First Direct query

smiddle3

Hi guys

Just a quick question...I am interested in switcing my current account to First Direct to take advantage of their £100 offer but my salary amounts to just less than the stated £1500 threshold. Could I just withdraw the "difference" and then pay this back in to ensure i hit the minimum deposit every month?

Cheers

munk

The t&cs say the minimum funding requirement ('salary/income') is £1500, the way I read that is that in total, £1500 must come into your account per month as long as it's not from another FD account. They don't say where the income should come from so yes I would say transferring £100 out to a non-FD account and back in again should be fine. Maybe someone who actually has an account will pipe up with more definitive info though...

Would be interesting to hear if anyone has ever had an account closed for 'milking' it - I'm thinking about taking up the FD offer of £200 if you decide to leave between 6-12months and intend to transfer £1500 per month in from a savings account and then move it straight back out again as soon as it's cleared (maybe keep a few quid in there). As far as I know there are no requirements to keep a minimum balance in the account and the only requirements are you have an income of £1500 per month for each of the first 6 months. There's no mention of minimum amounts are there? Off to check t&c now!

Also curious if there's any way for banks to indicate on your credit record that you've clearly just exploited their offers. Suspect not, but who knows. I suppose it might be harder to get an account with HSBC after given FD probably share the same customer db as HSBC and so would maybe indicate on their internal records that your customer 'behaviour' has been bad in the past. Anyway sorry for hijacking thread with my random mumblings!

AlexUK_3

I was thinking of doing this too. £200 for nothing

I have been with Nat West for years is it easy to switch DD's etc?

Thanks

YorkshireBoy

AlexUK wrote: »

I was thinking of doing this too. £200 for nothing

...is it easy to switch DD's etc?

It's not necessary to switch anything but your salary mandate!

Zork

Hello.
I am currently locking horns with First Direct.
I carefully, ( I thought ) read the offer and transferred my salary, which is above £1500, to the account. I also spoke with someone to ask if there was a minimum period it should be in the account. I was told there wasn't.

My money went in on the 15th Feb and out again the same day to my Nationwide account. I asked them when I would get my £100. It was pointed out that most of my money had been withdrawn the same day and I was basically told that the offer didn't apply to me as the incentive was there to attract customers and there banking, direct debits etc. I replied telling them that ,that was not what their offer stated. My e-mail was then forwarded on to I suspect the compaints department who will reply in ten days.

Oh by the way, this also happened to me with the Halifax. The excuse there was that I tranferred my account across myself and didn't let them do it, so the offer was invalid. I will be writing to the Ombudsman shortly about that one.

Maybe it's just me. I don't think i'll bother anymore.

You know what they say. " If it seems to be too good to be true..................."

Rob.


Rob.

SuiDreams

I'm also wondering about the £1500 per month funding as I'm £34 per month short.

tinkerbell84

They told me they only counted 'income' as a BACS transfer of salary, not a transfer from another bank account (is there some way they can tell?)

SuiDreams

Sounds like I'll have to wait and see if I get a pay rise next month to cover the short fall. Fingers crossed, any ideas when this offer is due to end?

YorkshireBoy

Zork wrote: »

Oh by the way, this also happened to me with the Halifax. The excuse there was that I tranferred my account across myself and didn't let them do it, so the offer was invalid. I will be writing to the Ombudsman shortly about that one.

The requirement to use their switching team (for SO's and/or DD's) was clearly stated in the T&C's for both Halifax 'switcher' offers that ran last year, so I don't think you'll get anywhere with this one.

YorkshireBoy

tinkerbell84 wrote: »

They told me they only counted 'income' as a BACS transfer of salary, not a transfer from another bank account (is there some way they can tell?)

One will (possibly) be a BACS Direct Credit, and contain the detail "BGC Employer Name". The other will be a "BACS transfer", and won't include a note...unless you apend one like I did last month saying "BGC Employer Name".

I'll find out by the end of next week whether it's worked or not (when the 28 days are up). If it doesn't, then my BACS Direct Credit salary payment lands next week so the £100 will be paid 28 days from then.

Taadaa

I am sure they will find a loophole here. I thought you had to maintain a minimum balance as well otherwise they charge a monthly fee, but it didn't apply to me (have more than one account) so I didn't take too much notice.