Changing current account

boingy

Janxx said:

boingy said:

Definitely use a donor account rather than your main one, unless you are not happy with your main one.

If you are happy with app-based banks then accounts at places like Metro, Starling and Monzo can all be opened in minutes with the debit card arriving in a few days (you need the card number to switch). Alternatively your current bank may let you open a second current account. I did that with Halifax. Just make sure that the donor account is with a bank that is part of the CASS scheme: Banks & building societies signed-up to the Current Account Switch Service and check the terms and conditions of the switching bonus. You often need to deposit a minimum amount in the account.

Once a switch is complete and the bonus has been paid you can switch that account to another bank for another reward if you want.

Hi, sorry for jumping in on some ones else's thread but would like to ask some questions on the same lines. I am very nervous about doing a switch but really want to take advantage of the offers. 
I have just opened a second current account with my main bank (Halifax) to use as a donor account.

Do I have to move my pension payments to this new account or can I just transfer an amount of money over? 

Do I have to move all direct debits to the new account.? 

How soon can I start a switch with this new account? 
Thank you and sorry for my ignorance.   

You need to read the terms of each account but I'd suggest starting with the easier ones. For example. Natwest simply require you to deposit £1250 and login once to the mobile app within the first 60 days. I like to put a little money into the donor account so I can see that it has transferred OK but it's not necessary.

Here is the sequence I would use for, say, NatWest. Wait for the Halifax debit card to arrive (typically a few days). Deposit a small and optionally daft amount into the Halifax account, say £13.37. Open the NatWest account and start the switch as part of the opening process. Wait for the switch to complete (10 days ish) and for the Debit card and the online/app access to be functioning. Once you can access the account deposit £1250 and use the app to make sure it is there. Then get yourself a beer or wine and congratulate yourself on the start of your evil money grabbing career. They should pay up within a week or so. Then repeat until you run out of options.

The ones with DDs are fiddlier, especially the ones that want the DDs on the donor account but ask on here and you'll get help.

smiley2085

I've just switched and I had similar concerns but like everyone has said - it was pain free 😁
I'm now wanting to switch again but this time with a CA that I don't use. 

MrFrugalFever

Just to confirm, every time a switch occurs, a hard credit search is carried out?

eskbanker

MrFrugalFever said:

Just to confirm, every time a switch occurs, a hard credit search is carried out?

No, every time a new current account is applied for, a hard credit search is carried out, i.e. it's the application that triggers the search, not the (later) switch(es) into the account....

MrFrugalFever

Excuse my lack of understand but surely if I wanted to switch one of my CA’s in to a new bank utilising their switch offer, that is, in effect, a new application and therefore would bear a hard credit search. Surely the CASS doesn’t bypass this?

eskbanker

MrFrugalFever said:

Excuse my lack of understand but surely if I wanted to switch one of my CA’s in to a new bank utilising their switch offer, that is, in effect, a new application and therefore would bear a hard credit search. Surely the CASS doesn’t bypass this?

The point is that opening an account and carrying out a switch into it are two separate processes, even though they'll often be done in quick succession, and it's the first that involves a credit check, and CASS takes care of the second aspect.

It's perfectly possible to use CASS to switch into an account that's been open for many years, so it's not really a case of 'bypassing' anything, it's just that switching is a separate process from account opening.

Similarly, a credit search can be made when applying for an account into which a switch is anticipated, but, even though the credit check has been carried out, the switch won't ever happen if the application is declined....

Bridlington1

eskbanker said:

MrFrugalFever said:

Just to confirm, every time a switch occurs, a hard credit search is carried out?

No, every time a new current account is applied for, a hard credit search is carried out, i.e. it's the application that triggers the search, not the (later) switch(es) into the account....

Though this isn't true for every bank. Metro for example do not carry out hard searches if you open a new current account with them and other banks, e.g. Co-op, offer a basic bank account that doesn't result in a hard search being carried out.

eskbanker

Bridlington1 said:

eskbanker said:

MrFrugalFever said:

Just to confirm, every time a switch occurs, a hard credit search is carried out?

No, every time a new current account is applied for, a hard credit search is carried out, i.e. it's the application that triggers the search, not the (later) switch(es) into the account....

Though this isn't true for every bank. Metro for example do not carry out hard searches if you open a new current account with them and other banks, e.g. Co-op, offer a basic bank account that doesn't result in a hard search being carried out.

Yes, fair point, it would have been more accurate to say that if a bank is going to carry out a hard credit search, then it'll do so at the point of applying for an account rather than when a switch happens!