What are your 'honest' thoughts on First Direct?

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  • badger09
    badger09 Posts: 11,210 Forumite
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    xylophone wrote: »
    I only keep the current account for the regular saver.

    I have rarely had to contact them and the on line banking is adequate for my purposes.

    what xylophone said:)
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
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    First Direct are one of six banks I currently have accounts with, to be honest I rate them all as much of a muchness. FD's online stuff is laborious, but I guess that makes it more secure. I liked the Coop actually but didn't stay long as another switch came up. Now waiting on the next one.

    Have never had a Barclays account, they've never enticed me in with any offer I can recall. HSBC turned me down.
  • SuperHan
    SuperHan Posts: 2,269 Forumite
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    Anthorn wrote: »
    FD was

    I don't remember claiming that against you. Link please.

    FD was one of the rejection surprises I'm subject to. I also had Paypal credit which I closed and a year later was then rejected by them when I attempted to get an iPhone 7 on credit. There's also Tesco bank who rejected me for a credit card but then later allowed a BT card with a £4,500 limit. There's Barclays Bank who reject me for everything whether it's a current account or credit card and MBNA who reject all applications to increase my limit. Personally, rejections don't get to me and I just move on.


    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4989074&highlight=anthorn


    Here you advocated for paying interest as it would make you more appealing to lenders...


    Post 21:
    Let's look at credit cards in more detail:

    First of all we can dismiss the fallacy that lenders make a lot of money on card transaction fees. If that were the case retailers would be kicking up against it.

    Now where does a credit card lender's profit come from? That comes from interest.

    Now we consider that every penny we pay over and above the required minimum reduces the lender's profit. If we pay all of the balance we are preventing the lender from making any profit at all.

    The point that paying the whole balance is best in the relationship with the lender doesn't stand up to scrutiny. It doesn't even make sense. It doesn't even make sense in the (re)building of a credit history: All it tells the lender is that a cat-in-hell has a better chance of making a profit.

    Lastly if you're going to be a sheep be the sheep at the front and choose your own direction.





    We've had this debate a number of times, this was just the first one I found and I didn't have the inclination to provide multiple links.
  • Zanderman
    Zanderman Posts: 4,683 Forumite
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    First Direct great on phone as others have said.

    But, also as others have said, they are very clunky online - lots of other banks do better than them online. That's using the website - I haven't tried their app.

    I only stay with them for the 5% Reg Saver. It's not an account I'd use for other things as I don't tend to do phone banking and don't like their website.

    Don't know why they top the consumer polls really - nothing outstanding about them - except that their customer service on the phone is miles better than their awful parent HSBC. If only HSBC could treat everyone like they do at First Direct!
  • datlex
    datlex Posts: 2,239 Forumite
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    I used to have a first direct account. I only stopped because of when I lost my job due to redundancy when the company I worked for closed several years back I had difficulties with a loan I had with them. They were really helpful. They let me set up an affordable payment arrangement and did not default or flag the payments to credit agencies. They stopped me from going into unaffordable debt. So I would recommend them, even though I no longer have an account.
    Paid off the last of my unsecured debts in 2016. Then saved up and bought a property. Current aim is to pay off my mortgage as early as possible. Currently over paying every month. Mortgage due to be paid off in 2036 hoping to get it paid off much earlier. Set up my own bespoke spreadsheet to manage my money.
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
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    Only reason I have accounts with them is because they still have a good Regular Saver.
  • Anthorn
    Anthorn Posts: 4,362 Forumite
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    SuperHan wrote: »
    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4989074&highlight=anthorn


    Here you advocated for paying interest as it would make you more appealing to lenders...


    Post 21:





    We've had this debate a number of times, this was just the first one I found and I didn't have the inclination to provide multiple links.

    The link you posted and quoted has nothing at all to do with your previous accusation against me. Read back. So therefore if you cannot prove it I have to deny it.

    Your current post has absolutely nothing to do with this thread and is therefore off-topic and is also quoted out of context.If you want to discuss credit cards then start a thread!

    Back to the topic!
  • zerog
    zerog Posts: 2,478 Forumite
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    I use FD and don't understand why nobody likes their online banking. It does everything I want it to, and it lets you contact them by email / secure message / whatever. In contrast you can't even do simple tasks on Lloyds group websites such as change your address.

    I have phoned FD exactly once, just after opening the account to set up some password, and have never needed to phone them in the past 5 years. Using the device to send payments is better than having to get out my iPad (which receives the phone calls from Lloyds group).

    This is probably the world's most trivial complaint :p, but the only minor niggle I have is with FD that it forces you to type the trailing 0 i.e. if I want to send a payment of £1.50, I can type 1.5 into Lloyds group websites and the scripting will add the 0 for me, whereas with FD I have to type the 0.
  • takman
    takman Posts: 3,876 Forumite
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    zerog wrote: »
    I use FD and don't understand why nobody likes their online banking. It does everything I want it to, and it lets you contact them by email / secure message / whatever. In contrast you can't even do simple tasks on Lloyds group websites such as change your address.

    The Android app has now been updated so you can use your fingerprint to log in. But before you had to type a full password which made it more clunky than other banks apps.

    The online banking via a web browser opens in a pop up window which is extremely annoying and that alone makes it worse than other banks.
  • starM
    starM Posts: 1,464 Forumite
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    I have been using First Direct internet banking from day 1 it was released and had no problems with it. I have no complaints against it

    FD app yes that I abit clunky but that has been updated now and it is much better than it was.
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