MSE News: Virgin Money launches new current account – is it any good?

KTF

A_Flock_Of_Sheep wrote: »

If it had a £100 joining gift I would switch to them

If it had a £100 joining gift I would switch one of my many other dormant accounts to them

Pincher

Archi_Bald wrote: »

Can you explain a bit further?

Why would you have (house deposit) money in a 1% account that's secure up to £85K when you can have money in an account that pays more than 1% and has unlimited guarantee?

Unlimited guarantee, where? I would like the solicitors to hold the money, but they don't want to. Anyone who has been in a chain would love to know this instant access, greater than 1% deal you are talking about.

Archi_Bald wrote: »

What's that HMRC trap-thing about? How does it follow that if I have £100K in UK cash that I have more assets outside the UK? And even if I did, where's the problem? And how does it relate to Virgin's basic account?

Just profiling. Obviously they will only suspect somebody with large amounts in the account all the time. A poor sap with £2,000 is not what I'm talking about. If I'm HMRC, and I see a big chunk in this account, I would look up their tax filing, and if they only pay £3,000 in tax a year, I would think it worth checking out.

A_Flock_Of_Sheep

If it had a £100 joining gift that alone would cause a seperate thread.

YorkshireBoy

KTF wrote: »

If it had a £100 joining gift I would switch one of my many other dormant accounts to them

They must be YB/CB accounts that have already paid out the incentives, because if they weren't you'd be switching them to YB/CB for £150...unless you've had 8 or 9 (or more!) of them already.

pmduk

The news story isn't that it's a new account, but that it is now being made available in wider areas of the country

imper

So as this is such a basic account will Virgin be fairly easy going on any credit check. Its not that I want any credit (this account doesn't give any), but I don't have any credit history (see No Credit History thread for details) If I could bung up to 100k in, it should appear on my credit file, unlike my savings accounts, but still earn some interest (1% is better than nothing), and be easily available for an overseas property purchase. Anybody have any idea how easy it is to open this account ?

colsten

imper wrote: »

So as this is such a basic account will Virgin be fairly easy going on any credit check. Its not that I want any credit (this account doesn't give any), but I don't have any credit history (see No Credit History thread for details) If I could bung up to 100k in, it should appear on my credit file, unlike my savings accounts, but still earn some interest (1% is better than nothing), and be easily available for an overseas property purchase. Anybody have any idea how easy it is to open this account ?

No bank can "be fairly easy going on any credit check" - they either make one or they don't. Assume they they do make one, even for a basic account like this Virgin account is.

Can you elaborate please on why you want to "bung up to 100k in", so it "should appear on my credit file, unlike my savings accounts", and "be easily available for an overseas property purchase". If your ultimate goal is an overseas property purchase, why do you need a UK credit history? And why don't you have one already if you have £100K+ sloshing around in UK accounts?

imper wrote: »

If I could bung up to 100k in....unlike my savings accounts..... but still earn some interest (1% is better than nothing)......

what savings accounts do you have that pay less than 1%? How much money do you have in such accounts? Why don't you use one of the many savings accounts that pay more than 1%?

imper

colsten I said that details were on the 'No Credit History' thread, under credit file + ratings, which would answer a lot of your questions. Basically, I wanted to open a current account with Metro Bank, so that I could have free debit card ATM withdrawls in europe like i used to with Nationwide. I've never had a credit card, an overdraft, a loan, a mortgage, or bought anything on credit, so I have NO credit history.

I had no idea that a bank would want to run a credit check for a current account, I don't want to borrow anything. The last account that I opened in Bulgaria required a Passport and an address (estate agent's).

Metro Bank also said that they had a cash account that didn't require a credit check, so I thought that the Virgin account might be the same.

As I have no credit history, and couldn't create one overnight even if I wanted to, and apparently savings accounts don't appear on a credit file, then getting something to appear (like 100k in a current acc,) might help me.

I've spent much of the last 15 years abroad, but last year I came back and received an inheritance, part of which I intend to use to buy an overseas property. Because I have had few financial dealings in the UK for 15 years its not that easy for me to open new accounts; I realise that this is not a standard problem.

Obviously if I want to buy a property in the UK or overseas then there is no point in having funds tied up, as I might need the quickly.

So back to the point, do Virgin require a credit check for an account that offers no credit, and if so why ? (or is it easy ?)

A_Flock_Of_Sheep

The positive balances of Current accounts is not reported to CRAs. Only the negative balances of an overdraft and if you have stayed in it or had bouncy items.

I suspect credit balances will be reported in the future. Another erosion to privacy at the clutches of the greedy CRA's.

imper

Thanks for the info AFlock Of Sheep, although I have to say that is not what I wanted to hear. My brother-in -law told me that having sold his business and retired he found it incredibly difficult to open new accounts to disperse his funds in, and I now realise that I have the same problem. If you don't want to borrow then they don't want to give you an account.