Switching bank account - direct debit question

bnabound

Hi all,
I have no interest in closing my account with my current bank (Natwest) but I do want the switching bonuses that keep popping up so I have created a simple account with Barclays, transferred three direct debits to it and am now looking to switch from Barclays to HSBC and get the £175 reward. The idea is to keep this account as the one to switch from (for future rewards) without closing my main account.
My question is this - since the Barclays account is brand new and the direct debits (whilst they show up as moved to Barclays) have not yet 'kicked in', will the switch work now or do I have to wait until the direct debits have been paid from my Barclays account at least once for it to be valid?
Thanks in advance!

Vortigern

I would wait until the DDs have been used once. I remember an unused DD that was not transferred during a switch. That one didn't cost me anything, but you could be risking the loss of a £175 bonus.

bnabound

Thanks, I thought that might be the case so I'll just sit tight and hope that the switching rewards are still going by then! Thanks for the help!