Basic Bank Account Thread

Tabitha_T

Morning, there is some truly shocking banking service around. Having said that we had a very positive experience at Barclays and then realised that as my OH had a Visa card we should not become customers so sadly are not able to use this account. They were very good though and we did come away with our account number the same day and received our debit cards within 3 days. The only credit check was to confirm that we were on the electoral role. We have now gone to the Nationwide and although
the woman was pretty offhand anda bit stroppy, we have got the account
opened and await our account number, allegedly within three days. They only have a cashcard at the moment but apparently this will soon be changing and we should be able to get debit cards. You really need to check the list (which we didn't do first time round, doh) of which bank is affiliated or owned by whom). As was posted on this thread, the creditors have the right to offset and can claim monies owed through accounts of companies within their financial divisions, scary. I recently applied for a job with the Halifax as a meeter and greeter and opener of accounts. It was almost entirely commission based (which they don't tell you before the interview) and their sole intention is to get people to open accounts that will pay the staff the most commission. Certainly not my style to do the hard sell to people so needless to say turned the job down! Good luck to those trying to find basic bank accounts. When asked why we wanted a basic account, we simply said 'because our accountant has told us that's what we need', that seemed to shut them up and they got on with it! Happy Bank Holiday weekend (there is however no peace, just had Egg card trying our landline and mobiles...) Tabs

kazire

hi just a quick question this may seem silly but.. can you have more than one current account? i currently have my current account and savings with barclays and am looking to get another card/account which i can pay the bills with, is it possiable to get another account with barclays or do i have to go to a new bank, but i dont want to have my wages paid into the new one i want the new one to transfer a lump sum into to pay bills ie shopping, is this also a valid reason to get a new account?

many thanks for reading any help muchly appreciated

muffin_man

I opened a Halifax Easycash account about 6 months ago to get the VE card to avoid airline payment fees. Don't use it for anything else. What I'm wondering is, if I open a Reward account (to get the £5/month), are Halifax likely to close my Easycash account? The £5/month would be a nice little bonus, but the VE has the potential to save me a ton in fees.

Hope this isn't considered off-topic, just didn't think it worthy of its own thread. Ta

Absinthe_Fairy

muffin_man wrote: »

I opened a Halifax Easycash account about 6 months ago to get the VE card to avoid airline payment fees. Don't use it for anything else. What I'm wondering is, if I open a Reward account (to get the £5/month), are Halifax likely to close my Easycash account? The £5/month would be a nice little bonus, but the VE has the potential to save me a ton in fees.

Hope this isn't considered off-topic, just didn't think it worthy of its own thread. Ta

I also have a Halifax Easycash account, and I opened the Reward account a couple of months ago, and they haven't closed it yet...

book12

muffin_man wrote: »

I opened a Halifax Easycash account about 6 months ago to get the VE card to avoid airline payment fees. Don't use it for anything else. What I'm wondering is, if I open a Reward account (to get the £5/month), are Halifax likely to close my Easycash account? The £5/month would be a nice little bonus, but the VE has the potential to save me a ton in fees.

Hope this isn't considered off-topic, just didn't think it worthy of its own thread. Ta

I don't think they would close it.

I have two accounts (one similar to the Easycash, and a current account that has an overdraft and cheque book). They haven't closed my account which is similar to the Easycash one.

Danstar_2

Jay_dee7705 wrote: »

Hello there,

I'm about to start working for myself and as I'll be a sole trader I've been advised that I don't need a business account. However, I want to keep my work money separate so I'm looking to open another current account. Can anyone advise on a bank to go with? My other account is with lloyds but I'm not sure if they'll let me open up another current account.

I was looking at a Natwest account? Are they any good?

Any info appreciated

Thanks!

JD

kazire wrote: »

hi just a quick question this may seem silly but.. can you have more than one current account? i currently have my current account and savings with barclays and am looking to get another card/account which i can pay the bills with, is it possiable to get another account with barclays or do i have to go to a new bank, but i dont want to have my wages paid into the new one i want the new one to transfer a lump sum into to pay bills ie shopping, is this also a valid reason to get a new account?

many thanks for reading any help muchly appreciated

I have two current accounts with Natwest - student account, gold advantage account

book12

kazire wrote: »

hi just a quick question this may seem silly but.. can you have more than one current account? i currently have my current account and savings with barclays and am looking to get another card/account which i can pay the bills with, is it possiable to get another account with barclays or do i have to go to a new bank, but i dont want to have my wages paid into the new one i want the new one to transfer a lump sum into to pay bills ie shopping, is this also a valid reason to get a new account?

many thanks for reading any help muchly appreciated

You can have more than one current account, with the same bank.

NATO_4

Dottydoodah wrote: »

Hi
I am in a bit of a pickle.
I am a New Zealander now permanently resident in UK. I have now been here 1yr exactly. I am a registered nurse in full time employment, but i have been refused a Santander bank account. They only asked for my passport as ID in the branch. I got no explanation as to why i was refused.
As i have no credit history in UK i have had to stay at my daughters house and have no utility bills in my name. Stupidly, i have just realised that my NZ drivers licence has recently expired and renewing that is going to take a while!!
Is there ANY bank account that is open to me which only requires my passport that WILL accept me?
All i want it for is to pay in my salary and service direct debits as and when i get some!

Thanks in advance

Go with Halifax. You only need one form of ID, and it can be done through post, so you don't have to waste your time with some of the incompetent staff in the banks. Also Lloyds in Woolwich will give you (including people with no credit) a full current account with cheque book with no proof of address, and 1 form of ID.

seaniboy

A friend just about landed on UK shores as a permanent move, they have a EU passport but need a account asap with on-line application as they leave in a few days and quickly need account details & have the card asap as they need to transfer money across on-line from their Europe account, any suggestions MSE as to who delivers cards quicker with on-line application ?


A/C address used will be mine for opening. Santander/A&L is a no no - im porting out.

book12

seaniboy wrote: »

A friend just about landed on UK shores as a permanent move, they have a EU passport but need a account asap with on-line application as they leave in a few days and quickly need account details & have the card asap as they need to transfer money across on-line from their Europe account, any suggestions MSE as to who delivers cards quicker with on-line application ?


A/C address used will be mine for opening. Santander/A&L is a no no - im porting out.

Try Halifax or Natwest/RBS.