First Direct Switching issue 30 November 2022 at 11:42AM in Budgeting & bank accounts 13 replies 663 views

GaryPearson99

I thought I would earn £175 and open a 7% regular saver by switching to First Direct. The website directs you to the app as the account will be open and showing immediately. I applied and got to end and it said your account is open, click to continue to setting up security and switching. The app then said error with app and  closed down. I phoned FD and after 13 minutes they answered and then put me on hold for 18 further minutes to tell me I now needed to wait for royal mail strike to end for paper confirmation and then register for online banking. I may miss out on £175 for switching and 7% regular saver if withdrawn in meantime.

How on earth did they get to top for service?

Zuzi

The 7% RS has only just been announced, I hope the strikes will not last long enough for it to be withdrawn 

(sorry I don't have anything helpful to add, maybe just to say that I've been with FD for years and never had issues with their service)

alpaco47

I have just switched to First Direct and applied on the 16th December and agred to a completion on the 3rd Jan.
My acoount has been switched and was opened on the 3rd Jan, but they have not sent me a digital keypad, so I can't open the account. I don't want to use a phone app. They said it has been despatched and it must be in the post somewhere. I can't use my old account (which is closed and the money transferred) or the new account online. I have emailed via their own website to find out what is happening, but they say I must phone and go through security. What a shambles. So much for top service. Wish I hadn't bothered now.

flaneurs_lobster

You have chosen not to use the first direct app from a bank that only operates online? That's going to limit your actions considerably. All the actions of the physical key that's stuck in the post can be undertaken using the app. 

Why not compromise (assuming you have a smartphone that'll run the app) and use the app until the physical thing arrives and then delete it?

You have your debit card and pin? So you can access cash and pay for stuff in a shop. 

Rudyson

alpaco47 said:

I have just switched to First Direct and applied on the 16th December and agred to a completion on the 3rd Jan.
My acoount has been switched and was opened on the 3rd Jan, but they have not sent me a digital keypad, so I can't open the account. I don't want to use a phone app. They said it has been despatched and it must be in the post somewhere. I can't use my old account (which is closed and the money transferred) or the new account online. I have emailed via their own website to find out what is happening, but they say I must phone and go through security. What a shambles. So much for top service. Wish I hadn't bothered now.

Phone them. You should be able to make transactions by phone. The postal strike's a pain, but not FD's fault.

If it's any consolation, online banking with the keypad works perfectly, so you'll be fine when it does arrive.

Band7

If it is your main current account that you are switching, I would strongly recommend you don't request the switch before you have full access to your FD current account.

If the wait for your online access means you miss the current switch offer, don't despair. They will have another one before long.

Katiehound

flaneurs_lobster said:

You have chosen not to use the first direct app from a bank that only operates online?  . 

No, to be pedantic First Direct doesn't only operate online.
Historically it was the only bank that used telephone banking exclusively. For paying in you needed to use HSBC.

born_again

Or post Office 👍

stuartp2000

I applied to join first direct two days before Xmas (not a good time really) and as per the above recommendation I did not do a switch.
everything was opened this week and app set up and activated so did a chat and started the switch which will complete next week.

have to say so far been as straightforward and painless as any other account opening, but will see how the switch goes.
I believe they are inundated with request and that certainly is the case with the savings account which will take longer to open than normal.

Hopefully those with issues above get sorted soon.

However

Katiehound said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

You have chosen not to use the first direct app from a bank that only operates online?  . 

No, to be pedantic First Direct doesn't only operate online.
Historically it was the only bank that used telephone banking exclusively. For paying in you needed to use HSBC.

To add a little, we're in the process of switching, same idea as OP, as a joint account to benefit from two Regular Savings. It has gradually dawned upon us that FD is actually still at heart a telephone banking service with online banking and mobile banking bolted on, not always seamlessly.

We expected to be able to run it as an Online Account, not a Mobile Account (smartphones - hateful c.o.s.) and not a Telephone Account (we stopped doing it the telephone way twenty years ago). In reality it's not possible to do so. We crashed into a brick wall trying to register for online banking when it transpired we each needed a smartphone whereas we only have one. Nobody told us - we found out the hard way.

Long telephone conversations followed when eventually (and reluctantly after suggesting we buy a tablet - the cheek of it!) the Cust Serv Rep agreed to send a Physical Security thingy (I thought it was a simple card reader like Nationwide's but no it has to be a pre-programmed widget, again FD had difficulty explaining their approach) so one of us could use that - a ten day delay opening an Online Account online.

Not overly impressed that a Joint Account run Jointly by a Jointly married couple of 55 years cannot be opened from our Joint PC without a deal of faff. They even had difficulty handling the notion that we also have one Joint email address, one Joint PC, and one Joint telephone number - various notifications have already been received but we cannot tell to whom they are addressed.

Having said all that, phone calls were answered within seconds, and this will not be our primary current account so when it's all running, we should be all right.

AmityNeon

However said:

Long telephone conversations followed when eventually (and reluctantly after suggesting we buy a tablet - the cheek of it!) the Cust Serv Rep agreed to send a Physical Security thingy (I thought it was a simple card reader like Nationwide's but no it has to be a pre-programmed widget, again FD had difficulty explaining their approach) so one of us could use that - a ten day delay opening an Online Account online.

It's not even possible to apply online anymore; applications can only be made via app or phone call. I already knew of their Secure Key requirements (like HSBC), so I specifically enquired whether they still supply Physical Secure Keys for online banking access, but they just flatly said no, despite still sending replacements for existing customers who have no desire to switch to the Digital version. Obviously the agent was misinformed, which unfortunately isn't surprising.

However said:

Not overly impressed that a Joint Account run Jointly by a Jointly married couple of 55 years cannot be opened from our Joint PC without a deal of faff. They even had difficulty handling the notion that we also have one Joint email address, one Joint PC, and one Joint telephone number - various notifications have already been received but we cannot tell to whom they are addressed.

Accounts are not people; contact details belong to individuals, not accounts. Joint accounts are independently operated by two individuals, and each individual has their own unique customer profile containing their personal email address and mobile number, which help maintain privacy and security (including audit trails). Your Regular Savers will also be individually held.