Switching Current Account

dyoung87

Sorry if this has been posted before.

Looking at changing my current account, and i was interested what footprint this would leave on my credit score / rating. I will be closing my current account (an account I've had since birth) to receive a switching bonus.

I understand being loyal to a bank does look good, but does it has a massive impact?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

YorkshireBoy

Are you chasing switching incentives or simply fancy a change/closing for customer service reasons?

dyoung87

Im switching due to me not getting any additional benefits from my current account (i get no interest, no cash back etc). I will be switching to Halifax, who are offering £125 for the switch. I have never switched before and i can't see myself being a regular switcher. I was interested to see if the £125 switching bonus is worth losing the loyalty of my NatWest account.

YorkshireBoy

The impact of 'time with bank' will vary depending on other stability factors, such as 'time with employer' and 'time at address'. If these are good, then the impact may be minimal. After all, with the advent of the CASS I'd imagine lenders will have tweaked their credit scoring algorithms.

On the flip side, if the 87 in your user name is your year of birth you're giving up around 10 years 'time with bank'. That's a decent amount of history/association.

In short, no-one here will be able to say for sure. So it's down to you to weigh up the pros and cons. Do you have a need for credit in the next year or two, ie mortgage?

dyoung87

Employer and address are both around 5 years. I already have a mortgage (currently going to a new deal but with same provider so no credit checks). Correctly guessed on the '87' part. So I have had my account for 27 years, it would be a shame to lose this. But NatWest are not offering me much to stay with them. I've always been very good with money and kept an excellent credit score. Be a shame to lower this because of a change on bank. Thanks for your help!

YorkshireBoy

dyoung87 wrote: »

So I have had my account for 27 years, it would be a shame to lose this.

Pre 18 doesn't count, so in terms of 'history' you'd be losing "around 10 years" as I said earlier. NB, this is the figure you should enter in the 'time with bank' field for any credit account applications, not 27 years.