MattW

So now bank charges for unauthorised overdrafts have been squeezed down, firstdirect is charging £10 per current account. This is waived if you have a balance of £1500 or pay in at least £1500 per month. I bank with them and find them really good but wont be too happy if they extend this to credit cards and such like.

What does £1500 a month equate to salary wise also, seems like they are picking on the lowly paid?

PeteBrant

The return of charging for credit cards is looking to be almost inevitable.

Goochie

I've just opened on of their accounts

BBC NEWS | Business | First Direct to end free banking

GrahamG

They are charging £10 a month for all current account??? seems rather strange. They would lose millions of customers. I have FD account and never normally have more then £300 in it.

MattW

Was on Radio5 Live discussion tis morning. Had people texting in they had received letters informing them. Haven't had one myself yet, however I wouldn't be affected.

If you look here:

first direct bank account

You get a sweetener if you pay in £1500 pm!

"pocket £50 when you switch your salary/income of at least £1500 per month to us"

PeteBrant

They won't, for the simple fact that now FD has taken the plunge, everyone else will follow suit. Once one does it, they will all do it.

Barclays have been charging for thier Additions current account for years.

Goochie

To avoid the charge you have to pay in £1500 a month....... do you think they'd notice if I withdraw cash then pay it back in?

GrahamG

Just read the full article in FT. It states that from February 2007 the charge will be bought in for all 1.3m customers. Whys to avoid the charge are to earn more then £1500 a motnh or have a second product with them. IE, Credit Card.

I'm just going to shut the account. I only use it for Fuel so no great lose.

GaryK

I think they are absolutely first class, so far ahead of all the high street losers its scary. Seems a strange move though because they are bound to lose alot of custom because of it. Wont affect me but I can see it will pi55 many off.

Gary

Jerome

I was under the impression that FD is quite selective about their customers, so many take home more than £1500 anyway.

The news article also mentions there are 250,000 dormant FD accounts. Running them is quite an overhead for the bank, I imagine, so not unreasonable to charge £10 a month for them IMO.

If people are getting charged and move accounts, FD will be better off, so I doubt they will lose any sleep over it.

Who keeps a dormant account anyway? It's not like you are maintaining a credit history with that account.

GrahamG

I agree with that. They are very good and offer a great service. I have always used the account for "2nd" account. Just use it for fuel now so pay in £300 a month. I don't want to put my salary in there. to much hassle. Happy with lloyds.

MattW

Been with them for over 10 years and everything goes through them so not bothered, I have a number of accounts I use to manage my money which are savings accounts anyhow so assuming they are excempt it won't bother me.

lozgti

The point being suggested is that all banks will follow suit.

Should tip a few more people over the edge or the sale of mattresses will go up

Goochie

I'm in the same boat as you, Graham. My salary is paid into our NatWest Joint account and the surplus comes via direct debit to my FD account.

Like you I pay in £300 a month.

I could potentially get round it by having my salary paid in then taken to NatWest by standing order - of course my money will then vanish into the system for 3 days.

Coffin Dodger

If it's your main current account, i.e. the one your salary gets paid into, then I'd have thought banking £1500 a month would be quite easy. I bank nearly double that

GrahamG

it one of those things...

People that don't earn a great deal get stung and the people that earn enough benifit.

To people that only earn 18-20k a year they are being charged £120 a year. Thats 3 tanks of fuel! or a good night out!

Chris L

I think it has more to do with the dormant account thing. I've got one as I was going to change to FD, but never actually got round to doing it! they may lose some customers, but I suspect that a) it's a trend that you will see for most accounts b) they are quite selective anyway, so I would guess that most would be above £1500 a month c) they are confident enough in the service they give (and it is very good) that people will stay with them regardless.

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

If ever you need a temp o'draft & the bank wants to charge a fee, accept it and then cancel the facility within 14 days. (Clearly you'll need to back under your normal limit when cancelling it) No charge is made as there's a 14 cooling off period. (Not that many tell you.)

D

unclebuck

I got this letter this morning too.

It clearly states that if the only product you hold is a current account you will have the charge applied when the balace/turnover per month is less than £1500. As I have several accounts etc with them I won't be affected. As far as I can see it's just a measure to root out the 'non serious' account holders and general lamers - a good move as far as I'm concerned.

Goochie

So I can open a savings account with £1 and save £120 a year ?

Goochie

Foun dthis on the FD website:

first direct legals - changes to your account

MattN

If the account is dormant the charge does not apply.

I use mine as a second account for house bills so come 2007 I'll be switching accounts. Maybe I'm the sort of person they want rid of as the balance is always low but activity is still there.

GrahamG

just shut mine.

Freak

If you have an American Express you already pay for it!

Jaybird-UK

I reckon this is an own goal by FD

They charge for this, next they'll try charging for cash withdrawals, next it charges for standing orders.

Banking is heading the way of the Americans

shaun1967

First Debit Bank today defended its new costs for current account customers explaining that the monthly £10 charge will only apply to people who are already completely skint and have wasted their money on ‘stupid rubbish’.

‘Most customers will continue to enjoy all the benefits of free banking…’ said Chief Executive Mike Collins, ‘But if you are poor and your bank statement shows that you have been spending what little cash you have on unnecessarily large plasma TV screens, large gold rings from the Argos catalogue and crisps and fizzy drinks from Lidl, then the new bank charges will apply.’

The Snug Rhino

the only custumers they will drop are poor scum bags with less than £1500 on the account or less than that in pay each month and with no other product with them - quite frankly i would charge loosers like that £50 pm if they wanted to do business with me and i were a bank!

lozgti

I think every single individual is a scumbag to the banks.Personal banking is not worth anything to any of them and we are all a bit of an inconvenience really.