Multiple student accounts and credit checking

Gearoi

Hi all,

I'm thinking about going for a new student account with Lloyds TSB so I can take advantage of the regular saver 8% offer they have.

However, two questions come to mind:

1 - they say you have to have only a single student account - they will not let you join them if you already have one elsewhere (you have to declare that you do not)

2 - if I go with them for the regular saver offer, and then swap again after it has expired, am I at risk of having too many credit checks against my name and losing credit score? In general, do you mess up your credit rating by switching accounts?

:-S

Thanks in advance for finding time to reply.

Brgds,
Gearoi

:beer:

techno_geek

Firstly, welcome to MSE!

If you are happy with the student account you have at the moment, you could just open a Lloyds 'Classic' current account to get the 8% regular saver.

Otherwise, just go ahead and open a student account with them anyway... they won't know, and probably don't care, as long as you can fund both accounts.

Personally, I have 2 student accounts (and three further current accounts, lol) but I need the overdrafts to help pay for my accommodation! I haven't had any problems, as I use both student accounts as my "main" accounts, and have DDs and money going in/out of all my accounts to keep them active.

It's not too difficult to handle if you're careful with money anyway.



With regards to the number of searches on your account, its only multiple searches within a short space of time (i.e. 1 month) that mess you up. You can keep changing, but it will make you look like a blatant account tart.

Following advice I've read on MSE, the best thing is to keep your oldest current account active using a standing order from your "main" current account, wherever it might be, and then you can tart around a little bit (though I reccommend sticking with whichever bank you find gives you the best service!)

Hope this helps!

PandaPants_2

i too have 2 student accounts. When i applied for my 2nd one i said i had one but was swapping it to the new one!

Its a quick easy way to borrow a couple of hundred quid! lol

executiverocker

Isn't it illegal to hold more than one sudent account with O/D?

anniecave

not sure about illegal but i'm pretty sure it's in the terms and conditions of each account that you can only open one student account

techno_geek

Halifax's T&Cs don't mention not holding additional student accounts, but HSBC and NatWest's do.

Having said that, theres nothing to stop a financially-savvy person from having multiple student accounts like I do... all I do is have at least one DD going from each account, and make sure all are funded (I pay my bursary into my HSBC account, the allowance from my parents and my wages go into my NatWest Account, and my student loan goes into my Halifax account).

To make sure all are totally active, I do the following: In the first week of the month, for example, I take my NatWest Debit card with me, my HSBC debit card in the second week, my Halifax card in the third week, my NatWest card in the fourth week of the month, etc...

I have a system whereby I budget £x a month from my student loan and simply pay money from my Halifax account to whichever account I've spent on...

It's tricky, but possible!

PandaPants_2

my main job wasge go into one account and i have my casual job wages in the other with my mobile phone bill and house insurance dd's coming out, everything else comes out of the main account.

Easy peasy!

Meatballs

Just remember that it is at the bank's discretion, and they can revoke the 0% overdraft at any time. If you are using the overdraft to live that can cause you some pain, but if you are just using it to earn interest on etc its not a problem.

djhworld

If the bank finds out you have two student accounts (as said above) they'll take the interest free o/d away and you'll be forced to pay up or pay the interest.

PandaPants_2

im not likely to wander in and tell them.... :rotfl:

djhworld

Yeah but they probably check on a regular basis. Regardless of whether you tell them anything, they can easily find out.