'Burner' account

Jogster

Hi

Inspired by the stories of people capitalising on switch offers, I want to try this. 

My main banking account is in my maiden name and I want to keep that untouched so I want to apply for a new sole account that I can then use as a 'burner' account.

I am looking for advice on which account to open - how soon can I then switch this to take advantage of a switching offer?

Complete novice here so grateful for any advice or tips!  TIA

PRAISETHESUN

Easiest way to open a donor account is to open a second account at the same bank as your main account. Once the account is open and you receive the debit card, you can then switch it away to another bank to take advantage of any incentives which are on offer at the time. Other options that tend to be quick to open are the digital banks - such as Monzo, Starling, Metro, etc.

The only other thing to keep in mind is that on occasion, switch offers require a number of active direct debits on the account that is being switched to them. Check the T&Cs of the switch incentive you intend to take advantage of for more info. These can sometimes take a bit of extra time to set up on your donor account, so it's something you may also need to factor in.

Easiest way around this is to shuffle around existing bill DDs (eg. electricity, internet, credit card, etc), otherwise there are some ways to artificially generate DDs discussed here if you find yourself short: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6445857/savings-investment-dds-and-debit-card-deposits-an-updated-list/p1

EDIT: as you also mention your main account is in your maiden name - bank switches will fail if the names don't match. So if you open a second account with your main bank, then the account with the bank you switch to must also be in your maiden name. Alternatively, you should get your name changed on your main account first before initiating any switches.

born_again

Jogster said:

Hi

Inspired by the stories of people capitalising on switch offers, I want to try this. 

My main banking account is in my maiden name and I want to keep that untouched so I want to apply for a new sole account that I can then use as a 'burner' account.

I am looking for advice on which account to open - how soon can I then switch this to take advantage of a switching offer?

Complete novice here so grateful for any advice or tips!  TIA

So can we take it from that you are now married or have changed name? 
If so then you should inform bank of this.

In reality just open another account & use that as the doner account for future switches, making sure that you have a couple of active DD's in there. As that is a usual requirement for a switch.

Banksy_2

Welcome to the world of Switching, Jogster!

When I started, I set up an account with a bank that didn't pay any switch bonuses at all, then after setting up a couple of low value Direct Debits (to charities/lottery for instance) I waited for them to pass their first payment stage, and began the first switch.

I also started a Monzo account too, so I could then switch that quickly without any Direct Debits to worry about. 

One thing I'd just recommend is that depending on how many switches you are planning on making ongoing from here, that you consider any future credit that you may be looking to take out (credit cards/Mortgage etc) just in case it affects them. I knew I wouldn't be in that situation this year so have hammered the switching to gain those £££ bonuses, in a bid to finish off my mortgage.

Good luck with it!

Banksy

Middle_of_the_Road

Switching is normally the easy part. Identity checks can be the tedious part. Most banks now try to identify you electronically, if this fails, traditional methods must be used. This involves posting certified documents. All banks are now incredibly stringent in the process of checking identity.

In your case, with your only bank account being in your former name, you might have some difficulty with identity checks. 
Most banks will carry out a hard credit search when you apply for an account, and your credit file would maybe show anomalies.

If said credit file is in your married name, there will be no record of your bank account. It probably shows other financial records relating to utility/telecoms/credit accounts etc, which might be enough for identifying purposes.

Some banks don't require a hard search, Metro bank for example, and it might be easier to open these accounts, but when switching to a bank that does a hard search there might be a problem.

Bridlington1

Just be careful not to use the same banking group for too many burner accounts in a short space of time though, particularly if it is the bank you intend to use for your main account. I received a lifetime ban from LBG earlier this year, which I believe to be in part down to the fact that I used them for a lot of burner accounts within the space of a year. This will cost me quite a lot in future years in switching offers, extra interest from their high paying regular savers and various reward account perks that I now won't be able to get.

Jogster

Thank you all for your helpful replies ☺️ , so much insight.

No plans to apply for new credit cards/ mortgage so no worries there 

I still use my maiden name for work purposes so have retained the account in my maiden name for that reason. I have an account in my married name jointly with my husband but would prefer not to tinker with that. Husband is not up for switching.

I think I will open an account with a digital bank eg Metro as a pp said and take it from there 

boingy

For new account purposes you probably need to use the name you use on the electoral register - most of the digital banks use electronic ID verification.

And, yes, Metro is a good choice, unless your different surnames confuses them!

friolento

I would say you need to use the name that you have a government-issued ID for - i.e. a passport or a driving licence. With that same name, you should also be registered on the Electoral Roll. Many application will also ask you whether you have been, or are, known under a different name.

Expect to run into problems sooner or later. For instance, what will you do if your existing bank asks you to provide proof of ID?

EarthBoy

Bridlington1 said:

Just be careful not to use the same banking group for too many burner accounts in a short space of time though, particularly if it is the bank you intend to use for your main account. I received a lifetime ban from LBG earlier this year, which I believe to be in part down to the fact that I used them for a lot of burner accounts within the space of a year. 

I received a lifetime ban from NatWest/RBS for exactly the same reason. 

miller

Jogster said:

I still use my maiden name for work purposes so have retained the account in my maiden name for that reason.

Lots of good advice on this thread. As an aside a work colleague recently asked our IT department to start using her married name on her logins/usernames. It caused a lot of problems, so much so she wished she hadn't bothered. Your IT department might be better than ours though!