Dormant Bank of Ireland current account - What to do with it

AlpineF30

Hi all,

I have currently 3 current accounts - One Halifax which my wages are paid into and bills are serviced from.

The second is a Starling Bank account which I use for day to day spending as I send a set amount each month from the Halifax account to the Starling account as I find it helps with budgeting.

The third is a Bank of Ireland current account which has lay dormant for years  with a balance of £0.00 as it was originally a student account that they converted to a current account when I turned 18. However it still does appear on my credit file.

I have tried to close this bank of Ireland account but they won't close it in branch and requires me to visit their main branch 40 miles from where I live.

Could I use this account to switch to say the likes of TSB or another bank offering switch bonusses then move some money around in order to make the account qualify for the bonus?

Thanks!

PRAISETHESUN

Bank of Ireland UK seems to support CASS (they are listed here: https://www.currentaccountswitch.co.uk/banks-building-societies/), so the easiest option in my mind would be to switch it to another bank to close it. If you want to be proper MSE about it, take advantage of a switch incentive while your at it as you suggest. Halifax has an offer on at the moment (ending at the end of Aug), as do a few other banks: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts/

Middle_of_the_Road

AlpineF30 said:

Could I use this account to switch to say the likes of TSB or another bank offering switch bonusses then move some money around in order to make the account qualify for the bonus?

Thanks!

I would switch it to Natwest, RBS or First Direct. Natwest/RBS are the quicker to pay the bonus of £200.
FD will pay £175 within 28 days though and have a 7% regular saver, on which no withdrawals are allowed.
Natwest's 6.17% reg. saver does allow withdrawals though.

retiredbanker1

If the account is truly dormant then you cannot use the CASS to transfer to another bank.

The account would need to be reactivated - perhaps a letter sent to the bank stating that the account balance is nil and account unused for years, asking for them to close the account?