Closing FIRST DIRECT CURRENT ACCOUNT for switching incentive?

juanmanuelmarquez

Dear all peeps,
I have had a recent bad experience with First Direct. Never had a problem with sending money but sent money via online banking. It stated that it would be credited to the beneficiaries account within 2 hours pending securities checks...however, it took 3 days and after several online messages and not getting any replies, I had no choice but to ring them up I managed to sort it out. Must have a spent a fortune on my phone bill as it was a 0845 number so I thought this would be an ideal excuse of leaving now as I don't think its the right bank for me.

I was wondering how long does it take to close my first direct current account and get my £100 leaving gift. Its been about 7 months since ive had the account so its within the stated time frame of gaining the £100 for leaving. Also another reason why i'm leaving is due to the t and c changing regarding not being able to cancel direct debits online, which I find inconvenient as I do everything online!

Any tips on roughly how long it takes to close account? any tips of getting the £100 as I heard they are not keen in giving the £100 for leaving?

juanmanuelmarquez

its the old switching service since I switched in beginning of the year!

do they take about 4 weeks to close it, or do they close it straight away and transfer your dd and so in a week or something? can anyone shed some light on this topic?

jancollins

In what sense are they not keen on giving the 'leaving' £100?

juanmanuelmarquez

jancollins wrote: »

In what sense are they not keen on giving the 'leaving' £100?

from reading previous posts on mse, they close the account but then say will send a cheque by post but never do! unsure whether true?

Hominu

First did you complain about the payment and was it upheld? If so, and you request your account to be closed, you'll get the leaving present.

Secondly, what date did you send the payment and how much was it for and by what method?

For example, a payment of £10000 or less sent on the 3rd of May by Faster Payments may not reach the destination account until the 7th, and this is still perfectly within the faster payment rules (as the 6th was a bank holiday), although typically it would be transferred much sooner.

grumbler

Hominu wrote: »

First did you complain about the payment and was it upheld? If so, and you request your account to be closed, you'll get the leaving present.

They don't stipulate "the leaving present" by any formal complaints upheld or not.
What they say is

... if you're not happy...
... if you close your 1st Account within 12 months of opening it, as long as a monthly salary or income of £1,000 or more has been paid into that account for at least six months and you haven't previously had an account with first direct. You'll also need to have transferred your banking to that account using the Current Account Switch Service.

juanmanuelmarquez

well has anyone done this? how long has it taken to close the account, have they smoothly gained the £100?

from what I heard you have to request the £100, as if you don't mention it you don't get it. also if they don't pay you, you have to chase it up until they do pay...don't know whether this is true? hence I asked the question in the first place

EarthBoy

juanmanuelmarquez wrote: »

from what I heard you have to request the £100, as if you don't mention it you don't get it. ..

Did you really think they would pay it without you having to ask for it? How are they supposed to know that you are unhappy unless you tell them?

juanmanuelmarquez

EarthBoy wrote: »

Did you really think they would pay it without you having to ask for it? How are they supposed to know that you are unhappy unless you tell them?

well obviously you are going to tell them your unhappy hence leaving, but assuming you would get the £100. but no, you have request the £100. by the way I got the £100 2 months later after I switched due to technical glitches so I wonder whether they will try to do the same with me when leaving.

juanmanuelmarquez

Hominu wrote: »

First did you complain about the payment and was it upheld? If so, and you request your account to be closed, you'll get the leaving present.

Secondly, what date did you send the payment and how much was it for and by what method?

For example, a payment of £10000 or less sent on the 3rd of May by Faster Payments may not reach the destination account until the 7th, and this is still perfectly within the faster payment rules (as the 6th was a bank holiday), although typically it would be transferred much sooner.

I did complain about it, and the guy over the did try to resolve the issue, but didn't until 3 days later. pending security checks. it was on a week day not a big amount only 2.5k. Even then my balance is locked temporary...they said it will be released within 10 working days. (2.5k is on hold by bank) It was a transaction that happened this week on Monday and only got it sorted on Thursday afternoon. hence im thinking of leaving now, and just wondering how long it would take to transfer my account back to my old one?

Archi_Bald

juanmanuelmarquez wrote: »

I did complain about it, and the guy over the did try to resolve the issue, but didn't until 3 days later. pending security checks. it was on a week day not a big amount only 2.5k. Even then my balance is locked temporary...they said it will be released within 10 working days. (2.5k is on hold by bank) It was a transaction that happened this week on Monday and only got it sorted on Thursday afternoon.

This sort of thing can happen to you at any bank, depending on the transaction you are making. For new customers, security checks are likely to be more stringent, too.

However, if you are unhappy, you should tell them, in writing, and notify them that you have instructed the xyz bank to switch your account away from FD.

There is no reason why you shouldn't get your leaving £100 if you have complied with the terms of the offer, and if you have a convincing reason, or if you annoy them so much that they are glad to see the back of you.