Should I switch to First Direct

lb375

Hi,

I am currently with Alliance and Leicester (A&L) and thinking to switch to First Direct as £100 bonus is rather tempting. A few questions:

1. Can the minimum £1500 a month come from different sources? (e.g. £1200 from salary and the rest from a transfer from my husband's A&L account in the month?)

2. Does £1500 need to stay in the account? or it can be used on spending through the month?

3. Are there any monthly charges if I pay £1500 per month and don't go overdraft?

Many thanks for your advices.:T

stephane_2

1) I believe you can but maybe best to check with them and to get the £100 you'll also need to use their switching service to transfer all direct debit, standing order etc....
2) no it does not, of course you can spend it
3) if you pay in the minimum requested you won't and if you have one of their product like saving account you won't either

powerone

You will need to open a saving account to get free banking.

You might be allowed to spend the £1500 a month as well, which is handy for a bank.

Whilst you should be able to get away with putting the money in as you suggest. However you need to open an account, which is sometimes harder than it looks.

benblowers

First Direct won the award for the top customer service recently I beleive, I have always liked First Direct.

deebeepee

The £100 credit is just a handy bonus,

I switched to First Direct from Abbey 3 months ago, and I can honestly say I've never had a better service or experience from any bank.

I'm always looking for the best deals so over the past 6 years I've been with HSBC, A&L, Smile and Abbey, none compare to this bank.

Calls answered straight away, pleasant, chatty, UK staff, your kept up to date on the whole transfer process by posh welcome packs and letters, I've had a phone call checking everything was ok and I was happy with the process...

Words just cannot describe, its been fantastic so far, best thing I ever did.

Its £10 a month for the account, but as long as £1,500 is CREDITED to the account each month its free, so yes that can be a salary of £1,200 and then £300 by transfer from another account. As long as a total of £1,500 goes in at some point along the month your fine. If you've got the time you can take the £300 out of a cash point outside the bank and go inside and deposit it back in!

Totally worth it I'd say though,

Any

I am just in process of switching...
I applied online on Friday and the paperwork was already at home yesterday when I got home.

So far so good. I believe they did win best customer service prize. That is why I picked them.

Let's see how easy it will be to switch everything over.. I ticked the easy switch service box. Fingers crossed!

young_money_saver

i've not and no one I know is with first direct but if somebody asked id recommend them as i've never heard one bad thing about them and they have won numerous awards.

anselld

You will not regret switching to FD.

Also worth asking on the referals board as FD have been known to give £50 for a referal from existing customer which most are willing to share 50:50. (This is on top of the £100)

Locana

Any wrote: »

I am just in process of switching...
I applied online on Friday and the paperwork was already at home yesterday when I got home.

So far so good. I believe they did win best customer service prize. That is why I picked them.

Let's see how easy it will be to switch everything over.. I ticked the easy switch service box. Fingers crossed!

Did they tell you you were successful online? I have just applied and they said 'thanks you for applying, we will contact you shortly'...

Thanks
L

knightfox

Locana wrote: »

Did they tell you you were successful online? I have just applied and they said 'thanks you for applying, we will contact you shortly'...

Thanks
L

Everyone gets this.

They will then credit search you and you either get a letter rejection or the forms to sign. Return forms and more checks with employers and other things. Then account open if you are lucky.

Locana

knightfox wrote: »

Everyone gets this.

They will then credit search you and you either get a letter rejection or the forms to sign. Return forms and more checks with employers and other things. Then account open if you are lucky.

Thanks very much for this!