Banks discriminate against individuals with special needs!

Niblet2

My daughter has special needs and other health conditions.  She receives Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and so far has been unsuccessful in finding suitable work.
She currently has a Santander 123 Lite bank account which given it pays cashback on payment of bills is not really suitable for her.  She lives at home and has no bills/mortgage.    I am trying to move her account to one that would provide some % cash back on the amount in the account or a current account attached to a savings account which offers cashback.   Tried this with First Direct Current Account linking to their Regular Saver.    However her application was rejected.    I presume it was because she has a low income and is unemployed, never had any form of credit for any history.   This surely is a form of discrimination against the less able in our society who simply want what little money they have to grow in whatever way they can??    Does anyone have any advise out there?    Thanks 

eskbanker

It's perfectly legal to have income-based criteria for accounts.

What you refer to as cashback on the amount in the account would normally be regarded as interest so she'd probably be better with a savings account.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest/

Thrugelmir

You say "Banks". However you refer to one bank and one account. No, that's not discrimination.   
Santander offer a regular savings account. Why not open this in conjunction with the existing bank account. 

SFindlay

Niblet2 said:

My daughter has special needs and other health conditions.  She receives Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and so far has been unsuccessful in finding suitable work.
She currently has a Santander 123 Lite bank account which given it pays cashback on payment of bills is not really suitable for her.  She lives at home and has no bills/mortgage.    I am trying to move her account to one that would provide some % cash back on the amount in the account or a current account attached to a savings account which offers cashback.   Tried this with First Direct Current Account linking to their Regular Saver.    However her application was rejected.    I presume it was because she has a low income and is unemployed, never had any form of credit for any history.   This surely is a form of discrimination against the less able in our society who simply want what little money they have to grow in whatever way they can??    Does anyone have any advise out there?    Thanks 

When did she apply for the 1st Direct account as it has been withdrawn in current climate so 1st Direct can concentrate on current customer needs? TSB still gove 3% on first £1500 in account but that will soon drop (open through quidco and get £50 cashback) and gives access to monthly saver at 2% so a good option, Nationwide give 5% on first £2500 for a year. Lloyds pay 1% and gives you access to monthly saver (can actually pay into 2 monthly savers if sign up for Club Lloyd's which is free). 

dunstonh

This surely is a form of discrimination against the less able in our society who simply want what little money they have to grow in whatever way they can??

How can it be discrimination when the bank in question offers a range of accounts that would have been available.    Lots of products have a target market and not everyone will match that target market.  That does not make it discrimination.

Tried this with First Direct Current Account linking to their Regular Saver.    However her application was rejected.    I presume it was because she has a low income and is unemployed, never had any form of credit for any history.

First Direct are known to cherry pick more than many others on credit scoring.    That does not make it discrimination. if they refused because of her special needs, that would be discrimination.   Refusing because she failed their credit criteria is not.  

eskbanker

Just to be a tad pedantic, it is of course discrimination, but it's not unlawful discrimination, which is obviously what many using the generic term are seeking to suggest....

badger09

SFindlay said:

When did she apply for the 1st Direct account as it has been withdrawn in current climate so 1st Direct can concentrate on current customer needs? TSB still gove 3% on first £1500 in account but that will soon drop (open through quidco and get £50 cashback) and gives access to monthly saver at 2% so a good option, Nationwide give 5% on first £2500 for a year. Lloyds pay 1% and gives you access to monthly saver (can actually pay into 2 monthly savers if sign up for Club Lloyd's which is free). 

Where did you get the information that 'the 1st Direct account...has been withdrawn'?

Club Lloyds account is not free, though the £3 monthly charge is waived if you pay in £1500 per month

elsien

You presume the reason your daughter has been turned down.
You may be presuming wrongly.

eskbanker

badger09 said:

Where did you get the information that 'the 1st Direct account...has been withdrawn'?

https://www1.firstdirect.com/banking/current-account/

The Coronavirus is effecting everyone's lives and we want to make sure we are doing all we can to support our customers and our people.
This means we need to focus our attention on our existing customers and their immediate financial needs. To make sure our people are able to do this, we have taken the decision to withdraw first direct current accounts to new customers.
We hope this will only be a temporary measure so please keep checking back here for updates.

badger09

eskbanker said:

badger09 said:

Where did you get the information that 'the 1st Direct account...has been withdrawn'?

https://www1.firstdirect.com/banking/current-account/

The Coronavirus is effecting everyone's lives and we want to make sure we are doing all we can to support our customers and our people.
This means we need to focus our attention on our existing customers and their immediate financial needs. To make sure our people are able to do this, we have taken the decision to withdraw first direct current accounts to new customers.
We hope this will only be a temporary measure so please keep checking back here for updates.

Thanks esbanker
I had completely ignored the grey box containing that information on their homepage.
Should have gone to Specsavers. Oh, they're closed

eskbanker

badger09 said:

Should have gone to Specsavers. Oh, they're closed

They're not actually

https://www.specsavers.co.uk/covid19-care

We’ve suspended all routine eye and hearing tests. This is to support the Government efforts to protect us all and discourage non-essential travel. We will though still remain open to support people in the communities we work in if they need urgent or essential care. But, we are only keeping stores open when it is safe to do so for both our customers and colleagues. So, not all our stores will be open during this time and some of our stores will change their normal working hours.