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greencode

With regards to the Alliance & Leicester £100 offer - is there nothing stopping me from leaving them after I receive the £100 from them?

Also, they state that you have to pay in £500 per month to avoid charges. Can you therefore pay in £500 and then withdraw it a day later?

I currently have a First Direct account for my main account. I also have a HSBC account which I pay in the money I make from freelancing - therefore I'm not too concerned about who I bank with for that part and would happily transfer from HSBC to A&L to get the £100 as well as cashback from Quidco.

Baldur

greencode wrote: »

With regards to the Alliance & Leicester £100 offer - is there nothing stopping me from leaving them after I receive the £100 from them?

That's what I did, virtually immediately after receiving the £100, with no problem.

Also, they state that you have to pay in £500 per month to avoid charges. Can you therefore pay in £500 and then withdraw it a day later?

Or even the same day - all they look for is the deposit.

I currently have a First Direct account for my main account. I also have a HSBC account which I pay in the money I make from freelancing - therefore I'm not too concerned about who I bank with for that part and would happily transfer from HSBC to A&L to get the £100 as well as cashback from Quidco.

I transferred the A&L to HSBC after receiving the £100 and received £50 for that transfer as well...

southantrim3

Not sure if it's been mentioned before but I'm gonna state the Halifax bank are, suprisingly good, they also have UK call centres, including one here in Belfast. So much better than using call centres based in other countries!

LongTermLurker

southantrim3 wrote: »

Not sure if it's been mentioned before but I'm gonna state the Halifax bank are, suprisingly good, they also have UK call centres, including one here in Belfast. So much better than using call centres based in other countries!

Yes, I've said much the same many times - despite the crap adverts and marketing, I like Halifax.

And yes, the UK call centre staff (I think the NI one was the first) can be understood.

duff1983

After switching my current account to A&L from Lloyds as recommended by MSE I must say I have been very dissapointed with the service I have received from A&L. Firstly after applying online they lost the first line of my address (this also happened to a friend of mine who I recommended to switch) so I did not recieve my card for over a week before I rang up to complain and give them my full address. Then I was given only a £600 overdraft when my Lloyds one was £2,000 (I had previously been a graduate account holder). This was back in May when I was looking for a balance transfer on my credit card so I utilised the overdraft (as it was 0%) to pay off some of my cc to save interest. Consequently I was close to the overdraft limit for a couple of months before I got one sorted. However A&L decided to take my overdraft away (presumably because they didn't like me being overdrawn - but then why advertise a 0% overdraft if they won't let you use it?!). I didn't complain as I still had my original cc for spending and Lloyds still haven't taken away my previous OD but it has meant I've needed to be constantly vigilant about how much I spent on my A&L account because the charges for going overdrawn are horrendous.
Unfortunately I had a lapse of this vigilance when I went on holiday in Jan and went overdrawn on my A&L account ended up getting charged 3x £25 for transactions that went through whilst overdrawn and £5 for spending a day overdrawn!!! I accept that it was my fault but the charges are disgraceful especially as I repaid it immediately.
Also in for the last two months I have transfered money online to pay off my cc on the day I've been paid, when I can read on my statement that it has gone through and the money is there, however A&L put my BACS payment as being after the money transfers, so it appears like I have gone overdrawn and then paid money in when this is not the case. In Jan I was charged another £5 for this. I rang up to complain about my overdraft and threatened to go back to Lloyds, they have now given me a £1,400 overdraft on the orginal 0% terms as it's within 12months of opening.
I have a salary and take home about £1,800 of which about a grand is disposable income and A&L should be able to see this since I opened the account in May. I still owe £400 on my cc (20%APR) and I have another 0% balance transfer card which has about £700 on it so I could pay the whole lot off with my new A&L overdraft but after my previous experience I am more cautious they will just take it away even though they should be able to see I'll be in the black by next month!
The whole point of switching was to get the £100 (which I have lost £80 due to charges) and get the overdraft, which they remove if you use it. The travel insurance is useful but doesn't cover winter sports, I used to pay about £40 for annual cover so this isn't worth that much. So added to the hassle of switching and not getting your cards immediately and the fact there are far less branches than the big four I would strongly not recommend switching to A&L. My friend who switched had an equally torrid time with the switching process but this post is already long enough!!!!

In short don't switch........ it really isn't worth it!!

WNVAUGHAN

For 10 years + I've operated a Halifax Card Cash account, no overdraft, no mal administration. I'm not a bankrupt, no IVA, no CCJs. Some debts, but they are managed and paid on time. A small Credit Card of £500 paid off monthly. Yet, on application, they never allow me to upgrade to a full Current Account. I tried Santander - they too would only give me a Basic Bank Account. So too would First Direct...

So I tried NatWest.

Result - full Current Account. Cheque Book. Visa. All the trimmings.

After 3 months of paying in a salary, I will get a means tested overdraft.

I am paying £11 a month. But, I get to cancel my AA membership, mobile phone insurance, 2 for 1 Vue cinema card, cancel personal insurance and no need to buy travel insurance.

Online banking is probably OTT secure, but its 100% up to date (Halifax would never show ATM withdrawls and DDs on the same day as they were debited).

For me ... a very good, excellent account. Recommended !

Maybe it's best to stick to a good old fashioned bank and not a newbee / former Building Society.

rb10

WNVAUGHAN wrote: »

Online banking is probably OTT secure, but its 100% up to date (Halifax would never show ATM withdrawls and DDs on the same day as they were debited).

Halifax online banking shows both ATM withdrawals as soon as they take place in my experience.

WNVAUGHAN wrote: »

For me ... a very good, excellent account. Recommended !

Maybe it's best to stick to a good old fashioned bank and not a newbee / former Building Society.

Ok, so neither Halifax or First Direct would give you a full current account. However, both of them are significantly better banks to hold current accounts at than Natwest.

Good to hear that you've had a good experience at Natwest so far though; many people don't.

System

I personally find NatWest / RBS better than Halifax/ BOS or Santander.

I know RB10 has a dislike of NatWest

rb10 wrote: »

Halifax online banking shows both ATM withdrawals as soon as they take place in my experience.



Ok, so neither Halifax or First Direct would give you a full current account. However, both of them are significantly better banks to hold current accounts at than Natwest.

Good to hear that you've had a good experience at Natwest so far though; many people don't.

blueberrypie

rb10 wrote: »

Halifax online banking shows both ATM withdrawals as soon as they take place in my experience.

And mine - everything on-line as soon as it happens.

Odette

Hello all,

Just a quick quessie, Ive had my A&L account for a year now after taking advantage of the £100 offer. I now want to switch because they are charging me for my OD (grinds my gears getting charged 50p a day for being £2 overdrawn) plus there just doesnt seem to be many actual branches my way! Are there any accounts at the moment with a 0% OD, for up to say...£100. Wouldnt like to pay. Have at least £1400 going in a month but probably not enough for First Direct. Any ideas?

:beer: