First Direct Joining Bonus

matttye

saver9999 wrote: »

I switched to First Direct when the bonus was £125 and wondered why I did not receive it. I had moved my direct debits myself, because it was quicker, and did not use the Easyswitch service. Apparently that means I am not eligible. I argued that when I switched through Money Saving Expert, no mention was made of this, and that the only criteria were to add £1000 and switch at least two direct debits. They tell me that Money Saving Expert were at fault and should have mentioned it. They did agree to pay me the bonus 'as a gesture', but tell me I will not be eligible for the £100 if I leave.
So, the moral is, don't do the switching yourself

Excellent customer service as usual; not many companies would pay if they have a way of worming out of it!

tutington_2

I opened an account with first direct two months ago, I used their switching team, 5-6 direct debits were switched to them, I also put more than £1000 in the account (twice now), but I haven't yet received the sign-in bonus, any idea how long it normally takes?

Or am I missing something, is there any other condition? Thanks!

Herbalus

tutington wrote: »

I opened an account with first direct two months ago, I used their switching team, 5-6 direct debits were switched to them, I also put more than £1000 in the account (twice now), but I haven't yet received the sign-in bonus, any idea how long it normally takes?

Or am I missing something, is there any other condition? Thanks!

3 months I believe.

tomeks

Hello, I've just applied for the FD account. Are there any drawbacks that you can think of with regards to services that applies to me from my current bank that I'm client of since many years? For example, would switching the direct debits/standing orders and main income to FD have an impact in consideration when I for example would apply for a loan in my current bank etc.?

Also, does having multiple accounts affect your credit score...and has a bad impact in general when applying for credit cards, mortgage etc.?

Herbalus

tomeks wrote: »

would switching the direct debits/standing orders and main income to FD have an impact in consideration when I for example would apply for a loan in my current bank etc.?

Doubt it. Plus Sainsbury's do better loans at the moment anyway.

tomeks wrote: »

Also, does having multiple accounts affect your credit score...and has a bad impact in general when applying for credit cards, mortgage etc.?

No. The number of accounts won't affect your 'score' but the way you manage your accounts will. For example if you have a £5,000 overdraft on 10 accounts, a lender might not like that you have £50,000 available credit.

Caladan

100saving wrote: »

personally i don't understand why we need to use their switching services? its more work for them and its slower. but i think its because they like to make *sure you switch all of them. with FD they just sent me a letter saying we are transferring all the DD and let us know what ones you don't want to switch by sending back the form. well sending the form is going to time and effort so i just let them all go over.

You're quite right in how you've answered your own question there - using the switching service makes it more likely you'll actually become a customer rather than just playing the rules so you can get a hundred quid.

Of course, many people do just play the rules, and they simply lose the bank money, but the ones who actually want to switch and stick with it are profit makers so it all balances out, especially since First Direct target higher income earners with little time for traditional banking.

chrispbug

I used the switching team and had my bonus payment within 2 weeks of opening the account. Thoroughly recommend using their switching team to get the bonus