First Direct £130 switch offer.

The_Green_Hornet

samal said:

My account was transferred and £1k deposited on Monday 31 Jan. Waiting for the £130 offer.

Any idea how long it takes?

"... and you'll get the money within 28 days of all the criteria being met."

samal

Yes, that's the official answer. I was hoping for actual time frame from those who have received, thanks.

whattochoose

whattochoose said:

There seems to be a bit of "hoop jumping" involved with this offer. Unlike other bank accounts I've opened, they want you to submit certain certified documents certified by a professional person. 
I'm assuming there may well be a charge involved in this, reducing the value of the £150 they're offering?

Just a quick update. Applied today (6/2/22). Straightforward, and application successful, nothing "certifified" required, just the normal information required when making an application. 
In truth, I think my application was pretty basic, no overdraft facilities required or anything out of the ordinary involved.
The earliest date offered for the switchover is 18th February, so now I am just waiting for matters to progress.

samal

Hi

Got the incentive paid today £150 even though application made when the offer £130

[Deleted User]

Any tips on getting these documents certified, short of spending $$$ on a solicitor? 

RN61

Everyone in the specified categories is free to charge what they want for certifying each document; for instance, my GP charges £65. For each document. Unless you know someone who'll do it for free, I'd suggest telling the bank that you're withdrawing your application due to the unreasonable financial burden they're imposing on prospective customers! This isn't the only £150 bank switch offer. 

eskbanker

RN61 said:

Unless you know someone who'll do it for free, I'd suggest telling the bank that you're withdrawing your application due to the unreasonable financial burden they're imposing on prospective customers! 

Thereby missing out on £130 or £150 (less any certification costs), unless FD backed down on manual ID verification (highly unlikely), so, as victories go, this would definitely be a pyrrhic one!

alewin

samal said:

Hi

Got the incentive paid today £150 even though application made when the offer £130

Thanks for letting us know, it was well within the 28 days then.

RN61

eskbanker said:

RN61 said:

Unless you know someone who'll do it for free, I'd suggest telling the bank that you're withdrawing your application due to the unreasonable financial burden they're imposing on prospective customers! 

Thereby missing out on £130 or £150 (less any certification costs), unless FD backed down on manual ID verification (highly unlikely), so, as victories go, this would definitely be a pyrrhic one!

Not sure that what I've suggested is self defeating! I've edited my post in response to your pyrrhicly kind comment.  🤣 

whattochoose

Having applied online on Sunday, my debit card and welcome pack arrived on Tuesday, so no delay involved, which is good. I'm now waiting for a pin and a password from them. Apparently I need their password before I can register my new account online and view all my details.
However, now I have my debit card, I can pay £1000 into my account to benefit from the £150 offer.
One minor point - has anybody noticed that part of the registration process involves providing your date of birth. Nothing wrong with this but the column where you're supposed to provide the year you were born only provides two spaces to do this and not the expected four.
Am I missing something, and will all become clear when I get my password from First Direct, hopefully in a day or two?