Advice on how to close bank accounts?

PoorRichBoy

Hi All,

I'm 20yo and have realised I hold too many bank accounts which bulk on my wallet.

Basically I hold current accounts with:

RBS (Student) - £750 overdraft which I need to pay.
Natwest
HSBC
Satander
Halifax
Co-operative

I want to close RBS/Natwest because they're absolutely rubbish. I'll probably keep HSBC for eBay/Paypal usage and then Co-operative as my main account with Halifax as a spare account idling away.

How would I go about closing my accounts (RBS, Satander, Natwest)

Thanks

heloid

It seems like you have internet, have you tried looking at their websites....?

innovate

Unless you uncontrollably get into overdraft debts with these banks, or want to take advantage of (future?) signup offers, there is not much reason for closing the accounts.

Quite the contrary, actually - -- as the recent NatWest disaster demonstrated, having all your money in a single bank can leave you high and dry for days on end. Having instant access to money in several banks seems prudent personal money management nowadays.

Have you read up about the benefits of current accounts? Santander cashback & interest, HSBC/FD Regular Savers, Halifax £5/mth, Nationwide travel insurance etc etc etc etc?. Must admit, I can't list any positives for Natwest/RBS - - but I would still not close my accounts with them. Who knows, some day they might come in handy.

As long as an account doesn't cost you any money to keep open, and as long as you can keep on top of what money you have where (spreadsheet?), there is not much reason to close any accounts.

To give you an example of the benefits of keeping several (even dormant) accounts: Nationwide had a market-leading 4.25% ISA earlier this year, for existing current account customers. Rate was way above any of the competition. Although many people weren't using their Nationwide current account regularly, they easily managed to qualify for that 4.25% rate.

There is no negative - - and may be even a positive - - impact on your credit rating, with any of the rating agencies, if you have umpteen accounts with various banks, as long as you keep the accounts in good shape.


Bottom line, atm there's no downside to keeping as many current accounts as you can.

Lansdowne

A few reasons for & against keeping unnecessary accounts open
For 1. The bank may in future have a special offer for existing customers, or you may want to use them again without the hassle of registering again.
For 2. If you use online banking with no paper statements, you will still be able to check past transactions.
Against 1. The bank may in future have a special offer not available to existing customers.
Against 2. One less thing to worry about.
Against 3. At 20yo you are likely to move house a few times and need to notify the banks each time.
Against 4. Ditto if you have to change your email address.
Against 5. One less userid and password to keep safe.
Against 6. More accounts = more opportunities for fraud.
Against 7. If they introduce a charge, and you overlook the notification, you become overdrawn & rack up fees.

guesswho2000

innovate wrote: »

Must admit, I can't list any positives for Natwest/RBS - - but I would still not close my accounts with them. Who knows, some day they might come in handy.

The £100 interest free overdraft? I know other banks like FD offer this, but it's still a benefit of sorts! Also, their online banking and mobile is much better than many other banks imo, plus the get cash feature, card free cash withdrawals.

That said, I also have Nationwide's FlexAccount for the insurance and I'm in the process of opening the Halifax Reward for the free £100 and £5pcm, so there's benefits to having many accounts, although cycling money around through all these to meet the deposit requirements takes some discipline!

innovate

guesswho2000 wrote: »

..... although cycling money around through all these to meet the deposit requirements takes some discipline!

agree - - I use Standing Orders to cycle the required money through 10 current accounts. It took a bit of effort to set it up properly but it's been running like clockwork for over 2 years now.