Advice on bank switch !

DAREDEVIL78

Hi, i have had a current account with the halifax since 1994 but am unhappy with their service and everything, i have my repayment mortgage with them and all my incomings and outgoings going through the current account (wages/debits etc)

I feel really undervalued as a customer and wondered if i went to any high street bank to apply for a similar level of account what would they do with all my debits / wages.

I understand most banks have a switching service but how do i stand with the haifax regards my mortgage with them.

Also i am overdrawn with the halifax by £1000 which i am tackling but what would this mean to a new bank with a view to setting up with them, i understand applying to open an account with anyone would mean surely them doing a credit style check ??

I was looking at santander/coop/nationwide as potential bank account suppliers.

Anything relevant would be appreciated !

BugsyBrowne

Barclays is a great bank IMHO I've been with them over 15 years and had no trouble with them, Santander well wouldn't bank with them if they had a branch next door to me, their customer service is horrendous, Coop are meant to be very good now to.

scott_lithgows

Open a new account then pay off the £1000 then deposit an amount into your new account which is about one months direct debits and standing orders.
Dont worry if it takes 12 months plus to do all this as it looks better when you apply for credit in the future if you can honestly say you have been with the bank/bs for more than a year.
Dont go down the Santander way of thinking.
Good luck!

xtonys2012

Hi

Related to above, I tried a switch from Halifax to Santander a few months ago.

Does anyone know if there is a protocol for switching from one bank to another? Should the switching service send a list of all active direct debits so the individual can choose which DDs to switch?

I ask as Santander switching service decided to switch all my DDs from Halifax to themselves automatically, which resulted in a load of work online and phone calls to revert some back to Halifax. I recently had a statement from MBNA which said I accrued £68 interest. This is a result of Satander switching my MBNA DD but only setting up a minimum monthly repayment, when up to that point I have always used full repayment. What can be done to recover this money.

I closed the account a few months after switching, as Halifax aren't perfect, but Satander screwed up in the first minute. I have only just noticed this problem with MBNA.

Is it too late to do anything?
Is there a process for switching that Santander didnt follow?

Thanks

Tony

DCFC79

Id say Barclays or rbs, both banks ive not had an issue(but then ive not caused any), been with rbs for 10+ years and barclays since last year.

Both accounts are easy to sign to and easy to navigate round.

SnowTiger

xtonys2012 wrote: »

Does anyone know if there is a protocol for switching from one bank to another? Should the switching service send a list of all active direct debits so the individual can choose which DDs to switch?

I recently switched from Natwest for Santander. I've read all the horror stories about Santander and expected anything and everything that could go wrong to go wrong and tried to prepare for it. I was pleasantly surprised: there wasn't a single hiccup. All of my direct debits and standing orders transferred to Santander without any problems. The only surprise I've had so far is the huge amount of paperwork I've received from Santander - twice receiving four letters the same day!

With switching direct debits it seems to be all or nothing. IIRC they sent me a list of direct debits before the switch began and another list of successful transfers afterwards. Three didn't go through, but they were old accounts that had been closed, such as for an old O2 mobile phone contract.

Perhaps the best way to selectively transfer direct debits is to do it yourself.

Macca83_2

With a switching service you'll usually have the choice of switching credits, debits or both to your new account but you cannot be selective with your debits. Its an all or nothing approach usually.

In terms of your mortgage you'd be looking at a remortgage deal. If you're tied into a rate with the Halifax you may find there's a charge for exiting early.