HSBC's New £120 Switch Offer

Nationwide8

Btw Yorkshire Pud,have you got a paper statement for 3 months from the account you are switching from ? They were very insistent on that...let us know how you get on Please,it's interesting no one has yet managed to be approved for the incentives.

Yorkshire_Pud

Nationwide8 wrote: »

Btw Yorkshire Pud,have you got a paper statement for 3 months from the account you are switching from ? They were very insistent on that...let us know how you get on Please,it's interesting no one has yet managed to be approved for the incentives.

My switch account would be a YB ac opened for the £150 incentive so the game could be up! I'm going to tell them what attracts me to the Advance account is the £120 switch incentive! If they had such fantastic accounts they wouldn't need to offer an incentive so if they are refusing most applicants why bother to offer it and if they are looking for the cream of select new customers why not have exhaustive restrictive T&C to factor out the unwanted?

Of course if I get refused tomorrow, not by the friendly customer services but by the evil computer I will have had my hopes dashed and I'm by no means certain I will get it! Can but try and will report back.

inspireme247

Yorkshire_Pud wrote: »

My switch account would be a YB ac opened for the £150 incentive so the game could be up! I'm going to tell them what attracts me to the Advance account is the £120 switch incentive! If they had such fantastic accounts they wouldn't need to offer an incentive so if they are refusing most applicants why bother to offer it and if they are looking for the cream of select new customers why not have exhaustive restrictive T&C to factor out the unwanted?

Of course if I get refused tomorrow, not by the friendly customer services but by the evil computer I will have had my hopes dashed and I'm by no means certain I will get it! Can but try and will report back.

You will never know unless you try

I only take home less than £1250 per month, I will let you know whether HSBC has accepted my application or not.

Nationwide8

Yorkshire_Pud wrote: »

if they are looking for the cream of select new customers why not have exhaustive restrictive T&C to factor out the unwanted?

Exactly !! As I say maybe it's a shady way to try to get ppl interested in HSBC by offering incentives they know very few will qualify for as regards the Advance but once you're in the door so to speak they offer the Basic.

ricz_1

Sounds like an attractive offer but a difficult one to get. My salary doesn't reach the paying in requirement but as other posters have said I can supplement this with saving, plus my partner pays her half of the rent into my account which brings my up to the required amount.

I think the main issue will be that if I have to provide 3 month bank statements from the accounts I'm switching from, all they're going to see is either the monthly pay in and interest skimming from my recently 12 month old nationwide flexidirect or my completely inactive Coop account. Either way not particularly attractive as a new customer.

If my application is refused may go for the basic account anyway for access the the Save Together ISA and 4% regular saver. That £120 and extra 2% would be nice though...

colsten

ricz_1 wrote: »

If my application is refused may go for the basic account anyway for access the the Save Together ISA and 4% regular saver.

The Save Together ISA pre-reqs the Advance account.

There's better than 4% Regular Savers - FD and M&S pay 6%, and TSB as of today has a 5% one.

ricz_1

Thanks Colsten, that TSB saver looks good and I already have 2 classic plus accounts.

nearlyretired2004

Got my account in branch yesterday - and the ISA - panicked a bit when I got home and read the Ts and Cs carefully - the £1750 has to be deposited in the two months after account opening - I take that to mean I needed to deposit yesterday ....last day of the month and I didnt get out of branch until closing time!

Fortunately I managed to resurrect old online banking details that were still valid even though I closed an old account I had with them years ago!!

SO got the £1750 in last night..... phew!!

ricz_1

Hi nearlyretired,

Can I ask what documents you were asked to provide?

Yorkshire_Pud

Had my in branch appointment about 65 gruelling minutes:mad:

I'm not sure if HSBC actually want any new customers or not but this was the worst simple account opening interview I've ever endured.

The rep was nice enough but the questions! They really want a detailed upfront profile of you without actually offering a decision.
Like how much is my house worth? How much in savings with bands up to £100,000+?

How long have I been with Yorkshire Bank? 3 months:o they do want three months statements which I had with me.

You don't have to earn enough to pay in £1750 a month from salary.
You do have to mandate your salary, pension to the HSBC account as a condition of opening the Advance account. Really its not in the T&C? Oh it should be blah blah. Anyway it was made clear that I do HAVE to do this even though its not in the T&C. They should be done for this and they will be!;)

To top the amount up to £1750 you CAN use savings. Where will it come from? XXXX account. OK we will need to see a full statement to prove you have the funds. Can I just get a balance print out? No we want to look at the transactions! P* ss takers.

I want the ISA. OK you have to transfer in all this years ISA allowance. I don't want to, I want to transfer in previous years ISA funds ( can be a lump sum of £300). Me: it doesn't say it has to be this years ISA funds in your leaflet T&C? Checks with Manager. It HAS to be from this years subscriptions. Me: no it doesn't say that can I speak to the Manager? Goes and speaks with Manager again. Seems I have 'discovered' a glitch. They will liaise with some other dept. and get back to me. Look at p6 of their Savings leaflet it states you can transfer in existing cash ISAs!

Now emailed me saying good news, you CAN use previous years subscriptions to qualify for the Save Together offer! That's right because HSBC doesn't say it has to be funded from current years subscriptions ONLY just the Manager making up her own T&C.

Now have a further appt tomorrow to show my statement to PROVE I can meet the funding amount for the current account just like every other provider DOESN'T.

So no decision yet and could all be academic.

I nearly walked out. I felt humiliated and treated like I was doing something wrong.

If HSBC as a brand want to encourage new custom they are going the wrong way about it. Every other provider seduces you with their offer and then hopes you stay, HSBC treats you like a criminal, makes up spurious T&C to suit themselves like you HAVE to mandate your salary to this account even though not contained in the T&C and that's wrong to con customers to make appointments, give over financial details upfront that are far more than they need to open a bank account, then can't even give a decision on the day. My application was referred in branch to the Manager, the one who said I had to use current year ISA subscriptions only I don't.

Rotters:D