Santander to slash 123 account interest and shake up overdrafts

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  • BobQ
    BobQ Posts: 11,181 Forumite
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    edited 18 January 2020 at 10:42PM
    Not sure if anyone has posted the full press release

    https://www.santander.co.uk/about-santander/media-centre/press-releases/santander-announces-current-account-changes-january-2020


    It seems that only 2% of customers will find the changes mean they will not earn enough to pay the monthly fee and 9/10 customers will be unaffected by the change in the cap. That makes me wonder why they did not just reduce the interest rate and write to the 2%.
    Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions.
  • Alexland
    Alexland Posts: 9,653 Forumite
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    BobQ wrote: »
    only 9/10 customers will be affected by the change in the cap

    "Nine in ten customers will be unaffected by the cap".

    I would have expected more customer to be affected by the £5 cap on 1% items where they spend over £500 per month on a Santander mortgage, council tax and water? That would only require a mortgage balance of around £100k.

    Alex
  • BobQ
    BobQ Posts: 11,181 Forumite
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    Alexland wrote: »
    "Nine in ten customers will be unaffected by the cap".

    I would have expected more customer to be affected by the £5 cap on 1% items where they spend over £500 per month on a Santander mortgage, council tax and water? That would only require a mortgage balance of around £100k.

    Alex

    Thank you Alex for the correction.
    Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions.
  • Speedbird676
    Speedbird676 Posts: 296 Forumite
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    BobQ wrote: »
    That makes me wonder why they did not just reduce the interest rate and write to the 2%.

    Even if only 2% of customers are affected it is a change to the terms and conditions of the account, so legally they must inform all customers.
  • Zero_Sum
    Zero_Sum Posts: 1,567 Forumite
    Alexland wrote: »
    "Nine in ten customers will be unaffected by the cap".

    I would have expected more customer to be affected by the £5 cap on 1% items where they spend over £500 per month on a Santander mortgage, council tax and water? That would only require a mortgage balance of around £100k.

    Alex

    Its not that unreasonable that only 10% of 123 account holders have a Santander mortgage.
    There'll be loads who are either renting or mortgage paid off so wont have a mortgage. And those that do could most could probably get a better rate elsewhere even after factoring in cashback.
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 30,846 Forumite
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    BobQ wrote: »
    whattochoose wrote: »
    It wasn't as easy as I thought. I rang First Direct. The upshot is I mistakenly (and no doubt naively) thought I could open a First Direct current account without fully realising I'd have to close my Santander account and transfer all my DD's and incomings to a newly opened First Direct account - that is if I expected to receive the £100 opening offer. [...]
    I can see that they would expect you to transfer your DDs and use the FD one as your main account but how can FD stop you having another current account or even know if you have closed it?
    FD can't stop you having other accounts and don't know (or care) about these, but what they're saying is that their £100 joining incentive is conditional on using CASS to switch another current account to FD, a process which unavoidably entails closure of the old account.
  • alanwsg
    alanwsg Posts: 763 Forumite
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    eskbanker wrote: »
    joining incentive is conditional on using CASS to switch another current account to FD, a process which unavoidably entails closure of the old account.

    Is that true?

    I switched current accounts using that service about 18 months ago and I'm sure there was an option to leave the old account open.
    (I didn't use it, but I assume it would have worked).
  • Zero_Sum
    Zero_Sum Posts: 1,567 Forumite
    alanwsg wrote: »
    Is that true?

    I switched current accounts using that service about 18 months ago and I'm sure there was an option to leave the old account open.
    (I didn't use it, but I assume it would have worked).

    There may well be with some, however you wont get the switching bonus leaving old one open.
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 30,846 Forumite
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    alanwsg wrote: »
    eskbanker wrote: »
    joining incentive is conditional on using CASS to switch another current account to FD, a process which unavoidably entails closure of the old account.
    Is that true?

    I switched current accounts using that service about 18 months ago and I'm sure there was an option to leave the old account open.
    (I didn't use it, but I assume it would have worked).
    Some banks offer a partial switch facility but switching incentives are typically reliant on using the full CASS switching service that closes the old account.

    https://www1.firstdirect.com/banking/switching-bank-accounts/#at-a-glance:
    To get the £100 cash offer you need to open a 1st Account, switch your everyday banking to us using the Current Account Switch Service and pay in at least £1,000 within three months of opening the account.

    https://www.currentaccountswitch.co.uk/helpandsupport/Pages/Help.aspx:
    Q. Do I have to close my old account?

    A. Your old bank will close your old account as part of the switching process. This ensures that any payments made to your old account are automatically redirected to your new account.

    If you want to, you can switch and keep the old account open, but you won’t be able to use the Current Account Switch Service.
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