View Full Version : Bank charges £10/month WTF firstdirect
SpankyHam
15-11-06, 10:13 AM
Anyone else with them ?
I heard it on the news this morning.
link (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=416446&in_page_id=1770)
fizzwheel
15-11-06, 10:18 AM
Yes...
It only applies if you only have a current account with them and that current account is not active. i.e not your main account. What they are saying is that if you deposit at least £1500 a month into the account and the accounts being used you wont get charged
I've got a current account, savings account, a credit card and a loan with them, and I have my wages paid into my account. The letter explains all of this and tells me that if I keep using my account in the way I currently am I wont get any monthly charges.
I pay £10/month happily for my current account.
However, that £10/month gets me the top level of personal (not vehicle) cover from the RAC, a % gets given to WWF, I get discounts at various places (including car insurance), and generally, it actually saves me about £500/year. All for paying out £120 a year.
Bargain!
Smile BTW ;)
SoulKiss
15-11-06, 10:43 AM
I pay £10/month happily for my current account.
However, that £10/month gets me the top level of personal (not vehicle) cover from the RAC, a % gets given to WWF, I get discounts at various places (including car insurance), and generally, it actually saves me about £500/year. All for paying out £120 a year.
Bargain!
Smile BTW ;)
Similar here - £15/month gets me AA with Relay, worldwide travel cover and a few other bits and pieces.
Probably only just covers itself, but I dont need to worry about my AA card/number as its the same as my bank account details - that I memorised years ago :)
I pay £10/month happily for my current account.
However, that £10/month gets me the top level of personal (not vehicle) cover from the RAC, a % gets given to WWF, I get discounts at various places (including car insurance), and generally, it actually saves me about £500/year. All for paying out £120 a year.
Bargain!
Smile BTW ;)
Similar here - £15/month gets me AA with Relay, worldwide travel cover and a few other bits and pieces.
Probably only just covers itself, but I dont need to worry about my AA card/number as its the same as my bank account details - that I memorised years ago :)
Oh yea, forgot that I also get worldwide travel insurance, for any group up to 15 people. The only previso is that I'm there on the trip. Don't have to be physically with me when you have an accident.
So, who's inviting me on a holiday so you don't have to pay travel insurance? :D
if you're interested, i pay £10 per month which gets me free overdraft, Mobile phone insurance, £50k holiday insurance, AA breakdown cover plus summat else which escapes me.
if you bank with first direct and will be hit with this charge, might i suggest moving to lloyds gold account?
SpankyHam
15-11-06, 10:51 AM
I read it that if you earn less than £1500/month. (wages paid into that account)
the charges will apply.
No I don't, neither does my wife. (she has her own fd account)
no loans or credit cards or any other fd products.
I didn't receive a letter yet from fd only heard about it this morning.
fizzwheel
15-11-06, 10:54 AM
Thats right. Time maybe to switch banks or if you got a joint account rather than two sole accounts would that mean that if you both paid your wages etc into that joint account you'd be able to pay the £1500 that they are after each month ?
It does sound harsh though if you are both already existing customers.
SoulKiss
15-11-06, 10:57 AM
if you're interested, i pay £10 per month which gets me free overdraft, Mobile phone insurance, £50k holiday insurance, AA breakdown cover plus summat else which escapes me.
if you bank with first direct and will be hit with this charge, might i suggest moving to lloyds gold account?
Or like mine - LLoyds Platinum :P
SpankyHam
15-11-06, 10:57 AM
I rather switch banks than have a joint account with the wife :lol:
fizzwheel
15-11-06, 10:58 AM
I rather switch banks that have a joint account with the wife :lol:
:lol:
if you're interested, i pay £10 per month which gets me free overdraft, Mobile phone insurance, £50k holiday insurance, AA breakdown cover plus summat else which escapes me.
if you bank with first direct and will be hit with this charge, might i suggest moving to lloyds gold account?
Or like mine - LLoyds Platinum :P
i looked into platinum and couldnt see any benefits in upgrading
All these freebie bolt ons cost the banks next to nothing. And they're only any use if you actually use them. Do check the exclusion clauses carefully... I would bet my bottom $ that they wouldn't do it if they didn't make a profit out of it.
SoulKiss
15-11-06, 11:59 AM
if you're interested, i pay £10 per month which gets me free overdraft, Mobile phone insurance, £50k holiday insurance, AA breakdown cover plus summat else which escapes me.
if you bank with first direct and will be hit with this charge, might i suggest moving to lloyds gold account?
Or like mine - LLoyds Platinum :P
i looked into platinum and couldnt see any benefits in upgrading
Slightly better AA coverage was what swung it for me
All these freebie bolt ons cost the banks next to nothing. And they're only any use if you actually use them. Do check the exclusion clauses carefully... I would bet my bottom $ that they wouldn't do it if they didn't make a profit out of it.
Good advice, and followed before you said it when setting up my bank account. Couldn't see anything dubious in the T&C, so I'm guessing they make money because of supply-demand & break even characteristics.
X people pay £Y, every month, and the services offered (for each of those X people) comes to £Z in costs per month. So long as sum(Y) > Z, they're laughing.
Clear as mud then! :lol:
the white rabbit
15-11-06, 12:03 PM
I was always very dubious of the level of cover of the travel insurance policies like this. Remember we can all get very cheap insurance, it doesnt mean its any good. Happy to be corrected, looked into it years ago not since. Think sometimes depends on if posessions covered elsewhere, say by home insurance etc etc etc
northwind
15-11-06, 12:07 PM
What a great story :shock:
"This will hit poorer customers and those who are paid less than £24,000 a year, which is not far short of the national average wage."
It's an account that's aimed at higher earners, anyone who's not meeting the criteria has the wrong account. We (HBOS) have a sort-of-similiar scheme on the high interest current accounts, whereby if you don't pay in £1000 per month the interest drops. You know why? It's because businesses reward better customers. Is the Daily Mail going commie? :)
It's because businesses reward better customers. Is the Daily Mail going commie? :)
The other side of the coin says 'businesses make more money out of better customers and banking the poor is not profitable'.
Before anyone jumps on me there is nothing wrong with profit, everyone needs it else you eventually go bust. Me included.
I suppose honesty doesn't always seem attractive :wink:
northwind
15-11-06, 01:40 PM
The other side of the coin says 'businesses make more money out of better customers and banking the poor is not profitable'.
Goes without saying... But they do still bank for the poor (HBOS being, last time I looked, the only UK bank that'd offer a bank account to someone without fixed abode, for instance).
I wonder if tomorrow the Mail will be complaining because not everyone can afford a Rolls Royce :) Imagine it, "SCANDAL: Ford will charge more for a Focus RS than for the base model. This will hit poorer customers and those who are paid less than £24,000 a year"
Fizzy Fish
15-11-06, 01:55 PM
I was always very dubious of the level of cover of the travel insurance policies like this. Remember we can all get very cheap insurance, it doesnt mean its any good. Happy to be corrected, looked into it years ago not since. Think sometimes depends on if posessions covered elsewhere, say by home insurance etc etc etc
agree - many of these free policies seem to exclude things like riding motorbikes, diving, etc so worth checking the fine print
if you're interested, i pay £10 per month which gets me free overdraft, Mobile phone insurance, £50k holiday insurance, AA breakdown cover plus summat else which escapes me.
if you bank with first direct and will be hit with this charge, might i suggest moving to lloyds gold account?
lloyds ?
i got the same.
wyrdness
15-11-06, 09:03 PM
We got a letter from them today saying that we'd be hit by the charges. I've had a current account with them for years that has my salary (well over the £1500) paid into it and currently has a few grand in it. I've also got a savings account (with about £75 in it), a shares account and an offset mortgage with First Direct. The mortgage is linked to the current and savings accounts, so any money in them counts against the mortgage.
Mrs Wyrdness doesn't work, so I recently opened a joint account with her, which I pay a few hundred quid into a month, which covers our shopping and gives her a few quid of spending money. I've also linked this account to the mortgage. BUT because this account never has more than £500 in it, First Direct decided that it's going to be charged. Now if I had more than one current account just in my name, I wouldn't be charged if any of them have less than £1500. But a joint account is treated as a completely separate account and is eligible for charging. I don't understand the reasoning for this.
I phoned First Direct this evening and after a bit of an argument with them, they suggested putting the savings account into both names, which would mean that the joint account won't incur charges. Since there's very little money in this account, I agreed. But it's still very annoying to be threatened with charges, given that I'm a very good customer. What is the reasoning for joint accounts being treated differently from single accounts?
change banks,
it mighth be a hassle, but **** em :)
Red ones
15-11-06, 09:48 PM
Will I be charged for banking with first direct?
Provided you credit your Bank Account or Cheque Account with at least £1,500 each month (internal transfers from first direct accounts excluded), keep an average monthly balance in excess of £1,500 or have an additional product (see next question for details) with first direct you will not incur our banking fee.
What additional products do I need to hold to avoid the charge?
* Personal loan
* Flexi loan
* Mortgage
* Credit card
* Savings account
* firstdirectory
* Home insurance
* Car insurance
So there you have the rules.
It is all part of a plan in introduce a completely new type of Internet banking - it is hard to explain, but I am on the Customer Service panel with FD - all something to do with making it easier to control your cash flow.
gettin2dizzy
16-11-06, 10:42 AM
the uk is very odd by not charging people. In oz i used to pay $10 a month for an account, and with that i was only allowed 10 atm withdrawls a month (from my bank machines only). Its not like the bank makes any money anyway..... :cry:
change banks,
it mighth be a hassle, but f*ck em :)
2 minute online form to apply for an account (have to wait around 3 days to hear yes or no), download & print the form to transfer direct debits, inform work (30secs to send the email to the right person). Bank changed.
Abbey (overseas call centres and general lack of ability IMO) to Smile (ethical bank, might as well give my money to someone who at least pretends to care about the environment & how they invest my money in other things).
muffles
16-11-06, 11:03 AM
i alreadypay £10/month (or is it £5...can't remember) for an RBS current account...i have a book of things i can get free/cheap and i keep meaning to look to see if anything's of any use...lol...been saying that for the past 4 years!
not making much use of it, am i...!
northwind
16-11-06, 11:37 AM
i alreadypay £10/month (or is it £5...can't remember) for an RBS current account...i have a book of things i can get free/cheap and i keep meaning to look to see if anything's of any use...lol...been saying that for the past 4 years!
You want a laugh... The Bank launched an account that was exactly the same as your account (Royalties I assume?) but free, as long as you deposited £1000. Absolutely nobody wanted it, because it was free it had to be worse :) We canned it after about 6 months.
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