Switching to RBS from a new bank account

kilpaelkku

I want to do the Natwest/RBS £150 switch offer, but I don't really want to give up my main bank account.

Is there any reason why I couldn't open a new account with Starling, for instance, (and maybe spend a pound or two on the new debit card) and then switch to RBS from that and still qualify for the offer.

Couldn't find anything in the T&C's indicating this wouldn't work but any insights would be appreciated.

18cc

yes you can do exactly this. make sure the bank is subscribed to cass.

kilpaelkku

Great, thanks for the reply!

blue.peter

Beware!


RBS's customer experience leaves something to be desired. I switched to them in late June/early July in order to qualify for the bribe that they offered then. Nothing they've done has (yet) given me cause to raise a complaint, but I've experienced a stream of minor frustrations and irritations. These are things that might or might not bother you, but the cumulative effect on me is one of general dissatisfaction.


My present intention is to stick with RBS until I get the second part of their bribe (it was £125 for switching + £50 for staying with them for a year), and then to move on.

kilpaelkku

Thanks for the response.

Yeah, I actually tried to open an RBS account a few years ago but there were too many issues so I went with Bank of Scotland. That's another reason why I'm planninng to switch from a secondary account just to get the bribe.

blue.peter

One thing I've noticed is that switching bank accounts affects your credit rating. When you open an account, the new bank apparently does a hard credit check on you. The result in my case was that my credit rating fell from the maximum 999 to 991 (figures from the MSE Credit Club). It's been down for a couple of months now. I don't know how long it'll take to recover.

So if you're going to do it twice in quick succession, I guess that the effect will be more noticeable. This might or might not be an issue for you.

boo_star

blue.peter wrote: »

One thing I've noticed is that switching bank accounts affects your credit rating. When you open an account, the new bank apparently does a hard credit check on you. The result in my case was that my credit rating fell from the maximum 999 to 991 (figures from the MSE Credit Club). It's been down for a couple of months now. I don't know how long it'll take to recover.

So if you're going to do it twice in quick succession, I guess that the effect will be more noticeable. This might or might not be an issue for you.

Doesn't matter. Your "credit score" with the CRAs is meaningless.