First Direct £10 monthly banking fee (merged)

RedOnRed

Is anyone else a bit surprised at First Direct's introduction of a new monthly charge for balances below £1500?

This comes from a bank that's always sold itself on a free banking ethos.

I've been with them for years and have always found them the best out of the many banks i've been with. Luckily, because I already have other products with them and am fortunate enough to have a balance in excess of £1500 I won't be hit by their penalty, but I have to say it still leaves a nasty taste in my mouth.

pulliptears

Its been in the rumour mill for about 12 months. having just reclaimed almost £1600 in fees from them Im far from impressed with their service at present. We have banked with FD for 10 years but are in the process of setting up an account with NatWest.

Seems to me that they are tee'd off with customers reclaiming charges and have decided to add the charge to recoup a few fees. As per usual it will hit someone like me who budgets down to her last fiver. They can stick their bank account where the sun doesnt shine!!

WolvesFan_3

Explain_yourself wrote:

I work at first direct. If anyone has any questions regarding the new propositions i'd like to give any info i can. For the record I thouroughly believe that we are the best bank in the country and wont be drawn into any arguments. No business is perfect but I believe we are as close as is possible. If anyone has any queries let me know. I fully agree with the new ideas and I think any existing customers with first direct that hold more than one current account will be content with changes. As the UKs most recommended bank 15 years in a row we wouldnt be doing this if we didnt feel it was for the best for the majority of customers, and of course the business. There is no denying that, but why would we suddenly turn for excelling at customer service to an uncaring corporation? Media hype and frenzy gets people thinking illogcally. Its nice to see some people thinking in a sane fashion. obviously time saved dealing with dormant accounts is more time put into an already exceptional service to genuine customers.

I am one of your customers that is unaffected by the new charges as I pay in more than £1500 per month. However I am disgusted at the precedent that FD are trying to set and as such have applied for a new account at A&L and will be closing my FD account as soon as it goes through.

My parents have FD accounts and are closing their's today.

First Direct are purposefully discriminating against customers on lower incomes - pensioners, people on benefits, people with learning disabilities, people with physical disabilities etc

These are exactly the customers that DO NOT WANT a loan, credit card facility, insurance policy, a mortgage or savings account - they just need an account to pay their income into.

I wish FD had just been honest about it - "IF YOU ARE POOR, FIRST DIRECT DO NOT WANT YOUR BUSINESS" - it has very little to do with redundant accounts... FD are targeting a market and HSBC (their lords and masters) are conducting a bit of market testing for a new charging structure!

As a principle I reject the idea that banks should be able to charge you to use a current account (even if you are in credit!) - its just wrong. Only time will tell if FD's gamble has paid off... how many accounts are being closed Explain_Yourself?? Come on, spill the beans!

anniecave

there's a thread on the current account section about this ...

I have moved my main banking away from them now (I read the rumours here they were planning it) but i'm still keeping my old account with them plus I've just opened a new savings account with them so I avoid the charges.

To be honest I think it's a bit of a storm in a teacup, I think they're just trying to get rid of all the people who have accounts they don't use. Possibly they're also trying out to see if people would be willing to pay £10 per month and generally seeing what reactions they get. Just my opinion anyway.

babylon85

Was with First Direct for only a few months, a while ago.. I had to keep on re-registering for online banking, because one day my details would work, next they wouldnt (they couldnt find any problems/no one guessing details etc) - charging on a balance transfer, when they did not say it would (rate was 2% - they refunded half,after we told them we could go elsewhere, with 0% transfer rate), then finally - they refused to hand over our money to us! OH went to a HSBC bank, with correct credentials and made sure they had the money there etc, only to be told "you're not getting your money" - and locked our account down!

Needless to say, I'm now with Natwest (not the best bank, but at least I can get money/access account online).

I'm glad that I'm not still with them, if they're doing that as well!

lipidicman

WolvesFan wrote:

I am one of your customers that is unaffected by the new charges as I pay in more than £1500 per month. However I am disgusted at the precedent that FD are trying to set and as such have applied for a new account at A&L and will be closing my FD account as soon as it goes through.

Really? A&L? You might regret that unless CS means nothing to you

WolvesFan wrote:

it has very little to do with redundant accounts...

That's me! Been signing up and creaming the £25, and I will be off now! I suspect there are a lot of us

WolvesFan wrote:

how many accounts are being closed Explain_Yourself?? Come on, spill the beans!

The lady on the phone said they had been closing accounts all day

WolvesFan_3

I agree that to date FD's customer service has been good but I am a man of principle.....

Had a mortgage with A&L a few years ago and the customer service wasn't that bad... streets ahead of HSBC & Barclays (with whom I have had accounts)!

trets77

well it nice to see some response from First Direct staff on this site over this . is Mr Pilling a secret MSE member on the QT??????

after my rather OTT rant yesterday ( i have anger issues:o :rotfl: ) i have carefully consisdered the situation and decided to stay. as i have posted before with my Work, and lifestyle commmitments and as you can tell my low threshold for poor customer service and fools ,

FD previous Service , the fact i have do nothing to avoid the fees and conivenice of usage tips the balance. however my Sole cuurent account Stays with Lloyds TSB because of this ( and i was a mere 2 weeks away from starting the move). however if there is a next time or futher moves or this type i will be off. No IF'S OR BUTS !!!!. consider this your FINAL WRITTEN WARNING FD.

Also i would like one of the FD members of staff to tell WHEN ( no if !!) they intend to put their savings rates up in line with Bank of England ????? ICESAVE WILL benefit if you take me for granted on this one !!!!

digp

lipidicman wrote:

Really? A&L? You might regret that unless CS means nothing to you


That's me! Been signing up and creaming the £25, and I will be off now! I suspect there are a lot of us


The lady on the phone said they had been closing accounts all day

A&L C/S aren't brilliant but they aren't diabolical either.

Idiophreak

RedOnRed wrote:

Luckily, because I already have other products with them and am fortunate enough to have a balance in excess of £1500 I won't be hit by their penalty, but I have to say it still leaves a nasty taste in my mouth.

I can well understand that - it's a charge aimed at the people in society who can least afford to pay it. The whole thing's juts morally void and exactly the kind of thing you'd expect from (parent company) HSBC. I think if I were you I'd have to leave on principle.