M&S Switch voucher now £220

joe134

they say wait 48 hours, wait a bit, they are snowed under.
mine took a while.
you may have the bat and ball, but, they have the playing field.

whitesatin

joe134 wrote: »

they say wait 48 hours, wait a bit, they are snowed under.
mine took a while.
you may have the bat and ball, but, they have the playing field.

Not sure how that would be as there are plenty of banks to choose from. I wasn't changing banks for a cash bonus, just looking for efficiency. I doubt they will be bothered about losing my business but it makes me feel better. My money, I expect it to be valued and not to be kept waiting.

masonic

I applied on Sunday and received an email today apologising for the delay. It seems, as joe134 said, that they are snowed under.

tg99

masonic wrote: »

I applied on Sunday and received an email today apologising for the delay. It seems, as joe134 said, that they are snowed under.

I got same email.

Katiehound

I applied on Saturday and just got an e-mail which said:

"Thank you for your recent application for an M&S current account. Due to the offer being so popular we are experiencing unprecedented demand. We know you are still waiting to hear about your application and apologise for the delay. Please be assured that we will be in touch as soon as possible with a decision."

Carnival789

Received and returned my paperwork to M&S yesterday: anyone have any idea on how long it is before they will be able to start the switching process?

I was expecting the paperwork to ask about which account I was switching but no mention of this at all. I assume that side of things is dealt with later then.

I'm hoping to have completed the switch before my next 123 account fee is due (2nd)!

YorkshireBoy

Carnival789 wrote: »

Received and returned my paperwork to M&S yesterday: anyone have any idea on how long it is before they will be able to start the switching process?

I was expecting the paperwork to ask about which account I was switching but no mention of this at all. I assume that side of things is dealt with later then.

I'm hoping to have completed the switch before my next 123 account fee is due (2nd)!

Not sure if it's covered earlier in the thread, but when I bagged this offer back in 2014 it was VERY long winded. You had to call them after the account was opened and go through the switch details. They then sent a switching pack out and you had to call them again to confirm you STILL wanted to go ahead.


IIRC, many on here didn't wait for the pack to arrive...they just called up 2 days after the first call and blagged it saying "yes I've got the pack, everything is OK, and I want to go ahead"!

MARTYM8`

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Not sure if it's covered earlier in the thread, but when I bagged this offer back in 2014 it was VERY long winded. You had to call them after the account was opened and go through the switch details. They then sent a switching pack out and you had to call them again to confirm you STILL wanted to go ahead.


IIRC, many on here didn't wait for the pack to arrive...they just called up 2 days after the first call and blagged it saying "yes I've got the pack, everything is OK, and I want to go ahead"!

Yes – my experience too.

Initially I received a holding email after 3 days while they considered my application. Then a letter in the post asking me to provide ID a week later as I must have failed the electronic vetting – this was similar to First Direct (i.e. certified passports/driving licence or an HMRC tax letter etc) plus proof of address but oddly they would not accept HSBC or First Direct bank statements (why – as surely that’s the best proof possible as you already bank with the group)?!

In the end it was actually oddly the most rewarding and enjoyable account I have opened as I decided to go into their Marble Arch branch to get it sorted. It was the quietest bank branch I have ever seen in London and I got an appointment within 5 minutes to see a banking advisor who spoke with head office and got them to approve my account. I got some chocolates and a free bottle of water too.

I then went into a branch to do the switch a couple of weeks later once the account was opened. The banking advisors/staff were again helpful – again deserted despite this being their biggest store in the UK – and I got another bottle of sparkling water and chocolates. Switch process took a while as they had a very old printer which took for ever to print out the documents for signing.

I applied at a quiet time – I can only imagine how they will cope with this offer.

I would suggest however that if you can follow up on ID issues/switching do it with a branch if you have one nearby – not by phone. You will find it much easier.

It may take time but it will be worth it in the end – even for the very oddly designed debit card!

colsten

Carnival789 wrote: »

I'm hoping to have completed the switch before my next 123 account fee is due (2nd)!

If a potential one-off £3 extra bother you, you can call Santander and ask to downgrade your 123 to an Everyday Current Account. This will also stop any interest you get paid on that account so it might not be worth it bottom line.

As others have said, you need to be very patient when switching to M&S. Personally, I think it's worth it worth it if they pay you £220 for it over a year, and they have a marvellous 6% regular saver that you might be able to qualify for.

I would, however, worry for the lost interest from the 123, so switching a 123 for an M&S account might not be the most clever solution.

Carnival789

colsten wrote: »

If a potential one-off £3 extra bother you, you can call Santander and ask to downgrade your 123 to an Everyday Current Account. This will also stop any interest you get paid on that account so it might not be worth it bottom line.

As others have said, you need to be very patient when switching to M&S. Personally, I think it's worth it worth it if they pay you £220 for it over a year, and they have a marvellous 6% regular saver that you might be able to qualify for.

I would, however, worry for the lost interest from the 123, so switching a 123 for an M&S account might not be the most clever solution.

Yes it's not really a biggie if the switch takes a while - like you say it's only an extra £3.

I do in fact still want to have a 123 account, but I'm a bit of a worrier when it comes to switching - I only ever like to switch my main bank account (rather than a donor) in case I get rumbled during the process - specially in the case of M&S where you have to go through a phone interview (grilling?!!).

I have recently opened an everyday current account with Santander and I'll be upgrading that to a 123 account once my existing 123 has switched out.

I can sense the shaking of heads already lol.