Free M&S current account - £100 in M&S vouchers if you switch

innovate

My application was the same - am waiting for their email now.

DesG

Mr_Goodkat wrote: »

I am quite happy to confirm that my statement is in fact a fact

I can confirm that the world is flat, doesn't make it true. :beer:

Zanderman

innovate wrote: »

My application was the same - am waiting for their email now.

So was mine - I assume this is a standard response - and that Mr Goodkat's assertion that...

Mr_Goodkat wrote: »

Obviously you did not meet the criteria for automated acceptance and the application needs to be reviewed.

... is probably way off the mark and there is no 'automated acceptance' on these accounts.

surfsister

so do you have to pay anything in or have any d's??

DesG

surfsister wrote: »

so do you have to pay anything in or have any d's??

I don't see anything mentioned in my brief glance at the T&C's, but I would ensure that the account you are switching has some DD's/SO's set up to avoid any issues with them paying up.

System

A case of kitty knows less than kitty thinks he does?!
Sounds like some kind of manual processing to me.

I was thinking of switching to the fee paying account for the free coffee vouchers and extra £50 then downgrading after the minimum period so still pocketing the £100 switch bonus.

I guess M&S still have that tacky 'British' debit card though?

Zanderman wrote: »

So was mine - I assume this is a standard response - and that Mr Goodkat's assertion that is probably way off the mark and there is no 'automated acceptance' on these accounts.

Zanderman

surfsister wrote: »

so do you have to pay anything in or have any d's??

No formal conditions at all.

The application does ask your intentions re regular paying in - but with several scenarios listed for the response there's no indication that this is a critical factor, and no reason to assume it would be either.

DesG

Heng_Leng wrote: »

I guess M&S still have that tacky 'British' debit card though?

Had a google, I see what you mean, that's a bit too colourful, lol. I had assumed it would be similar to the CC, which is a nice plain black.

Mind you, it will make it easy to spot in my wallet!

innovate

Got confirmation email now

Thank you for applying for one of our M&S current accounts. We’re delighted to tell you that your application has been successful.

In the next few days you’ll receive a pack containing important information about your new account including a copy of the terms and conditions. Please take the time to read these documents. We recommend that you keep them somewhere safe for future reference. This pack will also contain a signature form and an agreement form for you to sign. Please read these carefully before signing and return them to us as soon as possible so we can open your account and you can start to enjoy new-fashioned banking.

As soon as we’ve received your signed forms, we’ll send you everything you need to run your account, starting with your new M&S Visa debit card.

We hope you enjoy being part of M&S Bank and new-fashioned banking. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us on the telephone number below.

The process reminds me a bit of my application for a Yorkshire Bank account.

tipsychick

Heng_Leng wrote: »

I was thinking of switching to the fee paying account for the free coffee vouchers and extra £50 then downgrading after the minimum period so still pocketing the £100 switch bonus.

I guess M&S still have that tacky 'British' debit card though?

I've recently opened the Premium current account without insurance, which netted a £50 gift card and then switched a redundant Nationwide current account for a further £100 gift card. I can confirm there was definitely no need to switch any DD/SO.

Their CSAs are very good but it does take 3-4 quite lengthy phone calls in total. Much the same as a First Direct application for anyone whose done one recently.

With the Premium account you have to sign up to 3 months at £10 p/m, which is then renewed on a rolling monthly basis.

I've had my first batch of drinks vouchers (will be ebaying these!) and the £50 gift card, just waiting for the further £100 gift card to arrive now. Once I've got that, I then intend phoning and seeing if I can sneakily get downgraded to the fees free account. If not, I'll obtain a precise date for when I'm out of the initial 3 month period and can downgrade or switch to somewhere else.

If you go with the Premium rather than the fees free account, you should be £20 up in the finish for what will be exactly the same amount of faffing about as the fees free one.

One thing I was told by one of the CSAs is that the gift cards apparently need to be used within a year of being issued. I haven't had a chance to confirm this for sure though. I know their gift cards normally have an expiry date of several years.

Unfortunately the debit card is still the colourful monstrosity it always was!