Bank account question

hemophobic

A few days ago I opened a Natwest account because there is one close to my house meaning I wouldn't have to go into town to get to HSBC where there is rarely parking spaces so I have to pay at a carpark, but I've realised that the bank near my house is actually a Lloyds.

Does it matter how many bank accounts I have? Should I close the natwest & open a lloyds account or just keep the natwest and not use it. I also have an HSBC account and a santander account.

grumbler

In one word, NO.
Some recent threads:
Can you have three current accounts?
how many bank accounts and why?
Does having 2 bank accounts make such a bad impact on your credit score?
Didn't see the point in having loads of bank accounts.

hemophobic

Thanks will open a new account with Lloyds then

Lansdowne

Don't forget about the unused one though, and if you're sure you're never going to use it, get it closed.

dr_adidas01

Lansdowne wrote: »

Don't forget about the unused one though, and if you're sure you're never going to use it, get it closed.

Why get it closed? Having bank accounts open doesn't hurt your credit file at all!! Provided its in credit and is not in a huge overdraft.

Having it open especially if its been open for quite a number of years is actually beneficial as lenders see it as being stable.

I have a barclays account that has been open for 20 years its not my main account though I do occasionally use it. Its good to put on credit applications when I do them that I've had it for so long.

Hominu

dr_adidas01 wrote: »

Why get it closed? Having bank accounts open doesn't hurt your credit file at all!! Provided its in credit and is not in a huge overdraft.

Fraud, bank errors, company errors. Closing the account avoids all of these.

If your going to leave the account open, check it regularly. I have about 10 current accounts, and every one of them is used. I did have a Barclays account, but closed that as I had no use for it.

hemophobic

Should I keep it open even if I am not planning on depositing a single penny? My Santander has has 2p in it for years I keep meaning to close it. Had a lot of trouble with santander when paypal took the money from wrong account and I managed to get over £200 of bank charges for £12 over drawn. Nice of them to send me a letter only once the debt had reached £160

Lansdowne

That's exactly the sort of reason to close unwanted accounts, The other is forgetting to notify when moving house, so you don't get letters/statements and increasing the chance for fraud.

innovate

hemophobic wrote: »

Should I keep it open even if I am not planning on depositing a single penny? My Santander has has 2p in it for years I keep meaning to close it. Had a lot of trouble with santander when paypal took the money from wrong account and I managed to get over £200 of bank charges for £12 over drawn. Nice of them to send me a letter only once the debt had reached £160

I bet Paypal didn't take money from a wrong account - - they took it from the account you told them to take it from. You obviously didn't check that the Paypal charge had actually been debited from "the right" account, and as a consequence you got caught out.

Having several accounts means you need to manage several accounts. If you prefer to manage just one, you need to close the other one(s). Whichever way you look at it, it is your responsibility to manage your financial affairs.