My Dads Halifax and Bank of Scotland accounts closed for the free £5 ?

norm_

gettingthere28 wrote: »

I think my clue was when she said "Its all too common when customers have several accounts either in single or joint names and pass money through them for financial incentives !."

I can't think of any other 'Financial Incentives' these accounts offer other than high interest and the free £5.

The staff member at the bank was probably speculating as well. Better to use some commonly accepted belief than list the detailed ins and outs of the matter.

Ed-1

gettingthere28 wrote: »

From Account Closure Unit BX1 1LT, will try and upload a image of the letter and blank out any too personal details.

I've seen several variations of letters from LBG on account closures. Your one seems to be again a variation of the ones I've seen.

Lloyds standard account closure letter example

Lloyds account closure letter example

Halifax account closure letter example

Recent thread on here about LBG account closures: Lloyds and Halifax Closing my Accounts?

Lloyds Credit Decisioning-type account closure

gettingthere28

Ed-1 wrote: »

I've seen several variations of letters from LBG on account closures. Your one seems to be again a variation of the ones I've seen.

Lloyds account closure letter example

Halifax account closure letter example

Recent thread on here about LBG account closures: Lloyds and Halifax Closing my Accounts?

Lloyds Credit Decisioning-type account closure

Thanks for that the letter is similar to the Halifax one except it says his cards and any cheque books have been cancelled and he has to go into the branch with the letter and ID to withdraw the money. It also says his internet banking has been cancelled and the decision cannot be appealed.

I hope I don't get a similar letter !.

gettingthere28

norm_ wrote: »

The staff member at the bank was probably speculating as well. Better to use some commonly accepted belief than list the detailed ins and outs of the matter.

Well thats true to be honest, but I cant think of anything else, the accounts are used for nothing except the transfers in and out.

One thing that will be interesting is they have not mentioned the Halifax Credit card, its not used so thankfully it would not be a massive problem if they close it as well.

Ed-1

gettingthere28 wrote: »

Thanks for that the letter is similar to the Halifax one except it says his cards and any cheque books have been cancelled and he has to go into the branch with the letter and ID to withdraw the money. It also says his internet banking has been cancelled and the decision cannot be appealed.

I hope I don't get a similar letter !.

Be good if you could scan up a copy of the letter (blanking out personal details of course) to add to the letter collection .

You've just got to make the most of any accounts you have whilst you have them; as current account stoozing has been promoted more and more, banks are making more of a loss on these accounts and seem to be making more and more account closure decisions as a result. There's nothing you can really do to avoid them deciding to close accounts as it's set out clearly in the terms and conditions that you sign up to when you open accounts in the first place.

Carnival789

Very interesting stuff. I've only *just* opened a club lloyds current account and also a monthly saver account to go with it.

If I'd suspected there was even a vague possibility of putting my halifax a/c at risk I wouldnt have bothered! Oh well, I'll just sight tight for a year, hope I'm not one of those to be culled and then think about switching away

colsten

Ed-1 wrote: »

There's nothing you can really do to avoid them deciding to close accounts

Actually, I think there is. Not boasting on public internet forums about how to relieve banks of money would be a starter. Just saying.

colsten

Carnival789 wrote: »

Very interesting stuff. I've only *just* opened a club lloyds current account and also a monthly saver account to go with it.

If I'd suspected there was even a vague possibility of putting my halifax a/c at risk I wouldnt have bothered! Oh well, I'll just sight tight for a year, hope I'm not one of those to be culled and then think about switching away

Why would you switch away from a Club Lloyds after a year?

Carnival789

colsten wrote: »

Why would you switch away from a Club Lloyds after a year?

My logic is: wait for my monthly saver to mature then just take all my money and run. I'd rather leave under my own steam (and therefore have the option of going back at a later date if I want to) rather than hang around any longer and risk being black-balled, so to speak.

I could of course close everything down now but I'd have to go into a branch to do so (for the monthly saver) - but I'm slightly concerned that I may draw attention to myself by doing this. Parnaoid? Yes, quite possibly. But it does seem like LBG are keen to crack down on us rate tarts!

7sefton

This thread has shocked me and left we very worried.

I have had 3 Halifax Reward accounts since they first came on the market years ago. I cycle my salary around them each month, have 2 Tesco savings Direct Debits on them, and take the £5 each month. There are 4 transactions a month, and all look identical.

I also have a BOS Vantage account that I use for bills, and a Club Lloyds account that I use as my main bank account.

Obviously I like getting the £5s each month, but I really do not want to have my other accounts closed or be blacklisted against all of Lloyds Banking Group (I like the brands, find they offer convenient products, and am worried if my credit file would be blacklisted). I also may apply for a job at LBG in the future, so don't want to put this at risk either!

I never thought I'd do this, but I'm now seriously considering closing 2 of my Halifax Reward accounts so I'm within both the spirit and letter of the T&Cs.

Am I over reacting? Or is this the beginning of the end for the Reward account as us MoneySavers know it?