First Direct 1st Account - I'm confused.

aliasojo

Small update and new question.....

FD confirm I had an account years ago but as it was so long ago they may consider me for the new customer £100 thing if I agree to transfer 2 D/D or S/O's and agree to having my carer's allowance and child benefit paid into the account.

I'm happy they are considering allowing the £100 but very unhappy they are stipulating my benefits must be paid in and wont simply accept there will be £1500 at least going through the account from other means.

After initially only wanting the account to get access to the 8% regular saver, I had then decided to close my Santander account and my RBS account and have FD as my main account BUT my carer's allowance and child benefit are earmarked into a different joint account for particular things and I don't want to have to change them and have them goiing into FD and then have to transfer them out again immediately, that's just daft.

So....is there something somewhere that says the £1500 that goes in has to be from an 'official' source?

Is there anyone who is in a similar boat and has their account credited with £1500 from *anywhere* and still got the £100.

Am I under particular considerations simply because of the fact I was a customer many years ago therefore they can place this stipulation on me?

I kinda wish I'd never mentioned my allowances in the first place but it's too late now.

fcwalker

I was self employed when I opened my FD account so the money paid in was mainly cheques of varying amounts (but over the month they came to more than £1500) and I got the £100 no probs. However have since closed the account due to their excessive charging

innovate

aliasojo wrote: »

So....is there something somewhere that says the £1500 that goes in has to be from an 'official' source?

Sounds like they are trying to blackmail you into something you don't want to do, and which is not supported by their T&Cs in any form. Not really in keeping with the excellent CS so many people say they have. May be it is as you suspect - perhaps they are trying to do you "a deal" because you were an FD customer many moons ago. Only you can judge whether you should accept that deal.

I can't see anything in the account opening T&Cs, or in the actual account T&Cs, that says the money must come from "acceptable sources" for the £1,500 are, and what such sources would be.

I have had my FD account for a number of years, and my £1.5K comes by Standing Order from another current account in my name. I did use their switcher service but asked them to only switch selected DDs/SOs, and not to close the old account because I had good reason to keep it (but didn't tell them the reason - none of their business). This worked without a hitch, and I got my joining bonus ok.

aliasojo

innovate wrote: »

Sounds like they are trying to blackmail you into something you don't want to do, and which is not supported by their T&Cs in any form.

That's kinda what I feel too.

I read through the t's and c's last night and couldn't find anything that seemed relevant to this particular situation which led me to think the team leader was basically making up the rules under the 'discretion' heading.

I do understand I don't have to accept this though and can accept to do without the £100 but it's a bit galling to be held to ransom somewhat. Especially since my carer's allowance and child benefit only total around £300 and the bulk of the money will come from elsewhere.

EarthBoy

aliasojo wrote: »

.. it's a bit galling to be held to ransom somewhat. ...

They are hardly holding you to ransom. They are simply laying down a condition which you have to follow in order to get the £100.

Normally they are very strict in enforcing the rule that you can't have the £100 joining bonus if you have ever had an account with them previously, so you are extremely lucky if they've said they will make an exception in your case.

No, it's not specified anywhere in their terms and conditions where the £1500 per month needs to come from, but if you put your foot down about it, then FD will just say that if you insist on following the rules then so will they and you won't get the £100.

aliasojo

EarthBoy wrote: »

They are hardly holding you to ransom.

It's only a figure of speech.

I'm now told if I'd waited another 6 months to open the account I would have got the incentive as a matter of course anyway as it would then have been over 6 years since I was last a customer.

That makes it slightly more annoying that they were being so hard nosed about the benefits. I offered to close my other accounts and sent proof of this to show I was committed to using FD as my main account and as such there would be more than £1500 going through it per month, but to no avail.

However, as I've already said, it was their requirement and my choice whether to accept it or not.

I should add that the lady that was dealing with me went out of her way for me and really tried to help with regards to this, it was the team leader/supervisor who made the final decision. The person dealing with me was so helpful with some other stuff too that I think I'll write in to give credit to her.

jennifernil

6 years! It must be well over 10 years since our previous account was closed!

It's so long ago that we can't remember.

I wasn't looking to get the £100 anyway as I didn't have £1500 to pay in or any DDs I wanted to move, but I did ask if this previous account ruled it out, and they confirmed that.

rich_jtg

jennifernil wrote: »

6 years! It must be well over 10 years since our previous account was closed!

It's so long ago that we can't remember.

I wasn't looking to get the £100 anyway as I didn't have £1500 to pay in or any DDs I wanted to move, but I did ask if this previous account ruled it out, and they confirmed that.

Don't worry, you're not the only one!