first direct question £125 bonus question

BASFORDLAD

just set up first direct question for the £125

Does the 1500 payment have to be in one payment or can be any number of payments as long as the payment totals £1500

I also assume the month begins from the moment the account is opened (but couldn't get an answer on whether this was calendar month or otherwise)

Hope it goes as smoothly as the Co-op bonus offer, first direct seem good on the phone

innovate

It's any number of payments, as long as it adds up to £1,500 a month.

It's a very long time ago I bagged the £100, but I believe a 'month' in this context is a calendar month. Why not call them, they are said to have a good call centre.

BASFORDLAD

Yep indeed, i intend to get the £100 in six months time when i close the account,

innovate

BASFORDLAD wrote: »

Yep indeed, i intend to get the £100 in six months time when i close the account,

As long as they pay 8% (or even 6%) for their Reg Saver, I think it could be quite shortsighted to trey and fleece them for the £100 exit bonus. Just MHO.

Nine_Lives

Here's one for the "first direct are wonderful" folk.

Brother applied for a 1st account on Sunday via the £125 switch & threw in an everyday eSaver for good measure, all with a view to get to the regular saver.

Nowhere in the application process did we see anywhere to fill out the switch details, but that isn't the problem...

My sister got her verdict straight away the other week. My brother finished his application with a message saying they'll contact him within 48hrs regards his application.

That was about 5pm earlier today. We're now at 53hours post application & still no phone call.

"Wonderful".

innovate

Nine_Lives wrote: »

My brother finished his application with a message saying they'll contact him within 48hrs regards his application.

That was about 5pm earlier today. We're now at 53hours post application & still no phone call.

What's the problem this time.

Your brother's application finished at 5pm today and they said they'd be in touch within 48 hours. "5pm earlier today" wasn't 53 hours ago.

Assuming you are in the same timezone as I am, FD still have some 42 hours to get in touch with you/your brother.

Even if you aren't in the same timezone as I am, if you are anywhere on this planet, FD still got at least 24 hours to get in touch?

fiesta04

So if they called in another 5 hours would you complain as it would be 3am????

F4

YorkshireBoy

BASFORDLAD wrote: »

I also assume the month begins from the moment the account is opened...

Never "assume" anything where money is involved!

(but couldn't get an answer on whether this was calendar month or otherwise)

You probably haven't got round to reading the T&Cs yet...start with condition 1.1.2

BASFORDLAD

Got the answer i need and will just transfer the money back twice for good measure!

Innovate, i worked out , would be £24 better of if i used the regular the saver for the full 3k over 12 months,

In my view this isnt worth it for us to tie more money up just for this amount. So will go ahead with the £100 closure offer

YorkshireBoy

BASFORDLAD wrote: »

Got the answer i need

You're welcome.

So will go ahead with the £100 closure offer

That's a bit of a gamble in my opinion.

You'll need to have a very good (customer service related) reason to claim the £100 leaving present. And you'll need to have given them chance to resolve it satisfactorily (possibly in the eyes of the FOS).

And I'd also expect them to dig their heels in if you've been paying in the £1,500 in dribs and drabs each month via FP, rather then your salary via BACS Direct Credit. Of course if you're weekly paid via BACS Direct Credit (is that what you meant?) this won't matter.

If you can afford to make use of the Regular Saver you might be better going for that to maximise your return from FD...a 'bird in the hand' and all that!

Finally, do FD still do their 'refer a friend' scheme? Because that's worth another (up to, depending on whether you refer via this site and split the money) £150 to you.

Wheres_My_Cashback

BASFORDLAD wrote: »

Got the answer i need and will just transfer the money back twice for good measure!

Innovate, i worked out , would be £24 better of if i used the regular the saver for the full 3k over 12 months,

In my view this isnt worth it for us to tie more money up just for this amount. So will go ahead with the £100 closure offer

I agree, it may not be as easy as you seem to think for the reasons above, but what about the following years Regular Saver which you'll have access to? Once the current one ends you can immediately have a new one. Rates may change, but they're still need a headline rate to pull the punters in.

I believe you're thinking too short term and need to think longer term where your gain will outweigh that £24 easily.