Advice on moving banks

[callmewhatever]

Me and DW are currently sorting out our finances. We want to have all our bills come out of one joint bank account and use our own current accounts for our own 'pocket money'. One of us may move our account to get a cashback deal. Does anyone have recent experience of moving banks? Is it as simple as they make it sound with regards to the banks moving your direct debits automatically? Does anyone know if you can move two accounts to make 1 joint account? Sorry if these are stupid questions.

I've just moved from HSBC to 1st direct. It was very easy. I applied online and had to make one telephone call to confirm my switch date. £150 bonus was in my new account waiting for me. That was a joint acct to another joint.

Thanks for the reply. Was there any problems with direct debits or salary changing over to the new account?

switches either work or they don't, depends if the person pushing buttons or programming the computer gets it right. Brand is irrelevant.

you've got an opportunity to make some free money here. Natwest have just launched an account which pays 3% cashback on bills (£3 a month fee). This is more than Santander pay although they pay interest. Some other banks are doing switching bonuses of £100-£150 if you jump through the right hoops.

also consider the three accounts at three different banking groups; ATM networks can and do fail so have alternatives.

I recently moved to 1st Direct and it all went really smoothly. They transferred over all my standing orders and direct debits. Even cheques I had written on my old account came off the new one without me having to do anything. And they transferred over all my online banking payees - I thought I'd have to set them up again but it was all done for me.

Thanks for the further replies. We would like 3 accounts, a joint one for all household bills then separate accounts for our own personal spend.

Does it make sense to move both our separate accounts to a new bank to take advantage of cashback on two accounts then set up a new joint account for all direct debits? Or is this stupid as our direct debits will automatically move over then we will still need to manually set them up on the joint account.

just moving from santander to HSBC all going well so far - extra bonus with HSBC at the mo if you open a isa you get 10 per month / per person if you put either £25.00 per month or £300 in.

also had no issues when moved from first direct to santander 3 years ago.

the increase to a £5.00 a month fee from santander meant it was going to cost me money.

I would check with your new bank to see if it's possible to switch two sole accounts into one joint one. It might be easier to switch them separately and then set up a new joint one.
And I would take the opportunity to review all your standing orders and direct debits to make sure they're all still required.

"Free" banking's days may be numbered. Particularly for accounts that aren't receiving regular salary cheques and dealing with a household's Direct Debits etc. So keep alert for when it's time to revert to a single joint account.

I'm currently trying to switch to first direct. The 'next day' switch email is continually moving into the future and there is a problem with the debit card already. And it takes ages to get through to them on the phone, I can't set up internet banking until this switch happens.

I'm only after the switching bonus so this isn't really causing me any problems, but so much for painless processes! As I said, it either works or it doesn't.

Thanks for the update special. Makes it a little worrying.

Ideally if we could merge our sole accounts into a joint account then that would be the best option but fear I may need to phone about to get this info.

You can merge two sole accounts into a new joint account yes. (Assistant branch manager)

don't worry - others here have had no problem. Assume there will be a cock-up and plan for it, switching one account at a time.

Just moved yesterday to 1st direct and it was painless. I made it more complicated as I didn't understand that it was only my current account that would switch. You need to rearrange your savings accounts and ISA's etc yourself at a later date if you wish but my current account, all direct debits attached etc moved smoothly over.

3 hints:

1. Understand that once you get your docs from your new bank (halfway through the process) you do need to call them to confirm that yes, you do want to switch. That is basically all you need to do.

1. Your new account will be open (and new card received) well before your old one moves over. I suggest you transfer some money into it immediately and just start using it. Saves worry about which account you should be using and which one to attach a new direct debit to should you need to.

1. Keep your new account details on hand at your computer for a while (stick a posit on or something) so you can quickly reenter new card details when doing online shopping.

as an update I've just had the latest in an absolute avalanche of paperwork from 1st Direct. They've done the switch so all I need to do now is wait for the switching incentive. I've set up the regular pay-in. Be aware:

• you get loads of paper and you have to use a code generator with the account.
• the two 'savings accounts' that they set up with the main bank account pay interest rates bad even by today's standards, one of them is 0.05% !!! You have to rummage around to find the usable one, the regular saver that pays 6%.
• the website is clunky and slow to login and use.

still, with the switching bonus and the interest on the regular saver, I'm going to make about £250 for max 3 hours work. The only reason to bother switching!!

Thank you all for the contributions. A lot of good info. Thanks for the update special, really need to pull my finger out and make a move.

This is a major issue we have, we discuss things to change that will help us financially then just sit on it and don't do anything.

Thought I would resurrect this thread, NC since starting it.

Well today was the day of my switch to First Direct, over last few days I have had emails confirming direct debits have changed and this morning my old account showed my balance transferring to new account. So far so good, very easy process and getting £150 moving bonus.