Bank Account Switch?

Damoc_2

Hi,

Nervous prospective bank account switcher here. I am currently considering moving the joint account my wife and myself have with Barclays to the Halifax. We have been with Barclays for over 18 years now but have recently become discontent with their service.

I recently applied for a Barclaycard to make use of their 0% balance transfer offer, and was shocked to find I was given an APR of 2% more than my current Tesco CC. This is despite never having had a single warning letter or going into the red at any point in our 18 years with the Bank. On top of this we have all our current savings held in ISA's with the bank.

I always believed staying with a bank long term would create a good relationship and allow for favourable credit when required. This took a blow last year when Tesco and VW finance offered me close to 3% less APR than Barclays for a car loan. So this has led me to rethinking my loyalty.


Positives;

• £100 credit for swapping.
• £5 for £1000 per month credit to account.
• Saturday opening (unable to visit my current bank when working)
• Savings offers for customer, second only to Nationwide imho.

Negatives;

• Losing my 18 years with current account, will my credit rating suffer?
• Nervous about credit and debit transfers.
• Familiarity with current online banking and having savings in one place.

Any advice welcome or i'm likely to urm and ah for another year or perhaps ten!

PhilAngeles

Go for it.

You can get better service elsewhere, and you've got your £100 + £5/month if you're putting £1k+ in the account every month.

Banks, I don't think, will 'Switch' your ISA, but leave it with Barclays for the rest of the year and then when it ends transfer it over to your next bank if you wish - or just go looking for the best interest rate.

innovate

Switching bank accounts is easy - see article on the main site for more details.

Halifax pay you £100 at present for switching - though whether this would be enough incentive for me to change to them, I don't know. If you ever get overdrawn at Halifax, they sting you badly with charges.

Neither their nor Nationwide's interest rates have much going for them - you can get better at other places. Also, you might want to think about having several accounts - e.g. there is no compelling reason to have your current account and savings account in the same place. There is also no compelling reason for having only one current account.

If you want to be able to make use of the best deals available, forget any notion of a long-term relationship with a bank. There's really no such thing.

timbo58

I swapped from NW to halifax 2 years ago.
Halifax screwed my account every month for 4 months in a row and I swapped back as soon as I could.
(Didnt pay standing orders/dd's to credit cards month after month and nearly got me a default notice from one of the CC's just before I was approved for my mortgage!)

Just my experience, I made a formal complaint, they offered £50, Banking ombudsman gave me £400.

Damoc_2

Thanks for all your views. You've certainly given me something to chew on. Perhaps I have under valued the fact that in 18 years of banking I am not aware of a missed direct debit or wayward credit. *touches wood*

Gromitt

If your worried about losing your 18 years banking history, just leave the account open. If anyone asks, you still have an account which has been open for 18+ years.

rb10

The history from your existing bank account (ie the fact that you've never been outside of your agreement/missed a payment) will still remain available to everyone, regardless of which bank you switch to. It stays on your credit history for six years. That fact alone will give you access to better deals than remaining with Barclays would give you.

As others have indicated, if you're likely to spend 5+ days per month overdrawn, then don't switch to Halifax & look elsewhere. Otherwise, it's a decent place to bank.