Thinking of switching, what's stopping you? 🙂

Band7

lr1277 said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

lr1277 said:

If banks could publish numbers according to this list, this will give potential customers more information on whether to switch to that bank taking into account any incentive.

Just a thought.

Why would they want to publish these numbers? 

They would be pretty meaningless unless shown as a proportion of their total active current accounts. And even then, unless it was qualified by a stack of additional data it's just a number.

And anyone looking to wash a few thousand hooky quids would be looking at the league table to find the "safest" laundromat.

All fair points, some of which I had considered before posting but decided to post anyways.

Looking at this from a frozen accounts point of view, it seem unfair that accounts can be frozen for an indeterminate amount of time. But I suppose if the time was determinable, then bad actors may find a way around that restriction.

Not everybody can open a 2nd account at a different instituion. That is assuming the first bank has not put some kind of fraud marker against that person.

Yes, we should all open accounts before anything happens, but not everybody is in a position to do that.

I seem to have taken this thread off track so I am out.

Without knowing the details of why an account was locked, no outsider can say whether it was fair or unfair.

I find it hard to believe that people would have difficulties opening a second (third, fourth etc) current account as there are now a plethora of providers. Unless, of course, they have a CIFAS fraud marker, in which case they have no reason to complain.

I agree that stats about closed accounts are meaningless without much more information on the reason for closures. More than that, there is no reason why anyone should fear that their account gets closed if they don’t engage in dodgy transactions, and/or aren’t abusive to the bank’s staff.

RG2015

Band7 said:

lr1277 said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

lr1277 said:

If banks could publish numbers according to this list, this will give potential customers more information on whether to switch to that bank taking into account any incentive.

Just a thought.

Why would they want to publish these numbers? 

They would be pretty meaningless unless shown as a proportion of their total active current accounts. And even then, unless it was qualified by a stack of additional data it's just a number.

And anyone looking to wash a few thousand hooky quids would be looking at the league table to find the "safest" laundromat.

All fair points, some of which I had considered before posting but decided to post anyways.

Looking at this from a frozen accounts point of view, it seem unfair that accounts can be frozen for an indeterminate amount of time. But I suppose if the time was determinable, then bad actors may find a way around that restriction.

Not everybody can open a 2nd account at a different instituion. That is assuming the first bank has not put some kind of fraud marker against that person.

Yes, we should all open accounts before anything happens, but not everybody is in a position to do that.

I seem to have taken this thread off track so I am out.

Without knowing the details of why an account was locked, no outsider can say whether it was fair or unfair.

I find it hard to believe that people would have difficulties opening a second (third, fourth etc) current account as there are now a plethora of providers. Unless, of course, they have a CIFAS fraud marker, in which case they have no reason to complain.

I agree that stats about closed accounts are meaningless without much more information on the reason for closures. More than that, there is no reason why anyone should fear that their account gets closed if they don’t engage in dodgy transactions, and/or aren’t abusive to the bank’s staff.

My sentiments exactly. However there is a post today with possible evidence that this may not be the case.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6421482/banks-closing-accounts#latest

etienneg

lr1277 said:

Not everybody can open a 2nd account at a different instituion. That is assuming the first bank has not put some kind of fraud marker against that person.

Did you really mean this, lr1277?

It seems it would have made more sense if you had missed out the "Not". But if you really did mean what you wrote, would you please explain it? Maybe I'm missing something!

lr1277

etienneg said:

lr1277 said:

Not everybody can open a 2nd account at a different instituion. That is assuming the first bank has not put some kind of fraud marker against that person.

Did you really mean this, lr1277?

It seems it would have made more sense if you had missed out the "Not". But if you really did mean what you wrote, would you please explain it? Maybe I'm missing something!

Yes I did mean it. As I mentioned earlier on this thread I haven’t changed bank account for over 20 years so don’t know the latest requirements for opening.
However I suspect because I don’t have a regular income I might fail a credit check or a bank’s application criteria.
But it would be nice to have a backup account but I don’t think I would get it.

Band7

lr1277 said:

etienneg said:

lr1277 said:

Not everybody can open a 2nd account at a different instituion. That is assuming the first bank has not put some kind of fraud marker against that person.

Did you really mean this, lr1277?

It seems it would have made more sense if you had missed out the "Not". But if you really did mean what you wrote, would you please explain it? Maybe I'm missing something!

Yes I did mean it. As I mentioned earlier on this thread I haven’t changed bank account for over 20 years so don’t know the latest requirements for opening.
However I suspect because I don’t have a regular income I might fail a credit check or a bank’s application criteria.
But it would be nice to have a backup account but I don’t think I would get it.

You should be able to get an account with one of the banks that doesn't do a hard credit check. Chase, Kroo, and may be Starling.  

phil7445

Lou76 said:

For anyone, like myself 4 months ago, who was/is too apprehensive/naive to embark upon the big scary world of switching bank accounts, let me try to reassure you...

So, at some point in September 2022 I stumbled across this board, despite being a member of the forums for more years than I care to think about. 😳

I started reading about switch bonuses, which I was vaguely aware about, but never looked into as I didn't want to switch my current account as I was worried my wages wouldn't be paid, or direct debits would go AWOL etc.

I read on here about "burner/dummy" accounts, so decided to try it out.  I opened accounts with both Starling and Monzo - took a few minutes. 

A week, or so later, I had debit cards from each account, so knew I was OK to try the switching accounts.

Initially I started with Nationwide, as I have my mortgage with them, so hoped they might take pity on me.

Switch date 20/10/2022
Bonus paid ( £200) 21/10/2022.

I switched my other burner account to TSB, decided it was worth risking a hit on my credit history, as had no idea how long the offer would last.

Switch date 21/10/2022
Bonus paid (£125 followed by £55 in 6 months) 9/12/2022

Since then I've opened new accounts with my new banks (soft searches), and now have accounts with:

Lloyds

Switch date 10/11/2022
Bonus (£150) paid 10/11/2022

HSBC 

Switch date 20/12/2022
Bonus (£200) paid 24/12/2022

Halifax

Switch date 08/12/2022
Bonus (£175) paid 02/12/2022

Santander 

Switch date 31/01/2023
Bonus (£200) tbc

So, all going well, I'll get £1105 from switching accounts, without even touch my main account. 😲

As I said, I opened spare accounts with some of the banks, as it took seconds to do, and could use them for the next switch.

I don't know what shocks me most; how easy it is, why I've waited this long to do it, or why banks are still giving me accounts, given my credit report has taken a pounding these past few months?? 🤣

ETA: I've found each switch deal via this forum, so no need to subscribe to anything, or check each banks deals etc, to find out who's offering what.

Thank you to all the forum users who keep us updated. 🙂

Wow that's a lot in a short amout of time. What is your credit score and then check again in 1 month.

Band7

phil7445 said:

Lou76 said:

For anyone, like myself 4 months ago, who was/is too apprehensive/naive to embark upon the big scary world of switching bank accounts, let me try to reassure you...

So, at some point in September 2022 I stumbled across this board, despite being a member of the forums for more years than I care to think about. 😳

I started reading about switch bonuses, which I was vaguely aware about, but never looked into as I didn't want to switch my current account as I was worried my wages wouldn't be paid, or direct debits would go AWOL etc.

I read on here about "burner/dummy" accounts, so decided to try it out.  I opened accounts with both Starling and Monzo - took a few minutes. 

A week, or so later, I had debit cards from each account, so knew I was OK to try the switching accounts.

Initially I started with Nationwide, as I have my mortgage with them, so hoped they might take pity on me.

Switch date 20/10/2022
Bonus paid ( £200) 21/10/2022.

I switched my other burner account to TSB, decided it was worth risking a hit on my credit history, as had no idea how long the offer would last.

Switch date 21/10/2022
Bonus paid (£125 followed by £55 in 6 months) 9/12/2022

Since then I've opened new accounts with my new banks (soft searches), and now have accounts with:

Lloyds

Switch date 10/11/2022
Bonus (£150) paid 10/11/2022

HSBC 

Switch date 20/12/2022
Bonus (£200) paid 24/12/2022

Halifax

Switch date 08/12/2022
Bonus (£175) paid 02/12/2022

Santander 

Switch date 31/01/2023
Bonus (£200) tbc

So, all going well, I'll get £1105 from switching accounts, without even touch my main account. 😲

As I said, I opened spare accounts with some of the banks, as it took seconds to do, and could use them for the next switch.

I don't know what shocks me most; how easy it is, why I've waited this long to do it, or why banks are still giving me accounts, given my credit report has taken a pounding these past few months?? 🤣

ETA: I've found each switch deal via this forum, so no need to subscribe to anything, or check each banks deals etc, to find out who's offering what.

Thank you to all the forum users who keep us updated. 🙂

Wow that's a lot in a short amout of time. What is your credit score and then check again in 1 month.

Credit scores are pretty meaningless numbers. What counts is the data on your credit file. For example, lenders might not like to see a lot of hard searches in a short space of time, and most current account applications involve a hard search. However, if you are not planning on applying for any large credit, e.g. mortgage, in the next 6-12 months, these searches don't matter. They will disappear from your credit file after a year, anyway.