Savings accounts deposits by Direct Debit? UPDATED

StellaN

I want to recommend my brother for a Nationwide FlexDirect account so we can both receive £100. However, he does not have any available Direct Debits but he does have a Tesco account so in theory can he set up 2 DD's from this Tesco account to the Nationwide account through an Internet Saver account?.

Consumerist

StellaN wrote: »

I want to recommend my brother for a Nationwide FlexDirect account so we can both receive £100. However, he does not have any available Direct Debits but he does have a Tesco account so in theory can he set up 2 DD's from this Tesco account to the Nationwide account through an Internet Saver account?.

Yes, that should work ok if he has 2 Tesco accounts from which to set up the DDs. It is questionable whether Nationwide would accept two DDs to the same account as qualifiers for benefits. Perhaps someone with a FlexDirect account can help more..

EachPenny

Consumerist wrote: »

Perhaps someone with a FlexDirect account can help more..

No DD's required on the FlexDirect account as far as I'm aware... at least I've been paid interest without having any. But you must meet the minimum pay-in which is one of the higher ones compared to other banks.

Edit: thanks to ColdIron for pointing out this doesn't apply if you want to get the switching bonus.

ColdIron

Poster wants the £100 switching bonus that requires the switched account to have DDs

StellaN

Consumerist wrote: »

Yes, that should work ok if he has 2 Tesco accounts from which to set up the DDs. It is questionable whether Nationwide would accept two DDs to the same account as qualifiers for benefits. Perhaps someone with a FlexDirect account can help more..

Yes, he does have 2 Tesco accounts so can you set up an Internet Saver account on each one and then set up the DD's or can he just use one account and set up an Internet Saver and an Instant Access Savings Account and set up a DD from each of these? Anybody know or is familiar with Tesco/Nationwide?

EachPenny

StellaN wrote: »

However, he does not have any available Direct Debits...

Does this mean he has none at all, or none that can be moved around (e.g. Gas, water, or electricity with Santander 123)?

I was kind of on the right track with my original post. There is no long-term requirement to have DD's with the FlexDirect account, but you do need two (and assume 'active') DD's to benefit from the switch.

There is no obvious requirement for the switched DD's to continue in use for any length of time, and the only mention in Nationwide's FAQ's is that closing the account within 3 months of getting the bonus payment they 'reserve the right' to reclaim the bonus payments. So it would appear that the DD's that were switched could be cancelled after 3 months without affecting the bonus.

That gives you some more flexibility - i.e. including a gas, water or electricity DD in the switch and just missing out on a few month's cashback elsewhere, or else setting up a low cost DD for something else which can be cancelled a few months later.

There should be no problem with one Tesco DD, you'll probably get away with two, but with £200 at stake you might want to play safe to be sure.

Morus193

To qualify for BoS 2 "different" DD does that mean paid to different companies or is it possible to qualify with both paid to the same company on the same day but with a different reference?

Consumerist

Morus193 wrote: »

To qualify for BoS 2 "different" DD does that mean paid to different companies or is it possible to qualify with both paid to the same company on the same day but with a different reference?

Since the Vantage conditions specify "different" DDs, it would be safest to assume they must be paid to different accounts. No-one seems too sure of what this means exactly.

Many have two Tesco savings accounts from which they qualify - same company but different accounts.

Ed-1

Consumerist wrote: »

Since the Vantage conditions specify "different" DDs, it would be safest to assume they must be paid to different accounts. No-one seems too sure of what this means exactly.

Many have two Tesco savings accounts from which they qualify - same company but different accounts.

2 direct debit mandates is what the system checks. 2 must be set up (regardless of who they're to) and both must be used each month.

Consumerist

Ed-1 wrote: »

2 direct debit mandates is what the system checks. 2 must be set up (regardless of who they're to) and both must be used each month.

One has to wonder what the word "different" actually means in this context.

How would you set up two "same" DDs, for example?