Direct Debits

EarthBoy

It seems that the account switching service has been purposely designed with the intention of closing the old account. You have two forms to sign according to the slide-show, a current account switch agreement form and a current account closure instruction form. I suppose you could decline to sign the second form, but without closing the old account the re-direction part of the service wouldn't work, so it would probably invalidate the switching guarantee.

It looks like the only way to keep your old account open in future will be to organise everything yourself, but if you do that you won't qualify for the switching incentives, e.g. "open an account with us and get £100", because most of them are dependent on you using the switching service.

Does this mean that in future we will have to choose between getting the incentive or keeping the old account?

agrinnall

innovate wrote: »

I responded to dalesride


View the animated guide. It's there in black and white.
http://www.paymentscouncil.org.uk/switch_service/the_switch_process/

But you were responding to me in post #14.

So it is (thanks also to Hazzanet), I did start to watch the animation but had to give up before it got to that point as it kept stalling due to my very slow broadband.

FOREVER21

Hi just a thought, use the switching service to get benefit of their guarantees, and any cash incentives, and then go to your old bank and open a new account.
You can then transfer any dd back to the new account at your old bank(I hope you are all still following this!!)
As this is a new account and not transferring accounts the switching service does not need to be used.
Would this solve the problems?;)

innovate

EarthBoy wrote: »

Does this mean that in future we will have to choose between getting the incentive or keeping the old account?

Remains to be seen what their T&Cs say. I would think it likely though that they will make the use of the switcher service a compulsory pre-req for paying any signup bonus because they are trying to attract real new customers rather than bonus tarts (like myself).

I remain confident there will still be the occasional loophole for the more creative ones :cool:

innovate

FOREVER21 wrote: »

Hi just a thought, use the switching service to get benefit of their guarantees, and any cash incentives, and then go to your old bank and open a new account.
You can then transfer any dd back to the new account at your old bank(I hope you are all still following this!!)
As this is a new account and not transferring accounts the switching service does not need to be used.
Would this solve the problems?;)

We'll find out, no doubt, because some people will want to use that new switcher service when it comes live, and some will want to then do exactly what you said.

Just because you (or some switcher service you commissioned) closed an account, doesn't mean the old bank will not keep records about your previous relationship with them for very many years. 6 or 7 minimum, I reckon - there's even a legal minimum record retention period.

Whether they will have processes and procedures to look at their historic data during application for a new account, and when deciding whether a joining bonus applies, remains to be seen. Whether they will allow you to open another account with them within x months of having used a switcher service will remain to be seen.