Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Money matters

Find financial and money-saving discussions including debt and pension chat on our Money forum. If you're looking for ways to make your money to go further, sign up to our Moneysaver emails here.

Flip

Original poster

Have you or would you ever change bank accounts?

14 replies

Chil1234 · 02/04/2011 15:41

This story about the real cost of personal banking being too vague and the difficulty of changing bank accounts prompts the question. I've chopped and changed things like CCs and ISA accounts a lot but my main cheque account has only shifted bank once in nearly 30 years. It wasn't as difficult as I thought to switch to another bank but there was that nail-biting month or two waiting to make sure all the DDs had transferred properly

So have you or would you ever swap bank accounts? And do you think your bank is up front about your 'free' personal banking?

OP posts:

BooyHoo · 02/04/2011 15:44

yes i have. i actually have 3 current accounts. i had 4 until last year but it was joint with EXP. i change accounts according to who is offering the best deal although i do get a bit slack from time to time and dont always notice new better accounts. i am curently with halifax on their reward current account because they give me £5 per month for every month that i pay in over £1000. it isn't doing me anygood atm though because i am severly overdrawn.

LawrieMarlow · 02/04/2011 15:50

I have as we needed to get rid of our old bank account due to debts and take out a new basic one. Was a very simple procedure.

crw1234 · 02/04/2011 20:52

Have done a couple of time - and its been fine -

vj32 · 05/04/2011 14:41

I changed from Natwest (evil) to Halifax, totally fine.

I tried to move from Halifax to Santander for a better deal last year and they mucked me about so badly I gave up and just kept my Halifax account.

serajen · 06/04/2011 09:39

Opposite for me vj, changed from evil Halifax to Natwest! Different strokes for different folks 'n all that ...

Buda · 06/04/2011 09:51

DH does it a lot. They piss him off and he moves. I am forever signing forms for new bank accounts. I have a theory it is also because if I were to divorce him I will never find the money!

Actually he doesn't do it that much but he does threaten to. And as he has before and that is how both current banks got his business they know he means it. And in our case it is a lot of business!

fedupwithdeployment · 06/04/2011 09:53

I changed from Lloyds who were rubbish depite having an account with them for over 20 years...to First Direct. Very happy and it was a lot less hassle than I expected.

Celibin · 06/04/2011 22:34

Yes did it few probs Santander have a great deal on line at the mo cos if you switch online they give you 100 quid . I know cos I missed it Damn!

Beamur · 06/04/2011 22:36

Yup, DP and I took the plunge and opened a joint a/c and closed our old ones, went with Co-op and it was easy and efficient.

Ambi · 06/04/2011 22:43

Yes I changed from HSBC(Midland) when I noticed a £1 charge per withdrawal on my statement. I then changed from Barclays when they cancelled a large cheque we paid out because we hadn't used the cheque book for a while . Now have accounts with BOS and Halifax, for the £5 per month each a month, until they do something to hack me off.

somersetmum · 06/04/2011 22:55

Very similar to fedup, we moved from Lloyds who we'd banked with for 18 years (since leaving school) to First Direct. We moved because Lloyds were annoying us with their petty unhelpfulness. I can't remember what the final straw was, but the transfer was totally painless; First Direct dealt with it all with no errors and we have had no complaints since. They are very helpful and I love their free daily text message service which shows transactions from/to our accounts.

razors · 06/04/2011 23:02

I couldn't believe it when I heard people don't change their bank accounts.I think I have been with most of them over the years. I change mine frequently. As soon as they piss me off I'm gone. I'm with IBB at present, as well as The Brittania - both have behaved so far!

comixminx · 06/04/2011 23:07

I've been with First Direct almost since they first started, cos I thought telephone banking was such a good idea - much better than queuing up for stuff in your lunchtime - and then Internet banking even better. I haven't needed to change, but I would certainly consider it if I wasn't happy.

snailsandwich · 07/04/2011 04:20

Yup, both me and dh had individual accounts with Lloyds, tried to get Lloyd's to open a joint account and close these.

What a nightmare - Lloyd's really mucked us around - they photocopied documents (passports, utility bills etc) then lost the copies, said computer was not working, the accounts are opened in different regions of the country and could not be combined etc.

Next one of their staff rang up and was really rude to me on the phone, accused me of lying when I said we had already provided documentary evidence of identity - the fact that we were both customers, for 30 years in total, meant squat.

Went back in to see them to sort it out once and for all and they were really off. We walked out the door, crossed the road to HSBC and opened account in 20 mins - they transferred everything - great service ever since.

Flip