Bank Accounts

[RooDaisy]

I'm wondering if anyone can help me decide whether to switch bank account. And if I do, who should I switch to?
I'm with HSBC advantage, pay £10 pm for phone insurance etc.

I saw something the other day saying Halifax have a good deal at the moment and have had a brief look on line but there's so much info, I can't decide.

How much is your phone worth? Mine was £80 from the Tesco phone shop instore.
I looked at a bank account that offered phone insurance, the excess charge would have been £50, If I had made a claim.

Definately not worth it.

Then they offered car breakdown cover.

So I got my own breakdown cover at £4 a month.

I went with First Direct bank and got £150 for joining, no monthly fee.

I will switch to Halifax soon to get another £100.

Phone is worth about £330. I don't know what the excess is so will defo take a look at the details and compare.

Thank you!

Would your phone be covered under your home contents insurance?

A lot depends on how much you tend to keep in your account and if you have direct debits. Some accounts offer cash back on direct debits or high interest on money kept in the account and they don't charge a fee.

I would also look into having that phone insurance -£120 per year seems extortionate as some people ensure entire houses for not much more.

I don't know what incentives they offer, but I've been with First Direct for 20+ years and wouldn't consider changing. Their customer service is second to none.

I'm with first direct too, pay 15 a month but for that get 2 phones covered, holiday insurance and breakdown cover. It certainly covers the cost for us, as we go abroad often and have 2 cars that are covered.
Also fd are amazing, service great and you deal with humans!

there are switching incentives about so worth the hassle - there is often a cockup in the process. The 'high' interest accounts rack up at about a fiver or less a month now.

I think co-op do included phone insurance.

don't be a loyal customer, that is for suckers.

Wow wouldn't pay for any account with a monthly fee. I switch often and HSBC/M&S have paid me £480 in the last 12 months to bank with them and co-op £150.

Still keep my old FD account as use the free overdraft.

If you really look at the cost of thinks like insurance you can get better cheaper deals than packaged accounts. We've been on two holidays recently - one US and one europe and our insurance for both was under £30 for a family of 4.

I don't have house insurance, it's the one thing I've not got round to setting up. Thanks for all the advice, am going to go some googling and see what I can get deals on.

If you rent, you need contents insurance.

If you own, buildings and contents need sorting yesterday !!!!