Santander £130 switch offer

2357

Called santander just now and the advisor is saying that it is not possible to switch a current account with no direct debits on it. 
He says that it’s the rules of the CASS system that mandates must be in place or the switch will be rejected as there’s nothing to switch.

I explained that I have switched accounts in the past with no DDs, he put me on hold and spoke to a colleague and came back to say it’s definitely not possible to switch accounts using CASS unless they have direct debits. 

Not quite how I expected the call to go. 

Daliah

2357 said:

Called santander just now and the advisor is saying that it is not possible to switch a current account with no direct debits on it. 
He says that it’s the rules of the CASS system that mandates must be in place or the switch will be rejected as there’s nothing to switch.

I explained that I have switched accounts in the past with no DDs, he put me on hold and spoke to a colleague and came back to say it’s definitely not possible to switch accounts using CASS unless they have direct debits. 

Not quite how I expected the call to go. 

Complete rubbish. You can switch current accounts that have no DDs. But why chance it? 

PRAISETHESUN

2357 said:

Called santander just now and the advisor is saying that it is not possible to switch a current account with no direct debits on it. 
He says that it’s the rules of the CASS system that mandates must be in place or the switch will be rejected as there’s nothing to switch.

I explained that I have switched accounts in the past with no DDs, he put me on hold and spoke to a colleague and came back to say it’s definitely not possible to switch accounts using CASS unless they have direct debits. 

Not quite how I expected the call to go. 

I suspect you've just lost the customer service lottery and they've gotten confused with their own offer which requires DDs (not that they appear to actually needed on the account switching in anyway). You are completely correct that you can switch an account without any DDs set up (or SOs or even any balance in the account!). You could always tell them that there are DDs on the account - not like there's any way they'll ever know.

RetSol

Called santander just now and the advisor is saying that it is not possible to switch a current account with no direct debits on it. 

Santander switch service told me the same thing. 

I have moved a couple of dds to the donor account to be on the safe side. 

Interesting to hear that @PRAISETHESUN has switched an account without dds on it.

The CASS website says nothing about the switched account having to have dds or anything else.

GTR_King

The_Green_Hornet said:

GTR_King said:

I have received my One time Password 

Debit Card/Pin 
One time Security Number to come.

Don't think banks meant to send all the stuff at once for security 

How long did it take for all that stuff to arrive?

I opened the account on Tuesday so it took 6 calendar days.

Opened account last Thursday (About 9pm) it’s been 4 working days so far, Switch due to be completed Friday 24th

all I have received is Temporary password 

got Email last night (21:17) saying debit card is on it’s way (Probably got sent yesterday) so will arrive tomorrow or Thursday 

Now all I am waiting is Temporary Security Number & Debit card PIN number which should arrive soon, 

So did you get all your stuff before the switch happened?

ischris85

Opened this opening and received an email to request a copy of my passport. I went to my local Santander branch who took a photocopy and faxed it. They also took a copy of my drivers license in case the next request was proof of address. It's the first time in a long time that I've opened a bank account and they required a copy of my passport.

The_Green_Hornet

GTR_King said:

The_Green_Hornet said:

GTR_King said:

I have received my One time Password 

Debit Card/Pin 
One time Security Number to come.

Don't think banks meant to send all the stuff at once for security 

How long did it take for all that stuff to arrive?

I opened the account on Tuesday so it took 6 calendar days.

Opened account last Thursday (About 9pm) it’s been 4 working days so far, Switch due to be completed Friday 24th

all I have received is Temporary password 

got Email last night (21:17) saying debit card is on it’s way (Probably got sent yesterday) so will arrive tomorrow or Thursday 

Now all I am waiting is Temporary Security Number & Debit card PIN number which should arrive soon, 

So did you get all your stuff before the switch happened?

The switch is due tomorrow so yes I received everything beforehand.

GTR_King

thanks mate I am just inpatient and it all now but will all be fine in the end 

Fingerbobs

PRAISETHESUN said:

2357 said:

Called santander just now and the advisor is saying that it is not possible to switch a current account with no direct debits on it. 
He says that it’s the rules of the CASS system that mandates must be in place or the switch will be rejected as there’s nothing to switch.

I explained that I have switched accounts in the past with no DDs, he put me on hold and spoke to a colleague and came back to say it’s definitely not possible to switch accounts using CASS unless they have direct debits. 

Not quite how I expected the call to go. 

I suspect you've just lost the customer service lottery and they've gotten confused with their own offer which requires DDs (not that they appear to actually needed on the account switching in anyway). You are completely correct that you can switch an account without any DDs set up (or SOs or even any balance in the account!). You could always tell them that there are DDs on the account - not like there's any way they'll ever know.

I'm currently in the process of switching an account completely devoid of any Direct Debits or Standing Orders, into my existing Santander account. Due to complete on Friday. I'm expecting to qualify for the £130 bonus.

The only thing I will do it, post switch but within 60 days, is create two new Direct Debits on the Santander account. I believe this isn't necessary and existing DDs on the Santander account would suffice, but it's the only thing that has a slight element of ambiguity in the published qualification criteria.

RetSol

The only thing I will do it, post switch but within 60 days, is create two new Direct Debits on the Santander account. I believe this isn't necessary and existing DDs on the Santander account would suffice, but it's the only thing that has a slight element of ambiguity in the published qualification criteria.

FWIW, Santander told me that existing DDs count for switch bonus qualification purposes.