Time taken to open a Halifax account

mistyarthur

I recently applied to open a Halifax student account online thinking it was the quicker way, I waited a week dispite it saying it should only take two days to open and then phoned were I was told it could take upto another two weeks!!!
I thought that applying online was quicker but the man told me thats why it's taking longer. I decided to go to my local Halifax where they told me they would have opened it instantly and given me the overdraft in a few days.

Has anyone else had this problem? at first I thought they might be doing more credit checking on me or something but they said there wasn't problem it was just processing them takes longer online, I also noticed they encourage you to do all your banking online but theres no e-mail address anywhere on the website!

mistyarthur

It turns out the reason it was taking so long is they wanted proof I was going to be a student. they didnt tell me that when I phoned up or make any attempt to asl for it though!

reen_3

i'm having the same issues with halifax. two weeks after i completed the online form, i recived a letter stating that i need to send them the ORIGINAL (not a copy) acceptance letter from my uni. no chance. there are more important things than the bank account to save that letter for. after all, until i register in a month, it's the only proof i have that i will be a full-time student.

i'm just going to have to get off the sofa & go in person into a branch. grr. what was the point of the online form, then?

Park_Ranger_2

Similar story. I applied on line on 27th August and heard nothing for several days. I left it, thinking they,d be busy at this time of year. Kept checking on line and it was still showing awaiting decision. Eventually phoned them on 8th Sept to be told it was all approved. On Line still showed awaiting decision so I phoned again on 9th. Told it was approved and I hd to pay £10 in. This didn't seem right so I phoned again. Yes it was approved, have to pay in £100 not £10, take proof of ID and student status into branch. On line still shows awaiting decision. Called into branch later that day. No-one free, call back tomorrow. Did this and now it's all sorted. But they don't make it easy do they??

Jack21_2

Hiya,

Thanks for the info.

Sorry to hear about all the grief youve been getting, altho' its nice to know im not alone when it comes to the Halifax!

Ive had a basic a/c with HBOS for 4 1/2 years, but now I need a student a/c.

Applied cpl days ago, and Ive still got the 'Decision Pending' screen showing :rolleyes:

Do any of you guys know 'when' they do their credit check re the student a/c?

Im tempted to go into the branch in the week, but Im worried about them checking a second time or something, and this is the last thing I need due to a 'far less than perfect credit rating!'

I applied for a student a/c back in March of this year in the branch and was turned down flat, however, now its been 6 months since they added a 'failed DD charge' maybe this is why theyre considering it / referring it, as Ive been looking after the a/c since then, and all's been tip - top.

When any of you went into the branch with your ID, were you told that the credit checking had already been done online, or was more to follow on the screen while you were there?

Sorry to witter on, but with a pretty bad credit history, if they actually are considering my application, I really dont want to balls it up!

Any pointers would be great.

Cheers,

Jack :beer:

joe13

We applied online for my daughters student account with Halifax, as already mentioned when we looked online it kept saying decision pending. Rang and they confirmed already approved, we just had to pay in £100 to open account and take in proof of ID, uni acceptance letter, all sorted now and up and running within two weeks of applying.

sfboy

NatWest is just as bad ... 2 weeks and waiting

Jack21_2

So Joe13 and the rest of you, did the Halifax do further credit checks on their computer when you took the ID / student proof into the branch, or had the c check already been done online?

If this is the case, and its already been done - ie - its just a case of taking my proof in, then Im off to ring them up now, and fingers crossed, Ive been accepted!

Wish me Luck!

:cool:

mistyarthur

I finally got mine done on friday after getting a rejection letter on thursday! The bank thought it was still pending but when they phoned up the head office they said it was because I'd not shown any student ID (which I had).
If you set it up in the bank you only have to put in 10pound which opened it for me.

When I got it opened I asked about the overdraft and the man just said that he'd give me 1000 but that was all they could do in the bank and I'd have to phone up when I was getting low and get it extended if needed, so I'm going to phone up and say I want it to pay for my accommodation in advance to get a discount before my loan arrives, and then put it in my online bank ;-)

Didn't appear to do any credit check before he gave me the overdraft,
just typed it in so they must do it before hand.

Jack21_2

Hey mistyarthur,

Talk about a right kerfuffle!

Well done on getting in opened at long last anyway! :j

I must admit that Im surprised he didnt do any credit check in the branch although I presume this is done before as you say, probably at the time you apply online, so maybe its already been done in my case too. (note to self - must stop worrying so much.. :cool: )

Its probably also helped my already having a BOS a/c with them for so long and running it well.

Mistyarthur ... may I ask, what ID did you take in with you? Also, I have an 'unconditional offer' letter from the Uni ..will this be enough for them?

Finally, what debit card did you get offered?

Sorry to go on!

Many Thanks,

Jack

mistyarthur

I don't know he said that the cheque book and everything with the details on the account would be sent out to me over the next few days.

The proof was just my letter that was sent out from UCAS after results day which I had faxed through to them.

I was surprised about him giving the overdraft so quickly as well cause he asked me did you request one when you applied online, and when I said I did he just went through and did it.