How hard is it to get a current account?

anoncol

Why do you want FD? Try another bank, then when your living at the same address open the FD account.

innovate

TheEffect wrote: »

Lloyds charge a lot more for using their overdraft. Lloyds also charge for an account that allows you to withdraw £500 and Lloyds also do not offer a 6% regular saver or £250 interest free overdraft.

Lloyds pay up to 3% interest on your current account balance, though, and their online banking is positively brilliant compared with FD's. FD do of course have a great regular saver, but that is no good reason for using their current account for your day-to-day transactions.

A free overdraft is a rather lame reason for a bank account - - create your own buffer, then you don't need the bank's money. Lloyds will even pay you for doing that (admittedly it's only pennies).

TheEffect wrote: »

I'd say avoiding Lloyds TSB is probably a wise tip for 'proper bankers' as well.

What is a 'proper banker'? And why would it be wise for them to avoid Lloyds?

innovate

You-kip wrote: »

Agreed Most bankers with a few quid would defiantly swerve lloyds too.

Can you elaborate on this, please?

shinythings_2

Thanks for all your replies.

We applied online for a Nationwide account with no problems!

TheEffect

innovate wrote: »

Lloyds pay up to 3% interest on your current account balance, though, and their online banking is positively brilliant compared with FD's.

I agree on both of those.

innovate wrote: »

FD do of course have a great regular saver, but that is no good reason for using their current account for your day-to-day transactions.

If you never keep much money in your current account, or find yourself going slightly overdrawn each month, than I disagree. Using FD as your main bank account along with their Regular Saver each month is a great choice.

innovate wrote: »

A free overdraft is a rather lame reason for a bank account - - create your own buffer, then you don't need the bank's money. Lloyds will even pay you for doing that (admittedly it's only pennies).

That's ridiculous. Why use your own money when you could earn interest on that, and use the banks money for free? An interest free overdraft is a great incentive when opting for a bank account.

innovate wrote: »

What is a 'proper banker'? And why would it be wise for them to avoid Lloyds?

I quoted this from You-Kip, so I'll let them answer this question.


At the end of the day, both banks offer different features/services. What is good for one customer might not be for others. I'm happy using FD for my main account as they offer everything I need, and using my NatWest student account when I may need other features.

innovate

TheEffect wrote: »

Using FD as your main bank account along with their Regular Saver each month is a great choice.

I agree that this is a better choice than some others but it's certainly not the greatest choice. You don't need to use the FD current account as your main bank account just because you want the FD Regular Saver. And you don't have to forego interest on your current account because you want the FD Reg Saver I know what I am talking about because that's exactly what I have been doing for the last few years.

TheEffect wrote: »

That's ridiculous. Why use your own money when you could earn interest on that, and use the banks money for free? An interest free overdraft is a great incentive when opting for a bank account.

It's not ridiculous at all to suggest people should use their own money as overdraft buffers. I always try to convince people that they don't want any overdraft - - not least because all banks can, and do, call in overdrafts with no notice. Then where do people find the cash to quickly pay back the overdraft? Have you not seen the umpteen panic posts about just this scenario?

If you are talking about stoozing the £250 - - the very best a basic rate tax payer could make a year is £10 from it (using the NW FlexDirect). That's a piddly amount, and even for a rate and bonus tart like myself this isn't worth it. Apart from that, FD could recall the overdraft at any time.

Gizmo247

Have you tried opening a joint account where either of you have a personal account or where the mortgage application has been made.

If your mortgage is going to be with FD then they will open an account (joint if the mortgage is in joint name) to service the mortgage account.

innovate

TheEffect wrote: »

I quoted this from You-Kip, so I'll let them answer this question.

You might have picked up the "proper banker" from uk-ip, but you said: "I'd say avoiding Lloyds TSB is probably a wise tip for 'proper bankers' as well."

So it seems you know what a 'proper banker' is, and why it would be a wise tip to avoid Lloyds TSB. If you share the explanation and the reasoning with the forum, you might save some people from doing anything unwise?

TheEffect

innovate wrote: »

It's not ridiculous at all to suggest people should use their own money as overdraft buffers. I always try to convince people that they don't want any overdraft - - not least because all banks can, and do, call in overdrafts with no notice. Then where do people find the cash to quickly pay back the overdraft? Have you not seen the umpteen panic posts about just this scenario?

If you are talking about stoozing the £250 - - the very best a basic rate tax payer could make a year is £10 from it (using the NW FlexDirect). That's a piddly amount, and even for a rate and bonus tart like myself this isn't worth it. Apart from that, FD could recall the overdraft at any time.

If the bank is offering £250 to you for free, and you need to use it, I see no reason not to. You might as well use their £250 and if you have £250, put it in a savings account. From the panic threads I've seen, none of them have been about the bank recalling a £250 interest-free overdraft that comes standard with a 1st direct bank account. £10 is £10.