Having more than one a/c against the law?

Rich_4

Should've specified student account but there was a limit to the subject title! Anyone know the implications if so? I'm thinking of hitting up 5 banks at a time - using one for proper use, and the rest for a couple of different investments.

fragster

hmm, interesting question... having more than one student account definitely is not against the law, however when they are giving you money as an incentive, then if in their T&C it says you must not have any other accounts to sign up it could theoretically be judged as obtaining property by deception, section 15 of theft act. however i dont think banks have any legal right to find out if you have any other bank accounts, and if you sign up to all of them at the same time then you are not actually in breech of their T&C as you do not actually have any other student accounts at the time you sign up.

anyway in reality you dont need to worry about it, go crazy

disclaimer: I in no way condones going crazy*

Lucie_2

Read the small print. It may say that in order to get the freebies/overdraft facility etc you have to have your student loan paid direct in to the account

LouiseW_3

i would be careful, i have posted in another thread re Abbey credit checks. when i opened their account they told me it was no problem that i already had a student account and i didn't really even need to use theirs, which i did think was a bit odd at the time but i believed them!!

i've now ended up with loads of late payments on my credit file as i didn't pay any money into account for 5 months. despite people telling me this shouldn't affect credit searched Abbey themselves have refused me for a joint account with my partner.

just make sure you check T &C's
good luck
:0)

Rich_4

Thanks for your replies people.

I've decided that it might be too much hassle - all accounts seem to pretty much demand that you pay everything you earn/receive into their account or they'll close it which is a bit !!!!!! to be honest. Sure they're not as strict as that in reality though.

I have managed to save 4K in my gap year though, so once the interest is received at teh end of the year, maybe I could just setup standing orders for 50 a month or something into each account I open. Just blabbing - will look at the T&Cs as recommended

squarecat

When you open the account arrange to pay in your 'grant' cheque then arrange direct debit etc to transfer the money to each of your other accounts, as long as money goes in it doesn't matter how long it stays! I used the excuse that I was passing the money to my parents to manage! Another thing is to open a 'new' account each year, unless you are unluck they will probably assume you are a first year again, you can benifit from the 'free' overdraft etc even after you have graduated!

fragster

quotation marks are 'cool'

and it's a loan not a grant :P

ohit

Some people do get some grant as well, actually.

Anyway, if a bank states that you have to pay in your loan and/or grant, just say you won't be entitled to any of that. They will then tell you that you must pay in your income then, be that a parental contributions or whatever.

I did this and it worked. It also makes perfect sense, so they can't turn you down on that basis.

Good luck!

fragster

i know some people do

greyster

I've just completed a 4 year degree with one HSBC student account. While I was studying I heard the odd story about people opening 'multiple' student accounts which created the 'scaremongering' affect for many of us. We never thought about opening a second account again.

The truth of the matter is, it is not illegal. I've checked the "student account" T&Cs for several banks and they do not mention "not allowed multiple accounts" in any shape or form.

I've spoken to an account manager and two clerks from three banks. The only time they can refuse you an account is at the application stage. This is when you agree to a credit check. Yes it is true that credit checks lower your score slightly but if you have a good credit history you have nothing to worry about.

Secondly, banks tend to have an expectancy of students to pay in x amount per term or year. Its down to you to find out what is it for each bank. Failure to check does mean your overdraft could disappear without warning. This is the horror stories you hear. Student x has to pay charges for an overdraft he/she thought was 0% but bank z realised student x hadn't paid in y amount a term.

I'm in the process of opening up multiple accounts. I doubt i'll be doing all eight banks offering overdrafts but the ones that let me keep my overdraft in its entirety for 24 months post graduation.

If anyone is interested in what i find out with each bank, let me know.

jonesMUFCforever

I will start by stating I work for a Bank.

As far as I can see it is not illegal to have more than Student account. However if you are applying for more than one interest free overdraft you will be found out sooner rather than later.
All Banks require you to authorise them to do a credit search (if you do not sign authorisation - no account!) and too many of these in a short time may result in a CIFAS warning on your credit file as a possible fraud/multiple credit application.
Secondly when o/d facility is due up for renewal either yearly or in some cases quarterly a further credit search may be done and any other applications for credit will show and you may be refused further o/d or even be asked for o/d to be repaid within 28 days (as is the right of the bank- this is in their terms and conditions) then you may find yourself with a host of bank accounts but WITH NO OVERDRAFT facility even if you are not a fraudster merely someone trying to beat the system.