Halifax and Bankruptcy

Knackeredoldbat

Hi, I've applied to Halifax to switch my account and been approved. BUT when I go to the terms and conditions it asks me to confirm that I've never been bankrupt. Is this usual?

I have been bankrupt so clearly I can't confirm that and will have to let the account go but wondered if this was a new thing. Seems a bit strange just for a current account

pmduk

I believe it's pretty usual

EarthBoy

Not strange at all. You might go overdrawn on a current account, so they won't want to lend money to someone who might not pay it back. Depending on how long ago you were made bankrupt, and your current credit rating, they might only offer you their basic account, the Easycash account.

Knackeredoldbat

Thanks for the replies. Its a long time since I was bankrupt and haven't come up against this before.

Just to clarify, I have an excellent credit rating now...

I have TSB, Santander123 and Nationwide FULL current accounts and I wasn't asked the bankruptcy question on any of the applications. I just presumed it would come up if I ever wanted a mortgage but not for a current account.

Maybe times are changing...... I did want to switch again though, just to get rid of the Santander account

jonesMUFCforever

Well you cannot lie can you?
So you have to answer truthfully- if this means Halifax will not give you the account you want - so be it - at least you have half a dozen others to fall back on.

Knackeredoldbat

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

Well you cannot lie can you?
So you have to answer truthfully- if this means Halifax will not give you the account you want - so be it - at least you have half a dozen others to fall back on.

Erm, of course not, that's why I didn't tick the box and let the application go!

I was just wondering if anyone had noticed this creeping into current account applications in general. If so, it's useful for people to be aware in case other financial institutions start squeezing in this way.

Whatever the opinion of bankruptcy, once you've served your time (so to speak) most organisations allow you to start again. Clearly it's expected they'll ask 'have you ever been bankrupt' for mortgages, for current accounts they usually don't if you've sorted yourself out and your files are clean.

jonesMUFCforever

..........As you did not proceed with the application you will never know if it would have had an effect on your application.
It might have gone through after an underwriters check.

I assume this policy will apply to Lloyds bank and Bank of Scotland as well.

PeacefulWaters

Knackeredoldbat wrote: »

Erm, of course not, that's why I didn't tick the box and let the application go!

I was just wondering if anyone had noticed this creeping into current account applications in general. If so, it's useful for people to be aware in case other financial institutions start squeezing in this way.

Whatever the opinion of bankruptcy, once you've served your time (so to speak) most organisations allow you to start again. Clearly it's expected they'll ask 'have you ever been bankrupt' for mortgages, for current accounts they usually don't if you've sorted yourself out and your files are clean.

most applications for credit facilities have a similar question and have done for decades.