MSE News: Barclays offers switchers double rewards for a year

Katiehound

I'm now thinking that I will attempt a switch from NatWest!
Have realised that I could apply for a Barclays CC and assuming I'm accepted, set that up as one of the DDs to earn a reward

A quick look on their website suggests that by using the CC they would pay out £1 pm- no minimum spend mentioned. I assume that could therefore be quite a small amount-. In which case £7 for the DD & £1 for the spend. Can't be bad

oh and we even have a branch in town!

18cc

I plan to apply for an account and switch and then hopefully the direct debits will go across and then on the 1st of June I will turn on blue rewards

Katiehound

very impressed.
Signed up last night for account , switch & Cc.
E-mails by return and a telephone message this morning reminding me to take docs into local branch in the next few days.
So sort code, a/c number/ barclaycard no. all given

Rather different from the Yorks & NatWest experience......

Looks like I am going to be short of one DD this month so not the max profit. Switch due to go thro May 18th

Moral of story: have DDs up and running (and paid out once ) before switch. Nevermind, I wasn't expecting a deal to come along quite so quickly.........
So, my switch from my second H Reward account has earned a good bit more than £3 pm!!
(and today spent all but last remaining £3 on my M&S gift card from that switch. 2 x dine in for two for £18- a free £18 at that, including 2 bottles of wine :T

Over62

My problem is with identity documents. The last screen that appears when switching shows that a driving licence, either paper or photo, is acceptable but the email sent to take to the branch with the documents only states photo. I phoned the Switch team who said that as long as the current address is shown on the paper licence, it was fine. I took my documents to the branch on Friday and they were accepted with no problem.

When my husband took his documents today, they would not accept the paper driving licence. I phoned the Switch team again, who now say it is at branch discretion. Right hand ... left hand.

We do everything online so we have no original bank statements, credit card statements, utility or council tax bills etc. It is presumably possible to get one of these, probably at a cost, but not within the 5 days specified, and frankly, I strongly object to having to do it. Other banks are able to confirm your identity electronically, so why not Barclays?

Furthermore, the policy is ageist. Only those old enough to drive before 1998 may still have paper licences.

Not sure that the hassle is worth the incentives.

:mad:

youngretired

Does your husband not have a passport that he can take as ID and you say you do everything by online, but council tax bills for each year are sent out in the post (this is what we always use as everything else is paperless).

Other banks might ID you electronically but some do ask for ID to be shown in branch also, as my husband has been asked to take into Nationwide and Santander before when being added onto an account. Also Natwest asked for ID to be sent electronically to them when they recently launched their incentive earlier this year.

Ashen

I do find it slightly odd that, since it is possible to open a new account online completely fine with Barclays without physical identification (unless things have changed), presumably it's just if you open and request a switch that they suddenly need to see ID for some reason.

Also, being an existing customer, they didn't ask me for any ID when I went in branch to do the switch.

tg99

Ashen wrote: »

Went in branch to switch an account to my existing Barclays, straightforward enough - just over 10 minutes, with my appointment itself delayed by about 10 minutes extra waiting.

No selling, asked me about income, expenditure on various things - no ID required (mentioning that as the online literature is somewhat unclear for existing account switches).


Yes.

Were the questions on income / expenditure / various effectively as if you were applying for a new account, I.e. a detailed run through of job status and monthly / annual salary, other income, mortgage payments, other outgoings etc?

Ashen

tg99 wrote: »

Were the questions on income / expenditure / various effectively as if you were applying for a new account, I.e. a detailed run through of job status and monthly / annual salary, other income, mortgage payments, other outgoings etc?

Yes - was put to me as them updating the details they currently had for me.

Over62

youngretired wrote: »

Does your husband not have a passport that he can take as ID and you say you do everything by online, but council tax bills for each year are sent out in the post (this is what we always use as everything else is paperless).

Other banks might ID you electronically but some do ask for ID to be shown in branch also, as my husband has been asked to take into Nationwide and Santander before when being added onto an account. Also Natwest asked for ID to be sent electronically to them when they recently launched their incentive earlier this year.

Yes, the passport is being used to verify identity and that is fine. It is the verification of our address that is the problem. Our council tax bills are also sent out electronically so that is not an option.

We also have Natwest accounts and sent ID electronically with no problem. Our Nationwide and Santander accounts are long standing but I don't remember ever having to prove our address.

My complaint is that there is no consistent policy. My documents were accepted without question and one working day later, my OH's documents were rejected. I was told by the Switching Team that my documents were OK and one working day later, the Team say that it is up to individual branches whether or not they accept them.

Not sure that we want accounts with Barclays if this is the way they operate.

ronbell101

Can some one please point me in the right direction online to apply for a switch ?