First direct - avoiding their charge. Just wanting to clarify

Nine_Lives

My sister can't open the 8% regular saver as she keeps getting refused, so she's going to try a different approach - open a saver first.

She's got their everyday eSaver open & running.

To get the 8% regular saver you need their 1st account, but there's a charge.

If she has just £1 in the everyday eSaver account, doesn't this stop any charge on the 1st account? Or am i confusing it with another account?

rb10

I would be very surprised if having £1 in a savings account made any difference to Santander's decision of whether to give your sister a current account.

InsertWittyName

Nine_Lives wrote: »

If she has just £1 in the everyday eSaver account, doesn't this stop any charge on the 1st account? Or am i confusing it with another account?

That is correct.

grumbler

Nine_Lives wrote: »

If she has just £1 in the everyday eSaver account, doesn't this stop any charge on the 1st account? Or am i confusing it with another account?

This is correct. I have £10 in a e-saver for this. However, I don't see any connection between the charge and a regular saver, don't know why she is being declined and how opening a e-saver can solve the problem. Is she trying to apply for a regular saver without having a current account?

[Deleted User]

Having a Regular Saver doesn't stop the £10 1St Account Fee.

Normal E-Saver or Savings Account does, so long as it has £1 or more in it.

Nine_Lives

She tried applying for the regular saver on numerous occasions but kept getting refused.

Her plan, based on what another member here posted, is to run an eSaver for a while so she has a bit of 'history; with FD & then apply again for the regular saver.

Nobody is saying that a regular saver stops the 1st account fee.

The question is in the final sentence of my opening post - it mentions the eSaver. Having money in this stopping the charge on the 1st account. Nobody mentions money in a regular saver stopping the charge

rb10 wrote: »

Santander's decision

And Santander certainly weren't mentioned.



Thanks for the clarification though. I'll tell her she's good to go. Thanks.

rb10

Nine_Lives wrote: »

And Santander certainly weren't mentioned.

My apologies - meant First Direct.

Does she have a FD current account? This is a requirement before opening the regular saver.

Having history of a savings account with £1 in will have no affect upon her application.

Nine_Lives

No, no 1st account. Can't you open one as part of your regular saver application?

I know my brother, whos details are almost identical to mine, tried applying for the regular saver & was also declined. He then tried applying for just the 1st account with a view to apply for a regular saver at a later date - and he was refused this also.

rb10

Nine_Lives wrote: »

No, no 1st account. Can't you open one as part of your regular saver application?

I know my brother, whos details are almost identical to mine, tried applying for the regular saver & was also declined. He then tried applying for just the 1st account with a view to apply for a regular saver at a later date - and he was refused this also.

She needs to have a current account before trying to open the regular saver - this will be why she is being declined.

If she doesn't know about this requirement, then does she understand how the account works? She should read & understand this page before going any further:
https://www1.firstdirect.com/1/2/savings/regular-savings-account

If she wants to open one, then open the current account first, if this is accepted, she'll then be eligible to open the regular saver.

Having another savings account will not help with either the application for the regular saver or for the current account.

Like all full current accounts, the product is credit scored - your brother clearly did not meet their requirements.

grumbler

Nine_Lives wrote: »

No, no 1st account. Can't you open one as part of your regular saver application?

Well, I might be missing something obvious, but every time I click Apply I get a very clear message

To open a Regular Saver Account you will also need to open a first direct 1st Account, our current account.

Then the only options are either to "log on to apply" or to "Learn more about the 1st Account"

barak

As has been said, you must first be an FD 1st Account holder, because the only way to open and fund an FD Regular Saver is -
[1] to open it with a direct transfer from your FD 1st Account and
[2] to continue funding it by monthly standing orders from your FD 1st Account.