MSE News: New 7-day bank switching era begins: Full Q&A

JuicyJesus

Archi_Bald wrote: »

MSE, as far as I can see, do not recognise the concept of having multiple current accounts. For them, it is "ditch and switch". All or nothing, no middle ground. Extremely disappointing that MSE effectively take the side of the bankers who want people to believe they can only hold one current account.

A good number of people struggle with only having one. MSE is, and has for a long time been, aimed squarely at those people.

Archi_Bald

JuicyJesus wrote: »

A good number of people struggle with only having one. MSE is, and has for a long time been, aimed squarely at those people.

Well, in line with Martin Lewis's drive to educate people financially, may be MSE should make a tiny step forward? They might even make even more money from the referrals than they would if they stuck to the unspoken but very much in evidence "one current account only" mantra.

A_Flock_Of_Sheep

I recently applied to "switch" to the Halifax for the £100 joining gift. I did this a couple of weeks ago.

I am worried they will automatically close my existing account but it seems that does not happen until now? In any case I contacted my usual bank who said they will block any attempt at the Halifax closing my account.

The simple answer to this would be to open another current account at the bank you are switching from the switch and close the "old" account which leaves you with the remaining account.

Molly-Rose

I have recently joined British Gas for my gas and electric, saving me a lot of money al ready.
Would highly recommend to all the people out there.
The prices of products now days will be going up each week at this rate!

pqrdef

A_Flock_Of_Sheep wrote: »

I recently applied to "switch" to the Halifax for the £100 joining gift. I did this a couple of weeks ago.

I am worried they will automatically close my existing account but it seems that does not happen until now? In any case I contacted my usual bank who said they will block any attempt at the Halifax closing my account.

On the face of it there isn't much to stop Halifax putting some redirection in place at this point, in which case your old account may not be much use.

DragonQ

A_Flock_Of_Sheep wrote: »

I recently applied to "switch" to the Halifax for the £100 joining gift. I did this a couple of weeks ago.

I am worried they will automatically close my existing account but it seems that does not happen until now? In any case I contacted my usual bank who said they will block any attempt at the Halifax closing my account.

You're right that closing the old account wasn't a requirement under the old system. However, the Halifax £100 offer specifically states that the old account must be closed. If it isn't closed, they might take the £100 back, as per the summary rules on their website.

A_Flock_Of_Sheep wrote: »

The simple answer to this would be to open another current account at the bank you are switching from the switch and close the "old" account which leaves you with the remaining account.

Indeed. This will still be possible under the new system.

zerog

I now have a problem. I referred my wife for a nationwide flexdirect and the offer was that we would get £50 each if she switched. She applied online on the 11th. It appeared that the account was opened, but today we got a letter asking for ID which said the account will not be open until ID is provided in branch or by post.

I intended the switch to be under the old system, but now I don't know whether it will be under the new system or not as I don't know when they initiated it.

Is it safest to cancel the switch and forego the reward, as we definitely don't want the account to be closed. We do want the 10 DDs moved over though! This means we will probably have to do it manually :mad:

gjs1701

Archi_Bald wrote: »

That can't be true because First Direct are so ace at customer service and they are 24x7, you never have to wait for anything there etc etc etc, lol.

I rang back at about 8.30 and was told that department was still busy. But this time I was told they would call me back at 6.30. Which contradicts what the previous lady said.

Seriously: you don't have to close your old account, you can just open a First Direct account and leave your old account untouched. You probably will not get the FD joining bonus unless you use their switcher service,

Which was the main reason.

If you just want to switch to FD for the Regular Saver account, apply for their current account, and then the Regular Saver. Also open their Everyday e-saver and put £1 in it so you don't have to pay £10 month for the current account.

Now that is an excellent plan. I may just do that.

Pincher

It's a bit silly for First Direct to pay you £125 to switch from HSBC, since FD is part of HSBC. If somebody managed to get the £125 doing that, please tell.

Organist

yes I moved from HSBC to First Direct and did get the £125.