1st Direct Switching Disappointment

colsten

alandaniel132 wrote: »

you need to read the terms and conditions first.
Read what type of account is eligible first, dude

Do you happen to have a link to them please?

Mrs_Hen

Thank you, everyone for your replies.

Just to be clear, my original post was intended as a "heads up" for other people thinking about switching, not an attempt to get something I am not entitled to.

I accept I may not be eligible for the transfer, but I follow personal finance matters pretty closely and I had no idea there could be an issue like this.

I applied to switch using the CASS system, which included entering the details for the account I was switching away from, and no mention was made of any potential issue until I was on the telephone to set the process in motion. The lady on the phone said she was surprised there was no warning. Even a window advising you to check your account is eligible would have been a useful piece of information.

I am lucky that the loss of the transfer bonus is an irritation rather than a problem, and I am continuing with the switch in order to access their 5% regular savings account, but other people might not feel the same if they ended up in the same situation!

andi2

Phone them back & point out they knew about this at least 3 years ago, so why haven't they done something about it so it alerts you when a One Account sort code is entered.



Then ask them to pay the switching bonus anyway, as a gesture of goodwill. They paid us as it was their issue. Most switches tell you that isn't an eligible account when you try & use it.

dcs34

Picking up on this thread, is there anyone still to receive their technology gifts? Been waiting since December, with the latest promise that I would receive it "no later than 25th January 2019".

For a company that boasts themselves on their customer service, it's all a bit poor. I'm sure I'll get another email update blaming third party suppliers and Christmas (who knew that was coming??) because First Direct can't keep to their commitments.

PRAISETHESUN

Mrs_Hen wrote: »

Thank you, everyone for your replies.

Just to be clear, my original post was intended as a "heads up" for other people thinking about switching, not an attempt to get something I am not entitled to.

I accept I may not be eligible for the transfer, but I follow personal finance matters pretty closely and I had no idea there could be an issue like this.

I applied to switch using the CASS system, which included entering the details for the account I was switching away from, and no mention was made of any potential issue until I was on the telephone to set the process in motion. The lady on the phone said she was surprised there was no warning. Even a window advising you to check your account is eligible would have been a useful piece of information.

I am lucky that the loss of the transfer bonus is an irritation rather than a problem, and I am continuing with the switch in order to access their 5% regular savings account, but other people might not feel the same if they ended up in the same situation!

If it helps, you don't need to make the switch when the account is opened to take advantage of the offer - you can switch another current account down the line and take advantage of the offer at any point within the first 3 months of the account being opened, just as long as you haven't received a bonus before and they have an active switch offer at the time you make the switch. If you don't have a spare current account, you could always open up an account with RBS and then switch it once it is open, as there is no requirement for the account being switched to have any DDs/SOs/etc set up on the account to qualify for the bonus.

EDIT: corrected incorrect info

meer53

PRAISETHESUN wrote: »

If it helps, you don't need to make the switch when the account is opened to take advantage of the offer - you can switch another current account down the line and take advantage of the offer at any point, just as long as you haven't received a bonus before and they have an active switch offer at the time you make the switch. If you don't have a spare current account, you could always open up an account with RBS and then switch it once it is open, as there is no requirement for the account being switched to have any DDs/SOs/etc set up on the account to qualify for the bonus.

This is wrong, you have to switch within the first 3 months of the account being opened to receive the incentive.

novc27

dcs34 wrote: »

Picking up on this thread, is there anyone still to receive their technology gifts? Been waiting since December, with the latest promise that I would receive it "no later than 25th January 2019".

For a company that boasts themselves on their customer service, it's all a bit poor. I'm sure I'll get another email update blaming third party suppliers and Christmas (who knew that was coming??) because First Direct can't keep to their commitments.

Yup. I have still not received anything, been waiting since November. I called someone from the marketing company handling the gifts and they said we would all receive another email before the end of the week explaining that there are stock issues, which would provide an update. I don't really understand how it can take 3+ months to find a pair of Sennheiser headphones, it's not exactly like First Direct is trying to corner the market...

PRAISETHESUN

meer53 wrote: »

This is wrong, you have to switch within the first 3 months of the account being opened to receive the incentive.

Thanks for correcting me - I got this one mixed up with Nationwide where you can do as I've written. I've edited my previous post

No_6

Had to finish this post with a cluck,cluck,,yess !!
to Mrs Hen

another EGG