Switching bank

TERRYGL

Hi newbie here i'm thinking of switching my bank, i'm with Barclays at the moment and i've not had any problems with them, but i'm looking at other banks and seeing i can get better rates etc.
What do people think of Tesco bank please as they give 3% interest on their current account and better deals on ISAs and savings, i already have a clubcard so would gain there too. I would appreciate any advice also about what the switching process is like. Thanks.

Terry

castle96

Hi, you can have 2 current accounts with Tesco, each earing 3% on up to £3000. Each needs £750 p/mth going in. You would pay in £750 to a/c 1, transfer it to a/c 2 and back again, by standing order is easiest.
Look on the boards which Banks pay interest, up to what amount,, whether you needs direct debits/monthly pay in, etc. Some will pay you for switching. Eg £150 Yorkshire and Clydesdale, etc.
Read http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts
Many on here have filled all available accounts to earn up to 5% interest,, though there is always a maximum you can put in, eg Santander - 3% on between £3k-£20k, Nationwide 5% on £2.5k, etc.
Always try and leave £1 in the account that you are switching from, ,for the next 'offer'
Read, learn and come back with any Qs. Someone will always help.
Welcome

jimjames

You can have multiple accounts but transferring can have benefits if you choose the right one.

I've switched an account to Clydesdale and they pay £150 if you switch to them.

I wasn't intending it to be my main account but I've been very impressed with their service so far as well as the app to manage the account.

Personally I'd have the TSB account at 5% over Tesco, I already have the TSB hence considering using Clydesdale as my main account.

Archi_Bald

jimjames wrote: »

considering using Clydesdale as my main account.

WOW, that's some leap of faith to take! Why settle for an account that pays 2% on max £3,000 when you can get several 3% ones with at least the same or higher AER on at least the same amount of cash?

(I have the account too but just for parking a bit of cash for a while).

pghatwhitchurch

We have been going to change from HSBC for a year or two now but finding the right bank is difficult if you want one with reasonable ethics and the profits made by the bank to stop in this country without going to support vast immoral bonuses and the enormously overheads to support expensive to buildings in Canary Wharf.
We don't have a mortgage or large sums to invest and as pensioners our incomes are small so the Co-Op seemed to be the one for us until the recent shenanigans were uncovered. Next we looked Halifax but their travel insurance didn't cover my wife's diabetes like HSBC's did. Then we found out that Halifax is no longer the nice little Yorkshire company that we thought it was. It is owned Lloyds and has ties with RBS. Not the best names in the business. Santandair is Spanish. Yorkshire Bank is Clydesdale and owned by Australians. First Direct has excellent reviews but is owned by HSBC who we like to hate. Other big retail outlet's banks are really operated by one of the others and so it goes on and on. But at least Tesco is Tesco and what you see is what you get.

Archi_Bald

pghatwhitchurch wrote: »

It is owned Lloyds and has ties with RBS.

you will find they don't. You are mixing up the Bank of Scotland and the Royal Bank of Scotland. And what is un-british about LLoyds, HBOS, BOS and RBS?

pghatwhitchurch wrote: »

At least Tesco Bank in British

so are a whole lot of the others you mentioned. And Tesco Bank started life as a JV with RBS, which is on your "bad list".

pghatwhitchurch wrote: »

Santandair is Spanish.

The correct name is Santander. The roots of Santander UK could hardly be more british - Abbey National, Alliance and Leicester, Bradford and Bingley. How dare they come on our shores, after we sank their armada, wasn't that enough warning!

pghatwhitchurch wrote: »

.... HSBC who we like to hate.

Even though HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in London? Can't get them any britisher, can you.

pghatwhitchurch wrote: »

But at least Tesco is Tesco and what you see is what you get.

Yep, a bunch of Executives suspended for probably cooking the books. Admittedly, they were Group Execs, not Bank execs, but the Bank is part of the Group.

saver861

castle96 wrote: »

Hi, you can have 2 current accounts with Tesco, each earing 3% on up to £3000. Each needs £750 p/mth going in. You would pay in £750 to a/c 1, transfer it to a/c 2 and back again, by standing order is easiest.

I don't know specifically about Tesco's but usually the banks insist on the incoming monthly amount, i.e. £750 in this case, comes from an external source. Internal transfers do not qualify. Best check on that.

They had a name for the Credit Cards switchers .. I think it was Card Tart which I was one for sure. Well I'm a bank account tart now too. So far we (my better half and I) have three with Santander, three with Lloyds, three with Nationwide, two with Halifax. Working on two with Clydesdale and one with First Direct.

The thing is we held onto our own working accounts all the time!! - mine is with RBS and I still use that as my main account. The others are merely for the benefits of the interest etc.

colsten

saver861 wrote: »

I don't know specifically about Tesco's but usually the banks insist on the incoming monthly amount, i.e. £750 in this case, comes from an external source. Internal transfers do not qualify. Best check on that.

You are right, some do. Tesco don't (as of now).

Welcome to the bank accounts tarts club. Great place to be a member in

saver861

colsten wrote: »

Welcome to the bank accounts tarts club. Great place to be a member in

Yep - its all good!! ... only problem is creating enough dummy accounts to have available for a switch. I've opened two dummy accounts with RBS and switched them immediately. Not sure I can ride my luck with any more

BM29

TERRYGL wrote: »

Hi newbie here i'm thinking of switching my bank, i'm with Barclays at the moment and i've not had any problems with them, but i'm looking at other banks and seeing i can get better rates etc.
What do people think of Tesco bank please as they give 3% interest on their current account and better deals on ISAs and savings, i already have a clubcard so would gain there too. I would appreciate any advice also about what the switching process is like. Thanks.

Terry

hi terrygl i was with Barclays and decided to switch to stander what a headache. started on 6 of jan 15 and still have not got my online pass codes sorted. there customer service sucks, they sent me one set which worked for 4 days then locked me out, i have all my savings in there now and the only way to operate my account is by phone or go to the branch which is 15 miles away, i am a disabled pensioner and it is not very covenant or cost effective.
Barclays were not the best payers of interest but i could not complain about their admin or staff, all i get from Santander is we will send you another set of log in details in 7--10 working days been waiting 9 now still no show. looks like i'm going to the Halifax next less hassle and stress.

TERRYGL

BM29 wrote: »

hi terrygl i was with Barclays and decided to switch to stander what a headache. started on 6 of jan 15 and still have not got my online pass codes sorted. there customer service sucks, they sent me one set which worked for 4 days then locked me out, i have all my savings in there now and the only way to operate my account is by phone or go to the branch which is 15 miles away, i am a disabled pensioner and it is not very covenant or cost effective.
Barclays were not the best payers of interest but i could not complain about their admin or staff, all i get from Santander is we will send you another set of log in details in 7--10 working days been waiting 9 now still no show. looks like i'm going to the Halifax next less hassle and stress.

Yes thanks for your reply. This is a concern, never had any probs with Barclays and don't really know about the switching process and what i could be letting myself in for, but i know from the website and the forum here there are better places to have my money, it's just what if it doesn't go well i've got DDs, wages going in and shopping etc, if i can't get access to my money.
And with the probs that Tesco is in at the mo is their banking liable to suffer too.

Terry