Have you been declined for a basic bank account?

debecca

I got rejected for a basic Lloyds account, despite no debt ever in my life (bar student loan), and being full-time employed as a teacher. They cited my credit reference and suggested I contact Equifax, and the other two.

I paid £7 to contact all three and guess what? A perfect credit history. So, I went into the bank and they opened the account then and there, no questions asked. I am in the process of writing a letter of complaint to Lloyds (now my regular saver is open) to get my £7 back, plus the cost of petrol and inconvenience to go into town (10 miles away).

It made us mad. What was particularly grating was the fact that we were told we couldn't open a current account just to have the regular saver and we had to deposit £1000 a month. When I asked to see this condition in writing (as it was not on the website) the lady disappeared and came back with the manager, who repeated this lie. Eventually, after demanding the condition in writing several times, them wandering off to "try to find the literature" without success, they agreed we could have it.

Amusingly, all the customer literature on the current accounts was being moved OUT of the main section of the bank as we left so we didn't "discover" their lie. Idiots.

If it weren't for their good interest rate I would NO WAY bank with them.

sgx.saint

Any bank can refuse to accept you as a customer without giving a reason, just as any shop can refuse to serve you etc etc.

This is true. The FSA does not currently 'force' banks to ensure that they have an account that is available to everyone. They have however made strong recommendations to the banking industry to ensure that all banks offer some form of basic account, which should in theory be available to the majority of people.

But again, it is upto the bank whether they accept your application or not.

In relation to the other things being discussed on here, I am a little confused where the topic of fraud came from?