so you'll need to have an irreproachable credit file

knightfox

open a savings account put in a few pounds. Then you wont get charged.

As for the £100 credit, well you can try and see what happens.

blueberrypie

As advised by knightfox, the most simple solution is to just open a savings account like the FD E-saver, put £1 in it and leave it there. There are other products which also cause the First Account fee to be waived, but unless you specifically want one of those, the e-saver is the easiest way.

R34GTT

To get the £100 joining incentive just transfer in £1500 from your original bank account immediately after pay day and leave it in the First Direct acccount for 24 hours.

Transfer back however much you need to clear any overdraft you have with original bank account.

28 days later you will get the £100 credited.

To avoid being charged to use the bank account when your income is less than £1500 simply apply for the Everyday e-Saver and deposit at least £1.

:beer:

Loughton_Monkey

blueberrypie wrote: »

As advised by knightfox, the most simple solution is to just open a savings account like the FD E-saver, put £1 in it and leave it there. There are other products which also cause the First Account fee to be waived, but unless you specifically want one of those, the e-saver is the easiest way.

To me, I would advise going into FD simply because of their excellent service. As stated, just open a qualifying savings account to avoid any charges. Their 5% regular saver (don't know if this qualifies) is a top notch rate anyway.

premierfella

Loughton_Monkey wrote: »

To me, I would advise going into FD simply because of their excellent service. As stated, just open a qualifying savings account to avoid any charges. Their 5% regular saver (don't know if this qualifies) is a top notch rate anyway.

Unfortunately the Regular Saver (and Regular Saver ISA held for less than 12 months) do not qualify. I dread to think how much the savings accounts with £1 in them to get the fee waiver would be costing them if they still provided cash cards on savings accounts!

Meadows

We have been with First Direct since way back when (at least 25 years), never had a problem with them.
Any time I have needed to contact them (normally to check a detail on my account) I have always had prompt helpful replies.
We have had several different accounts with them (Savings, Isa etc) but never had a Mortgage, Loan or Overdraft so can not comment on the service you get from them with these products/issues.

I think you have to pay in or maintain a balance of £1,500 per month. I am always moving money out of our account to a higher paying saving account with another Bank/Building society and tend to keep very little in there through out the month.
Give them a ring to clarify the details they will be very helpful.