Employment Status

nadnerbsregdor

Hello everyone,

I am due to start a job on 6th May after being previously unemployed after finishing University. I want to switch from my current bank Halifax to First Direct bank, but during the application for first direct I am asked for employment status.

I have signed my contract with my new employer, got my salary and pay dates confirmed and the start date of 6th of May is also stated in the contract.

My question is would be be better to wait until the 6th of May to sign up a with employment status as Full Time Employed? Or due to the contract being signed, start date given, and so on, would I be able to set the employment status as Full Time Employed now as I will be in under 2 weeks?

I am pretty sure I will have to wait but just wanted to move from my current bank ASAP, and wanted to double check before I completed the First Direct Application.

Many Thanks

Neil_Jones

When you do a current account switch you can specify a date.
So specify a date switch of May 6th (or whenever) and say you are employed, as by the time it goes through you will be employed again.

nadnerbsregdor

Thanks for the advice and quick reply. Much appreciated

dcs34

From my (non-qualified) experience, it doesn't really matter - it's just a tool for the bank to model what type of payments it expects to go in and out of your account, and also to personalise the marketing bumpf you see after logging out.

There's no easy mechanism for you to change it after the fact anyway - so you can always say circumstances have changed if they ever question you on it in the future. I'd assume most banks would 'prefer' you to put full time employed and in your case that isn't really a stretch from the truth...

colsten

First Direct have been known to insist on randomly calling applicants on their office number.

It's a bad idea at best of times to tell half truths on an application for a bank account. Doubly so with First Direct, who are famous for being picky about which applications they accept. Call them and ask. Or wait a couple of weeks.

[Deleted User]

colsten wrote: »

First Direct have been known to insist on randomly calling applicants on their office number.

It's a bad idea at best of times to tell half truths on an application for a bank account. Doubly so with First Direct, who are famous for being picky about which applications they accept. Call them and ask. Or wait a couple of weeks.

Assuming, of course, that one works in an office, as opposed to - say - down a sewer, or on a trawler ….

Flobberchops

As dcs34 says. The bank is very unlikely to actually verify anything you tell them, and being employed is unlikely to form part of the account's eligibility. The employment info you give them may help them make decisions about provisional overdraft and loan pricing, may be used as security questions if you ever have to be taken through enhanced or alternate ID, and of course will feed into your marketing profile. Even if you declined to tell them your job, or told a huge porky, they would probably make up their own mind after seeing a few months of your usual account activity anyway.


In a nutshell, don't sweat it. For simplicity tell them your upcoming employment details.

badger09

I'm with colsten on this one.

Why the rush? Wait until 6th May to apply, then there is no need for 'half truths' 'porkies' or 'stretches of the truth'. First Direct are notoriously picky, why give them another potential reason to decline your application?

nadnerbsregdor

@badger09 - No major rush, just not really getting any benefits from being with Halifax and wanted a change.


After looking at the the first direct application, looks like they are asking for date my employment started, and of course as this cannot be a future date I was stopped at the first hurdle anyways.

After more thorough searching through these forums it appears first direct don't have the greatest mobile banking application. I think I will do a bit more research and find which bank has the best mobile banking facilities, and switch when I start employment on the 6th May.

Thanks for all the information and help everyone.

colsten

nadnerbsregdor wrote: »

After more thorough searching through these forums it appears first direct don't have the greatest mobile banking application. I think I will do a bit more research and find which bank has the best mobile banking facilities, and switch when I start employment on the 6th May.

The FD app is, IMO, perfectly fine, and lets you do everything you might want to do with a current account. It's their online banking which looks ancient, but again it lets you do everything you could possibly want to do.

If you want something more snazzy, have a look at Starling. You won't get an automatic overdraft or a cheque book or access to a 5% Regular Saver, or any switching bribe, but they will pay a tiny bit of interest on balances over £1K and they are as modern as it gets, app-wise. Starling are also a lot less picky than FD, and a lot faster opening the account.

'Proper' money saving experts will, naturally, do both - - have an app they like but they also bag all the switch offers, plus have access to the best savings accounts :cool: