Switching Bank Account advice please?

Baldbloke

Baldbloke

Baldbloke

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Been with the same bank for over 40 years. Well, sort of, it has been bought out and changed name over the years. It was Clydedale bank when I first joined as a teenager. Now, due to buy outs and takeovers and name changes and whatnot, I've somehow become a Santander customer for the last umpteen years.

Now, finance makes me go glassy eyed. Absoloutely bored stupid whenever I have to discuss anything more complicated than interest rates. I really am not doing myself any favours with my lack of enthusiasm in these matters.

Anyway, Moneysavingexpert newsletter says HSBC is tempting "switchers" with a £200 bribe right now. I fancy making a simple quick £200. Is it really that simple? Do I have to switch banks completely or can I just keep my savings in Santander and open a new account with HSBC and get HSBC to do my direct debits instead of Santander? And if I did switch, will things be likely to go smoothly? What about new debit and credit cards being issued? Would it be a good Idea to keep some actual cash in readies under the matteress if things go pear shaped due to possible delays?

What's the catch? There has to be more to it than I realise.
 
Baldbloke said:
Been with the same bank for over 40 years. Well, sort of, it has been bought out and changed name over the years. It was Clydedale bank when I first joined as a teenager. Now, due to buy outs and takeovers and name changes and whatnot, I've somehow become a Santander customer for the last umpteen years.

Now, finance makes me go glassy eyed. Absoloutely bored stupid whenever I have to discuss anything more complicated than interest rates. I really am not doing myself any favours with my lack of enthusiasm in these matters.

Anyway, Moneysavingexpert newsletter says HSBC is tempting "switchers" with a £200 bribe right now. I fancy making a simple quick £200. Is it really that simple? Do I have to switch banks completely or can I just keep my savings in Santander and open a new account with HSBC and get HSBC to do my direct debits instead of Santander? And if I did switch, will things be likely to go smoothly? What about new debit and credit cards being issued? Would it be a good Idea to keep some actual cash in readies under the matteress if things go pear shaped due to possible delays?

What's the catch? There has to be more to it than I realise.
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The switching process these days is very easy and smooth.

To answer your questions, 1) You'd need to check if Santander require a current account open in order for the savings account. Some do to open the account, but once it's open you're probably safe.
2) debit cards are issued as soon as the account is opened. From what I recall the switch isn't immediate but is a scheduled arrangement, so you know exactly when the swap happens.
3) yes worth having some cash to the side. In fact it's worth having a second account anyway as a backup.

No catch, assuming there's no hiccups you'll be surprised how easy the process is.

Oh one thing I remember reading a good step to take is to write down your direct debits. That way you can check once the swap has taken place that none are missing. You don't want to miss payments on something just because one direct debit failed to switch.
 
Semple said:
You don't want to miss payments on something just because one direct debit failed to switch.
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While true, the switch guarantee does mean you shouldn't be liable for any charges even if it does fail. Obviously it's less hassle if you have all the details to hand :)
 
easier to 'switch' and transfer the standing debits 'you' want to the new account - they want salary and everything in the new account to make money from you.

to wit - I transferred to Santander years back for the higher interest rate they had, I just transferred standing orders for which they payed cashback and on a monthly basis had transferred the minimum cash sum their account required for zero charges, and periodically transfer any 'surplus' from my original bank.

has been useful having several accounts, if one or other has better exchange rates, or lloyds have a more draconian online check for larger debit transactions ..so had to pay car tax with santander, when lloyds failed.
 
Baldbloke said:
Been with the same bank for over 40 years. Well, sort of, it has been bought out and changed name over the years. It was Clydedale bank when I first joined as a teenager. Now, due to buy outs and takeovers and name changes and whatnot, I've somehow become a Santander customer for the last umpteen years.

Now, finance makes me go glassy eyed. Absoloutely bored stupid whenever I have to discuss anything more complicated than interest rates. I really am not doing myself any favours with my lack of enthusiasm in these matters.

Anyway, Moneysavingexpert newsletter says HSBC is tempting "switchers" with a £200 bribe right now. I fancy making a simple quick £200. Is it really that simple? Do I have to switch banks completely or can I just keep my savings in Santander and open a new account with HSBC and get HSBC to do my direct debits instead of Santander? And if I did switch, will things be likely to go smoothly? What about new debit and credit cards being issued? Would it be a good Idea to keep some actual cash in readies under the matteress if things go pear shaped due to possible delays?

What's the catch? There has to be more to it than I realise.
Click to expand...

Funnily enough I just opened an HSBC account. It's easy, but it did take a while. The security hoops were ridiculous. They send you a letter with the information. Then another letter with a code. That unlocks another letter with another code. And so on. In all, although it took days to open the account, it took nearly a month to get access to it. So I would not set it up "all in one go". Open the account, get everything sorted, then switch everything bit by bit.
The crazy thing is that all the security proves I am the same person that opened the account, but it doesn't actually prove who I am. Bank security is a mess at the moment.
 
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I was thinking of getting the £200 for the HSBC switch too, but my main account I have with NatWest with my salary and all direct debits etc still has a £3k overdraft available which I would rather not give up.

Got a couple of other current accounts I don't use at all, should really research what I need to set up on them direct debit wise to still be able to switch and get the £200.
 
OP i've switched banks a few times now. it's really easy, you can do it online or over the phone. thoroughly recommend it, it's easy money although i did it once or twice because i wasn't particularly happy with my banks service, it wasn't for the money.
 
I have my Starling account for bills, and another that I switch yearly with a standing order into the Starling account. Means I have zero risk when it comes to paying the bills, just my pay to make sure it goes on properly but I just let work know the number.
Well worth it for the £150+ a year it gives you.
 
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I also Switch about once a year.

It would take 4k sitting for a year at 5pc interest rate to earn that 200. And with these switching incentives. It takes half an hour of your time. No brainer really
 
Freakbro said:
I don't even bother switching my main account, I just open a second current a/c (with my main bank or another it doesn't matter) then switch that.
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This is probably best idea.
Might do this myself as you do loose all the historical statements etc.

Also, my last switch was Nationwide to FD. For all the praise FD get I do. Prefer NWs app. I actually think FD is poor in that. Thier help System is good though, and probably why they get the praise.
But my PayPal DD was messed up. And I did miss a payment. It's OKbit Was corrected.

But that's the first error I've had in years.
 
Does anyone know for the HSBC switch if 1 standing order and 1 direct debit would suffice?

The wording of '2 direct debits or 2 standing orders' has thrown me..

I've got 1 of each, but not sure what I could use for a second debit unless I can use 2 standing orders to 2 of my other bank accounts?

EDIT:

In case anyone else has the same question, 1 DD and 1 standing order does count for the switch bonus.
 
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Baldbloke said:
Been with the same bank for over 40 years. Well, sort of, it has been bought out and changed name over the years. It was Clydedale bank when I first joined as a teenager. Now, due to buy outs and takeovers and name changes and whatnot, I've somehow become a Santander customer for the last umpteen years.
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Thats strange, like you I was long term Clydesdale bank going back almost as long but I was moved to Virgin.
 

  • Do I HAVE to close my old account when switching?​

    Yes, if you switch via CASS (which you usually need to do in order to get any switching incentives). As part of the process, your new bank will automatically close it and also move all payments, for example, direct debits out or salary in, across.
    But if you'd rather keep your old account open, or your old or new bank is one of the few not signed up to CASS, you'll need to use the older, slower and more complicated system. Your payments will still be switched over, but there's less protection if anything goes wrong and it's likely you won't get any of the switch incentives.
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The idea of doing this from time to time to make a few quid interests me but I’d never really use the accounts in the transfer process. I have a Monzo account as my main current account and don’t want to move away from that so if starting from scratch, what’s the best way to do it?

I have a Starling account with a tenner in that I don’t use for anything so could I use that at a starter?
 
There's limitations on the switching bonus, such as multiple DDs as mentioned above. The biggest limitations are having to pay in X amount every month and can only be a new customer to the group's bank.

Moneysavingexpert covers it pretty well. It's very easy to switch, so silly not to. There are some work arounds available if you want to do it more regularly, but they require more effort. Having credit cards is an easy way to secure extra DDs, and an alternative to overdrafts.
 
Cyber-Mav said:
any stipulations with the new account? monthly payments? have to have deposits in it monthly etc?
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There can be stipulations like need to transfer 2 D/D's, there's always a way just depends how much effort you want to put in. Usually paying in x amount per month is for ongoing rewards not the switch bonus. But in general they have been tightening up the criteria.

The_Arbiter said:
The biggest limitations are having to pay in X amount every month
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You can use the same money and cycle it through different banks, that still counts, it just cant be from an account withjn the same bank.

The_Arbiter said:
and can only be a new customer to the group's bank.
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This is where they have tightened up the most. It used to be you couldn't get the switch bonus if you'd had one in the last 2 or 3 years. Now i notice they all seem to be saying you can't if you've ever had one before. Which stuffs me going forward, as I've pretty much had them all already :p
 
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