HSBC's New £120 Switch Offer

deutsch

Rejected for Advanced account. Will use this Basic account to switch away elsewhere. Disappointed as this is the first ever rejection for anything bank /credit related.

norm_

dalef wrote: »

Is there any point in applying if net salary is less than £1,750 pm? Even if you plan to 'top-up' the account to meet the criteria.

I don't know if HSBC are any more strict now, but I applied successfully around March time, and my salary is less than £1750 by a few hundred and I told them I would be funding the account strictly from savings, this was a phone application also.

Depends whether you want to spend 45mins on the phone to find out.

richdeniro

richdeniro wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone has agreed an overdraft limit for their advance account when doing this switch?

I applied for a 2k overdraft when completing the application, didn't mention anything about it when going into a branch to complete my application and this evening logged into my new online HSBC account and it's showing a 2k overdraft limit.

richdeniro

My account has been opened with the sort code 40-10-00.

I was just wondering if anyone knew the branch address for this sort code, I don't seem to be able to find it anywhere online.

I applied online and finished the application in the Covent Garden branch but it doesn't appear to match that branches sort code.

dj1471

richdeniro wrote: »

My account has been opened with the sort code 40-10-00.

It's not a branch, it's a central/generic sort code. Makes no difference to anything, you're free to use any branch you wish.

mpelson

Given the mostly negative feedback I was a bit concerned about this application.

However, my experience seems to mirror that posted by TheTracker earlier this week. Applied online, met the income criteria and got the acceptance letter yesterday. Just required two docs to be signed, one a letter stating that you had read the t&cs and another for a signature specimen that also had the a/c number and sort code.

No request to go into branch or call with extra ID or suitability test! It may have helped that amongst my many other current accounts I have both first direct and M&S and am an ex-HSBC current account holder (closed several years ago).

No mention of sending debit card, PIN or Welcome pack in my letter so will wait for that.

When everything is set up, will call for the switch to get the £120 switch bonus, set up the loyalty ISA with Save Together and a regular saver too. None of these get mentioned in an online application so the fact I wanted to do all three is unknown to them and would not have been part of their decision process.

Guess I am one of the lucky ones!

gingercordial

richdeniro wrote: »

My account has been opened with the sort code 40-10-00.

I was just wondering if anyone knew the branch address for this sort code, I don't seem to be able to find it anywhere online.

I applied online and finished the application in the Covent Garden branch but it doesn't appear to match that branches sort code.

I received a cheque book (why?) and a paying in book (double why?) for my new Advance account the other day and there was a branch name on it, somewhere random up north. Not Coventry which is where all the letters come from, and not either of the central London branches I had to visit during my application. It doesn't make any practical difference anyway, but if you also receive a cheque book it'll tell you on there!

keiran

Another online application referred to a branch, where they offered me a "basic account" and said I'd failed their "internal scoring", but refusing to tell me what that is....

As someone who routinely gets accepted for bank accounts (15 with Yorks!) I am of course perturbed and agree that HSBC seems to have a somewhat underhand method of collecting personal information, not being explicit with what their requirements are, and offering applicants a substandard account instead

How would I run amok with their Advance account any differently to their basic account?

romanian_bird

I got 40-10-05 but I don't think it matters.

I now have my bank card, cheque book and PIN, a set date for the switch from First Direct to HSBC, and I also started the process to switch my Cash ISA from FD to HSBC.

henm2

gingercordial wrote: »

I received a cheque book (why?) and a paying in book (double why?) for my new Advance account the other day and there was a branch name on it, somewhere random up north.

A cheque book useful as it is usually required at HSBC counters when withdrawing cash from a current account. Paying in book not as useful as there are a few paying in slips at the back of the cheque book. (HSBC are behind the times and still require completed paying in slips when paying in cheques)

As for the HSBC's internal credit scoring system when assessing advance account applications the actual scoring will be hidden from individual staff just as it is with any account application at any bank.