First Direct and 30 minutes of snooping

GingerBob_3

Interesting article here (Telegraph, 10/04/2016):


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/personal-banking/savings/why-does-first-direct-demand-a-30-minute-interview-and-ask-my-sa/


I wonder where you'd stand legally on this if you plied them with a load of utter b/s?

Rich2808

Simple answer - apply for your FD regular saver online via internet banking. It took me a couple of minutes last month!

Nebulous2

If you want to open a savings account and first direct is on your list then you have two sensible options. Either comply with what they ask and open your account or go somewhere else.

Telling lies is not a sensible option. Therein lies the risk of causing huge problems - CIFAS registration or worse. You could find yourself unable to buy a parking ticket online!

GingerBob_3

Nebulous2 wrote: »

If you want to open a savings account and first direct is on your list then you have two sensible options. Either comply with what they ask and open your account or go somewhere else.

Telling lies is not a sensible option. Therein lies the risk of causing huge problems - CIFAS registration or worse. You could find yourself unable to buy a parking ticket online!

Not sure. In this case you're really just answering survey questions. You wouldn't be trying to obtain anything by deception.

agrinnall

Andrew Oxlade seems to be of the same paranoid anti-bank mindset as GingerBob. After his rant he says this:

"One last thing. There is a way around these checks, a route to 6pc savings nirvana. If you agree to the bank’s “secure key”, an extra level of security for logging in, then you bypass the financial inquisition. A cynic could suggest this is another tool for bullying more customers into accepting yet another cumbersome layer of security. First Direct, you’ll need to offer a better savings rate than 6pc, for me to agree to that."


So nobody needs to undergo an interview, just accept a security device, which many of us have already done for FD/HSBC and a number of other banks. And if he's prepared to pass up the 6% interest simply because of that then he's an idiot whose financial opinion should be ignored.

GingerBob_3

agrinnall wrote: »

Andrew Oxlade seems to be of the same paranoid anti-bank mindset as GingerBob. After his rant he says this:

"One last thing. There is a way around these checks, a route to 6pc savings nirvana. If you agree to the bank’s “secure key”, an extra level of security for logging in, then you bypass the financial inquisition. A cynic could suggest this is another tool for bullying more customers into accepting yet another cumbersome layer of security. First Direct, you’ll need to offer a better savings rate than 6pc, for me to agree to that."


So nobody needs to undergo an interview, just accept a security device, which many of us have already done for FD/HSBC and a number of other banks. And if he's prepared to pass up the 6% interest simply because of that then he's an idiot whose financial opinion should be ignored.

I'm not "anti-bank", I'm just anti-bank stupidity, as we all should be.

Rich2808

The bank want as much information as possible so they can sell your more products. They make a loss on the 6% regular saver - it exists to attract you to open a current account, then take out a credit card so you avoid the £10 monthly account fee (one option), then have a personal loan, a mortgage, home insurance.

Its not for security reasons - its so they can target you and sell you stuff.

As I said - no need to suffer this if you apply for the regular saver on line. I got asked none of these questions online

Archi_Bald

agrinnall wrote: »

"One last thing. There is a way around these checks, a route to 6pc savings nirvana. If you agree to the bank’s “secure key”, an extra level of security for logging in, then you bypass the financial inquisition. "

What a pompous way of saying "You can open the account online".

Oxlade obviously needs more than 30 minutes to comprehend that you need a First Direct current account before you can have their regular saver - and that those who have the current account already have the "secure key". Usually in digital form, on their smartphone.

Confusingly, Oxlade claims he has been an FD customer for 20 years. Difficult to believe he hasn't got the physical or digital secure key. Even more difficult to believe a reputable journalist would write an article about this, and accept money for doing so.

agrinnall

GingerBob wrote: »

I'm not "anti-bank", I'm just anti-bank stupidity, as we all should be.

If that's the case, then we can all agree with that, unfortunately your posting history suggests that you think pretty much everything that banks do is stupid.

GingerBob_3

agrinnall wrote: »

If that's the case, then we can all agree with that, unfortunately your posting history suggests that you think pretty much everything that banks do is stupid.

I'd say a lot of what they do is stupid, and some of it is criminal as well, and I don't mean that in a metaphorical sense. Don't get me wrong, we need banks and they provide a vital service, but there is a great deal that's wrong with them.

splatt30

Pretty sure I opened my regular saver in about 3 minutes and a few clicks online.

I did endure 2 hours on the phone trying to get a mortgage for our house move last August only to be told they were only prepared to lend us LESS than they currently lent us, despite my new job and pay rise. Hence we are no longer FD offset mortgage customers :-( but did find another lender so we could move house (quite easily)