Scottish Halifax Accounts Changing

MisterMotivated

Just a heads up, it looks like LBG are doing some housekeeping with regards to Scottish Halifax accounts. I received a letter today informing me that , because my Halifax Reward Current Account was originally opened in Scotland (about 30 years ago, and has been my main account ever since), it's changing to a BoS vantage account. I can't say this comes as a complete surprise, but I wonder what it will mean for my other accounts. I already have a BoS Vantage Account (and Club Lloyds), and I have Regular Savers with all 3 LBG family members. I expect the Halifax RS will continue until it matures but will I have to apply to open a fresh Halifax account if I want a new RS in future? Will I even be allowed to open a new Halifax Reward account in future if I want to (which, assuming I can, seems to make the whole process rather pointless)?

Section62

You'd think they'd be able to offer the option of changing the branch the account is registered against (given the general meaningless of 'local branch' these days) to be one of the Halifax ones, rather than going through the cost and inconvenience of switching brands and account types.

surreysaver

You don't need a Halifax current account to open a Halifax Regular Saver, unlike BoS and Lloyds.

Zippy29

I've got a BoS current account and regular savers with Halifax, BoS and Lloyds. I've never had a Lloyds current account.

WillPS

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81955923#Comment_81955923

Sure - if LBG saw a long term future for Halifax as a day-to-day banking brand.

It's quite clear they don't though - and instead of knocking it out at once they're going for death by a million cuts. Wouldn't surprise me if this is a first cut towards more wide-sweeping changes.

Maegi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81955923#Comment_81955923

These account holders will be primarily resident in Scotland and therefore have zero Halifax branch usage. It will also remove friction with BoS branches having to regularly service off-sale Halifax products.

If they're planning to phase out the Halifax brand, then moving Scottish accounts to the BoS brand would also make sense.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81956915#Comment_81956915

These account holders will be primarily resident in Scotland and therefore have zero Halifax branch usage.

As I pointed out, the concept of 'local branch' is a thing of the past, especially with co-servicing. I live in England, I don't think I've ever set foot in a BoS branch, and my 'home' BoS branches are all in Edinburgh. Given the amount LBG are spending on co-servicing, it would be crazy business for them to write to me now saying my BoS accounts will be converted into Halifax equivalents because I don't live in Scotland. More so if they applied the 3 account limit.

I did also say "option". If folk living in Scotland near a BoS branch want their Halifax branded account converted into a BoS equivalent that's fine. But the conversion from a Halifax Reward account to a BoS Classic Vantage involves a change to the T&C's and benefits - they aren't the same, as noted in the letter MisterMotivated posted. Therefore the change should be optional.

And as MisterMotivated pointed out, there seems to be no reason why a customer living in Scotland near a BoS branch can't open a new Halifax Reward account if they want to continue the benefits of that account…. so why would LBG go to the expense of converting existing customer accounts from Reward to Vantage if it isn't what the customer actually wants?

It will also remove friction with BoS branches having to regularly service off-sale Halifax products.

What friction? Isn't the whole point of co-servicing that any of the three brands can be serviced in any of the three brand branches?

If they're planning to phase out the Halifax brand, then moving Scottish accounts to the BoS brand would also make sense.

Which could be the real reason, but it isn't what the letter says.

steven141

To be honest the offering from Bank of Scotland is much poorer than from Lloyds. They are probably wanting to move people to accounts that cost them less money. The Club Lloyds account doesn't have an equivalent at Bank of Scotland. Only the interest rates seem to be the same and the regular saver is also less with Bank of Scotland.

steven141

On another note some people here in Scotland don't know the difference between Halifax and Bank of Scotland as they used to be the same branch so some say they are with Halifax but they only have a Bank of Scotland account so I'm guessing that they are starting with these accounts as the majority of people may not even bat an eyelid.

If people are unhappy they are free to switch there is plenty of banks out there. It only becomes an issue if that is the only branch nearby.

MisterMotivated

"If they're planning to phase out the Halifax brand, then moving Scottish accounts to the BoS brand would also make sense."

This seems the most likely reason to me, especially since they changed the Reward accounts to be more like Lloyds and BoS. For several years now the statement notification emails, etc, that I've received, have been branded as BoS. With the push for co-servicing and alignment of account offerings, it feels like they're starting to subtly let people know that, when English/Welsh Halifax account holders are moved to Lloyds, it won't be much of a change other than the name.

EarthBoy

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81957310#Comment_81957310

"when English/Welsh Halifax account holders are moved to Lloyds, it won't be much of a change other than the name."

It would be much more than that; it would be moving them to a different bank altogether. Halifax doesn't exist in its own right; it's merely a trading name for Bank of Scotland, and has been for some years, so changing Halifax customers to Bank of Scotland is nothing more than a simple rebranding exercise.

Lloyds, on the other hand, is a separate registered company, with a different banking licence, so to move any Halifax customers to Lloyds, would require a legal process, going through the courts for approval, like Nationwide has just done to move Virgin customers to Nationwide. It might even need a private Act of Parliament, which is the method used when Halifax was merged into Bank of Scotland, under the HBOS Group Reorganisation Act 2006.