Switching Bank Accounts - Time Limits and any Negatives

atreides7887

Hello All,


I've been languishing with a Santander 123 account for too long losing money on the cashback vs. monthly fee basis and am finally motivated enough to switch. I want to take advantage of the switching offers.


My question is, once the bonus for switching has been paid is there any need to stick around with the account or can you switch again straight away? I realise this will have a negative effect on my credit rating but is there any cause for the banks to claim back the switching bonus? Would this depend on the Ts and Cs.



Thanks in advance.


Regards,
atreides7887

eskbanker

atreides7887 wrote: »

I realise this will have a negative effect on my credit rating but is there any cause for the banks to claim back the switching bonus? Would this depend on the Ts and Cs.

Yes, you've effectively answered your own question there - as with many queries on here, the answer is to study the Ts & Cs for the specific product(s) you have in mind rather than being swayed by generalisations.

Having said that, the last time I looked, Nationwide were the only provider claiming the right to claw back an incentive payment for moving on too quickly, but when familiarising with the offer Ts & Cs (as you should do anyway of course), keep an eye out for any such provisions....

atreides7887

Thanks,


How significant is the impact on the credit rating or again is this only possible to determine on a case by case basis. Similarly, how long is this impact likely to last? I envisage buying a property in more than 5 but less than 10 years so is there any guidance on when I should settle with an account?

eskbanker

Anecdotally, lenders are generally interested in what's happened over the last 6-12 months (plus anything significant such as defaults, CCJs, etc, for the duration they're on file), so if you're planning to do some serial switching many years before buying, that's not going to be an issue IMHO....

atreides7887

Great that's reassuring I imagine I'll get most of my serial switching out the way this year more or less and then wait to see what else comes up.


Thanks for the information.

18cc

Also just a tip you will find that you may not even get a credit search if you don't apply for an overdraft on your new account

18cc

Sorry what I was trying to say is that credit checks are normally done when you are doing just that ie applying for credit - just opening a new current account should not trigger a credit search as such

another tip is that if you have any direct debits switching over then double and triple check they have switched correctly as there have been tales on here of people whose phones have been cut off etc because the direct debit for the monthly phone bill did not switch properly and no-one noticed

atreides7887

Thanks will keep that in mind.

badger09

18cc wrote: »

Also just a tip you will find that you may not even get a credit search if you don't apply for an overdraft on your new account

18cc wrote: »

Sorry what I was trying to say is that credit checks are normally done when you are doing just that ie applying for credit - just opening a new current account should not trigger a credit search as such

another tip is that if you have any direct debits switching over then double and triple check they have switched correctly as there have been tales on here of people whose phones have been cut off etc because the direct debit for the monthly phone bill did not switch properly and no-one noticed

On what are you basing your statement about credit checks?

Every 'standard' current account application that I'm aware of, will generate a credit check. That is because, even if you don't apply for, or decline, an overdraft, you would still be able to go overdrawn.

(I can't comment on those accounts on which it is impossible to do this)

SlovakianGuy

Hey guys, I wonder if it's possible to have multiple bank accounts and get multiple switching bonuses. Let's say, I already have 4 bank accounts. I switch to a new bank which closes only one of those 4 accounts. Then I switch to another bank which closes another one of those 4 accounts, and so on. In the end, I would still have 4 accounts, but now in different banks. Is something like that possible? I'm just planning my first switch, so I have no experience with it. But if possible, I would open another 2-3 accounts and later switch them to different banks, depending on their switching incentives. What do you think?

SlovakianGuy

Btw, do you think, you still get switching bonus if you switch FROM mobile-only bank, such as Atom bank or Tandem bank or Starling bank?