Santander £160 switch offer - Do I need to set up NEW direct debits?

waffle96

Hi there
I'm worried I made a mistake of not reading the criteria properly and won't get the bonus. The webiste says 

To qualify for the £160 cashback, customers need to complete the switch using the Current Account Switch Service and, within 60 days, set up and maintain two active direct debits, deposit at least £1,000 and log in to online or mobile banking.  The cashback will be paid directly into their qualifying Santander current account within 30 days following this2.

does "set up and maintain two active direct debits" mean I have to set up NEW direbt debits and have both of come out within 60 days? I already received my salary and had 2 existing direct debit come up but no news regarding the bonus...

Thanks for helping in advance!

waffle96

apologies for the spelling mistakes!

Van_Girl

No, the direct debits that you switched count as active direct debits 

I was told the bonus pay out will take around 90 days (60 + 30)

PRAISETHESUN

This point is discussed fairly regularly on the existing Santander thread: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6376480/160-cashback-for-santander-switch-for-new-and-existing-customers/p1

But in a nutshell, the offer wording is a bit vague about whether DDs need to be switched over or if they can just be set up after the switch. For what it's worth, I had my DDs switched over and they certainly qualified me for the incentive, so you should be okay to do the same.

soulsaver

waffle96 said:

Hi there
I'm worried I made a mistake of not reading the criteria properly and won't get the bonus. The webiste says 

To qualify for the £160 cashback, customers need to complete the switch using the Current Account Switch Service and, within 60 days, set up and maintain two active direct debits, deposit at least £1,000 and log in to online or mobile banking.  The cashback will be paid directly into their qualifying Santander current account within 30 days following this2.

does "set up and maintain two active direct debits" mean I have to set up NEW direbt debits and have both of come out within 60 days? I already received my salary and had 2 existing direct debit come up but no news regarding the bonus...

Thanks for helping in advance!

I know the site says what you say, but read the Terms:
"2.3 Within 60 days of you instructing us to start the switch to the Qualifying Account, you will also need to have:

2.3.2 at least two active Direct Debits in place on the Qualifying Account (Direct Debits must be active at the point we assess the Qualifying Account), and cannot include Direct Debits set up to fund a savings account you have with Santander, cahoot or Cater Allen)"

So as long as they're in place it doesn't matter whether you switched them in or set them up after.

T'was same with the previous offer, too.

waffle96

PRAISETHESUN said:

This point is discussed fairly regularly on the existing Santander thread: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6376480/160-cashback-for-santander-switch-for-new-and-existing-customers/p1

But in a nutshell, the offer wording is a bit vague about whether DDs need to be switched over or if they can just be set up after the switch. For what it's worth, I had my DDs switched over and they certainly qualified me for the incentive, so you should be okay to do the same.

ah I apologise! my search attempts for the thread were clearly feeble
but thanks for explaining it, much appreciated