Switching Service - Worth Doing?

Looper86

I’m currently with a provider that I initially had to bank with due to eligibility during a DMP, the DMP and debts were cleared some 5+ years ago but I’ve never really looked into switching back to one of the bigger more known high street banks / building societies.

One thing I do like with my current back is how they run my account, everything goes into account #1, then all bills/deductions are held here and my available funds move forward to a second account that my debit card and everything else operate on, is this something I’ll be able to achieve when I switch or would this be lost?

Finally, how long does it take to switch, and are there any pitfalls in the process?

eskbanker

Is your current provider a member of the Current Account Switching Service?  CASS switches a single account so if you literally have multiple accounts with your current provider then that's likely to complicate switching....

Zanderman

Looper86 said:

I’m currently with a provider that I initially had to bank with due to eligibility during a DMP, the DMP and debts were cleared some 5+ years ago but I’ve never really looked into switching back to one of the bigger more known high street banks / building societies.

One thing I do like with my current back is how they run my account, everything goes into account #1, then all bills/deductions are held here and my available funds move forward to a second account that my debit card and everything else operate on, is this something I’ll be able to achieve when I switch or would this be lost?

Finally, how long does it take to switch, and are there any pitfalls in the process?

If you like your current back then it's not worth switching.  Apart from for a switching incentive. 

It sounds as if you have arrangements that work for you within your current bank - and, as Eskbanker points out, the switching service is only for one account, so if you use more than one within your current bank you'd probably have to set up the new situation, with more than one account in your new bank, yourself.  Which might be hassle you don't need.

As for timing the CASS switching service, which most banks use, takes 7 days.

But you have to have a new account to switch into first, so you have to add on the time taken to open the new account, be sure that's all working properly and then do the switch, so the whole process may be more like a 2 - 4weeks.

Looper86

I don’t really know how to describe it, as I only have 1 account number, but they separate my income between funds held for all bills and then the remaining is made available to me, this was great during my DMP as it gave perfect control ensuring that money was always set aside for bills before anything else (it costs £15 a month for this account).

My main reason for changing is the limitations of the account, although it works well the card doesn’t work with a lot of online retailers, paying in is awkward as there is no high-street presence, it doesn’t support modern functions such as contactless or Apple Pay making it a little limited (especially in these times of COVID).

eskbanker

Looper86 said:

I don’t really know how to describe it

There's no need to be coy, you are allowed to share the name of the company!  You didn't answer the question about whether they're a member of the CASS scheme - if they're not then any discussion about using the switching service is academic....

Looper86

eskbanker said:

Looper86 said:

I don’t really know how to describe it

There's no need to be coy, you are allowed to share the name of the company!  You didn't answer the question about whether they're a member of the CASS scheme - if they're not then any discussion about using the switching service is academic....

The bank is ThinkMoney, I don’t know what the actual account type is called but yes they are part of the CASS scheme (I did try to edit my initial reply but this forum doesn’t support that function).

eskbanker

Looper86 said:

eskbanker said:

Looper86 said:

I don’t really know how to describe it

There's no need to be coy, you are allowed to share the name of the company!  You didn't answer the question about whether they're a member of the CASS scheme - if they're not then any discussion about using the switching service is academic....

The bank is ThinkMoney, I don’t know what the actual account type is called but yes they are part of the CASS scheme (I did try to edit my initial reply but this forum doesn’t support that function).

OK, thanks - you should be able to edit posts via the cogwheel icon at the top right of each one by the way.

Returning to your original question, I could be wrong but suspect that you'll struggle to find any of the major players offering an exact equivalent of your subdivided account.  You can emulate this easily enough by opening two accounts but will probably need to take direct control of shunting money around between them.  However, on the plus side, you won't be forking out £15 a month....

Looper86

eskbanker said:

Looper86 said:

eskbanker said:

Looper86 said:

I don’t really know how to describe it

There's no need to be coy, you are allowed to share the name of the company!  You didn't answer the question about whether they're a member of the CASS scheme - if they're not then any discussion about using the switching service is academic....

The bank is ThinkMoney, I don’t know what the actual account type is called but yes they are part of the CASS scheme (I did try to edit my initial reply but this forum doesn’t support that function).

OK, thanks - you should be able to edit posts via the cogwheel icon at the top right of each one by the way.

Returning to your original question, I could be wrong but suspect that you'll struggle to find any of the major players offering an exact equivalent of your subdivided account.  You can emulate this easily enough by opening two accounts but will probably need to take direct control of shunting money around between them.  However, on the plus side, you won't be forking out £15 a month....

I don’t see a cogwheel icon, I only have Quote, Thank and Report buttons under the post (I’m viewing via Safari on iPad).

I thought that might be the case and I wouldn’t have an issue setting up it manually myself if I had to (it would just mean an additional layer of account management my end when setting up future DD etc, remembering to do so on the correct account, it might end up being more faff than it’s worth).

Do any major providers offer Subdivided accounts are are they only really common on ones that deal more specifically with people in a DMP?

colsten

Providers like Starling, Monzo, TSB, Virgin have "spaces", "pots" or attached savings accounts, so you can split your money into various amounts. I am not overly familiar with these as I do my splitting in my personal finance manager software, but I believe you can only do SOs and DDs from the main account, and the debit card only works against the main account, too. Also, it sounds as if you want physical branch access, which Starling and Monzo don't have, Virgin only has in a limited number of places, and TSB shutting down more and more branches. (Why do you want Branch access, anyway?).

Or you can have multiple current accounts with the same or different bank, each of which has its own debit card and can do SOs and DDs.

Looper86

colsten said:

Providers like Starling, Monzo, TSB, Virgin have "spaces", "pots" or attached savings accounts, so you can split your money into various amounts. I am not overly familiar with these as I do my splitting in my personal finance manager software, but I believe you can only do SOs and DDs from the main account, and the debit card only works against the main account, too. Also, it sounds as if you want physical branch access, which Starling and Monzo don't have, Virgin only has in a limited number of places, and TSB shutting down more and more branches. (Why do you want Branch access, anyway?).

Or you can have multiple current accounts with the same or different bank, each of which has its own debit card and can do SOs and DDs.

The physical presence is more so its easier to pay-in and speak to someone if there are any issues.

I’ll look into what options exist as multiple current accounts sounds like it would just become overly complicated and have potential to default on payments if not managed 100% of the time.

maybe I’d just be best to leave it as it is and continue on with ThinkMoney.

Catplan

The physical presence is more so its easier to pay-in and speak to someone if there are any issues.

So most major banks allow pay-in at post office now, although they wouldn’t be able to advise on specific bank questions. You could for example get a Santander 123 Lite for £2 per month pay bill by DD and earn some cash back that would hopefully cover the cost of the account. Open an everyday Santander account you get different account number and separate card and operate as you say by setting up a SO each month to transfer from 123 to everyday. Other banks offer 2 or more accounts, Santander was just an example.