Best Bank Account article discussion

regularsaver1

The only reason a bank statement is ever asked for in this case is if you tend to require a larger overdraft than the £1000 that is auto offered on switching. They may have had a quick glance and reviewed the overdraft

This sounds like an individual branch error - please do not think this is all the company.

You do not have to visit a branch if id was verified (this would have only been the case if you were an existing customer - not everyone is and of course in that case you would need to supply id) and you send the £100 from another bank and you do all the switching forms yourself downloaded from the website - otherwise the due to the amount of people trying to take up this offer they are thinking that it would be easier for the forms to be done in branch (they can only start the transfer or do the forms in branch once £100 received)

I still think you will have a problem transfering from a joint account to 2 sole accounts - your existing bank will reject the forms (as they won;t have the full account holders details on them) and you can't specify which direct debits to transfer and those to not I'm afraid

Snapelover

regularsaver1 wrote:

I still think you will have a problem transfering from a joint account to 2 sole accounts - your existing bank will reject the forms (as they won;t have the full account holders details on them) and you can't specify which direct debits to transfer and those to not I'm afraid

We're not transferring from a joint account to two sole accounts.

regularsaver1

ah my mistake - it was cdbe who said they were. They will have problems.

Sorry

so many posts with the same questions and themes

Snapelover

regularsaver1 wrote:

ah my mistake - it was cdbe who said they were. They will have problems.

Sorry

so many posts with the same questions and themes

That's ok. :cool:

captiva

I've had a similar experience with applying for this account online. i was told I needed to go into a branch to verify my id. Then I had a letter saying the account needed 100gbp in it before it could be activated.

I transferred the money from my current bank account, but was then told that i had to go in person to make the transaction. It left me wondering what the Halifax's online service was for if it required two visits to a branch to make something happen.

I hope the experience isn't typical of life with the Halifax..

regularsaver1

Funds can not be paid into the account until all id is verified. If an attempt is made the funds could go into clearing and then get sent back to your bank - you don;t want that trust me

The id needs to be keyed and verified first, and then pay the £100 at the same time - and thirdly they can do your switching forms for you there and then.

chriskilga

Hi

Just looking for some advice really.

I currently have a Natwest current account, which I am always overdrawn in at the moment. I'm thinking of transferring over to the the Alliance and Leicester Premier Direct Account to save paying charges whilst I try and claw my way out.

My only problem is I need to be in credit for at least 2 days in order for them to match my overdraft limit. I am usually about £2000 overdrawn at the end of the month and don't earn enough to get into credit.

One solution I was thinking of was getting a loan, putting myself in credit, then switching. I need to get a loan anyway to cover the cost of an IT course I'm undertaking.

This would then mean me paying things back from the alliance account.

Is this a sensible thing to do? I know I've gone on a bit, and I'm sorry, but I just need the best advice possible.

Thanks

ShoesAreDamnExpensive

I applied on-line for a Halifax account nearly 2 weeks ago - but as yet I have not heard a thing - no forms or e-mails or calls. I didn't see any reference on the original application to contact them but wondered if it's simply demand and that I should just sit tight and wait for the Halifax to get their act together.

As an aside why do these big banks make these offers and then not have the staff to cope with the demand!!!!

StayGold

Hi there,

I see Halifax offers £100 for newcomers. I received a letter from FirstDirect also a Halifax sub to get £75 for opening a new bank account. Their site shows a fee of £100 to join. Am interested but would like to hear about real life stories!

Has anybody opened a new account with them and can feedback?

Many thanks

wearside_2

I thought that I would share the experiences that my wife and I had whilst trying to close our accounts at the Alliance and Leicester. We both opened a Premier Direct account (current account), an Online Saver and a Regular Saver account twelve months ago. Having both paid the twelve payments into our Regular saving accounts, we arranged for all accounts to be closed. We were told that the savings accounts would be immediately closed and the balances paid into our Premier Direct accounts. They would remain there for a period of between 7-10 days whilst the account was static. The interest rate in this account is 6.1% for the first £2500 and a miserly 0.10% on the remainder. This is fine with me but as my wife is a non tax payer and receives interest gross, our savings are in her name.

This means that for a period of between 7-10 days we are receiving virtually nothing on the majority of our money whilst the A/L earns interest on it. The woman on the telephone could not explain why we had to wait for the 7-10 day period, nor could she explain why my wife would receive next to no interest on our money. We both expected that being online accounts, the balances would be immediately available to us and transferred to our external accounts.

I hope that this information is of use to someone who is thinking of opening an account with the A/L.