Rejected for First Direct

AirlieBird

starM wrote: »

I don't think it relates to your income. My brother has same salary as yours and he was accepted FD account 2 years ago.

It may be because of credit scoring. If you have good running of your bank account and proof of any savings send this to them. May be 3 months statements with covering letter.

How would that help? Banks want people that borrow money, not people where they run their accounts in credit, have plentiful savings and have no prospect of selling them a mortgage, loan, overdraft, premium account or credit card.

blindman

hammersfaniow wrote: »

You could well be right. Although it is a low salary, my outgoings are minimal as I own my property outright so therefore I have a fair disposable income and am not in need of loans, overdrafts etc

Oh well, never mind

So you can't be bothered to phone them for say 5 minutes for possible £125 payout :eek:

Each to his own but I think you're on the wrong forum:cool:

teddysmum

ValiantSon wrote: »

They do offer accounts to people who have retired, but they are more likely to offer them to those in receipt of a good pension, rather than just state pension, for example.

I have state and a small company pension, but have had no problems applying to other banks.

20aday

It sometimes pays to appeal.

Granted this is HSBC rather than First Direct but some years ago I encountered financial difficulties and one of my creditors was HSBC.

For years (and perhaps rightly so, given my account conduct) they'd decline me if I applied for a bank account every once in a blue moon.

Tried again last year, decline, so I wrote to them and received a letter about internal credit scoring, their policies etc.

Applied last week (can you tell I don't give up easily!) and much to my surprise I've now got an account with them.

stoozie1

I've been rejected twice by First Direct and rang to find out why. They weren't allowed to say exactly why, but it was low income only.

(I could infer this because i only got as far as telling the CS rep 2 things, 1 was my income, and the second thing was about to completely change and so I asked if I stood a better chance applying again when the secondcdetail changed).

He said he couldn't comment on my specific applications, or disclose the criteria, but said that no matter what happened with the second detail, a third application would be pointless.

Do try though, there's nothing to lose, but just saying I think it's about low income.

p00hsticks

BoGoF wrote: »

Apart from a potential switching bonus you are not missing out on much imho.

Don't forget the 5% regular saver

WillPS

20aday wrote: »

It sometimes pays to appeal.

Granted this is HSBC rather than First Direct but some years ago I encountered financial difficulties and one of my creditors was HSBC.

For years (and perhaps rightly so, given my account conduct) they'd decline me if I applied for a bank account every once in a blue moon.

Tried again last year, decline, so I wrote to them and received a letter about internal credit scoring, their policies etc.

Applied last week (can you tell I don't give up easily!) and much to my surprise I've now got an account with them.

I'd suggest that's probably more due to whatever it was HSBC didn't like about you falling outside their time margin in terms of visibility/concern, rather than being anything to do with your correspondence following a previous decline.

WillPS

stoozie1 wrote: »

Do try though, there's nothing to lose, but just saying I think it's about low income.

Agreed. I think the minimum income they expect falls somewhere between the OPs salary and the £1750/month (after tax) that HSBC require for Advance accounts.

ValiantSon

teddysmum wrote: »

I have state and a small company pension, but have had no problems applying to other banks.

That's fine, but it doesn't necessarily mean that First Direct should wish to have you as a customer. Each application is assessed in the round and some are considered to be potentially profitable, using their definition of what constitutes profitable, and some are not. One of the things that affects profitability is income. A low income makes you potentially less profitable if their aim is to up sell premium products.

EachPenny

WillPS wrote: »

Agreed. I think the minimum income they expect falls somewhere between the OPs salary and the £1750/month (after tax) that HSBC require for Advance accounts.

However HSBC do not require an income of £1750/month for the Advance account, they have a requirement for monthly pay-in (or equivalent) which is not the same thing. Neither does HSBC state that the £1750 has to be "after tax".

Their internal processes might include a minimum income requirement, but it is important to bear in mind the two things are separate.