Will Barclays close my account for using their Reward program?

jumperabv3

Barclays has a Rewards scheme where if you have 2 direct debits (minimum) and get income (don't remember how much) every month then you get £4.00 from Barclays (you get £7.00 but pay £3.00 fee).

Now I wrote here how Halifax closed my account due to big gambling transactions:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5494413

And I appreciate and understand the closure was not due to getting the Halifax reward each month but since I got 1 account closed I don't want to get another one - and hence - I'm wondering if I have only 2 direct debits and I do get monthly income but don't keep a large balance in the account (use it each month) - will Barclays see me as a customer with no value for them and close the account?

In another words - is it worth getting this £4.00 reward or is it better to leave the account with nothing and then the bank won't see me as a customer with no value for them? (PS I'm not sure what's the value they get from me using 2 direct debits with them ....)

What do you think?

Flobberchops

The value Barclays gets from this arrangement is that you'll likely be using the account as your main one. Of course as many people on this forum will attest to, it's not that difficult to cycle a single monthly income through several accounts and find enough DDs to meet the conditions, but the vast majority of bank customers only have one current account. Barclays therefore wants to a) attract and b) retain customers who are primarily or solely using their account - giving them a preferential shot at then selling these customers insurance, loans, and so on.

For the record the criteria are £800 a month deposited (gross), two active Direct Debits, and the reward scheme itself can only be signed up for (and the reward cash accessed through) online or mobile banking. The last criterion is another benefit for Barclays - online means less overheads paid for maintaining branches, they can send electronic statements rather than paper ones, easier targeted advertising, etc.

To answer your main question: although I'm certainly not privy to Barclays' internal account-closing process, I would be very surprised indeed if simply taking advantage of the reward scheme would get your account closed. In fact I've never heard of this happening. Perhaps if you were determined to take the mickey by manually transferring £1 in and out 800 times and somehow maintained two DDs of a penny each, they might decide to withhold the reward payment. But account closure is usually reserved for more serious risk-related activity like money laundering.

In a nutshell: I wouldn't worry if I were you.

JGUK

If you use it again for gambling though they might see you as a high risk customer.

Depending on how much funding you have in the account.

jumperabv3

JGUK wrote: »

If you use it again for gambling though they might see you as a high risk customer.

Depending on how much funding you have in the account.

Been gambling free for over 2 months, I know it's not "a lot of time" in aspect of gambling (some people have been free for years and then got back to it) but I'm taking proper treatment now and still feeling very much against any means of getting near it .... it's not because of Halifax who closed the account, that's just "small potatoes" - just gambling itself, is so evil I have no way to describe how much it is, and if anyone is reading what I write here and have doubts - please don't, it's not worth it, by all means whatsoever.