Direct To Your Wallet/Purse

[entwisi]

But basic bank accounts DO support DD and in some cases S/Os

Basic Bank Accounts

Here is a list of what services each banks offering is

[WillowTheWhisp]

And are those the ones that anybody can have?

I've just been watching Martin Lewis on TV saying people should vote with their feet if their banks start charging them - and still demand the charges back where they are in excess of the actual cost of runnng the account.

[SPUGGIE J]

I have a basic account at the Alliance n Leicester and have DD's with it. Though the page link provided by Entwisi says they dont do standing orders they do on mine, but that might have changed since I opened mine.

[jambutty]

It was reported that in order to qualify for a free service a current account would have to have a minimum of £1,500 in it or using one of their other products as well and during an interview the First Bank spokesperson confirmed it. The First Bank FAQ’s http://www.firstdirect.com/faqs/index.shtml reveal.

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.

I don’t know about anyone else but I read that as having a minimum of £1,500 in the account at all times regardless of how much is pushed through the account.

You are right about bank charges outside the UK entwisi but we don’t live abroad. We live in the UK and today in the UK it is newsworthy. So it is not shouting the odds as you put it. It is bringing the issue out in the open for discussion and comment

[entwisi]

Nope, your reading is incorrect, the comma defines it the statement by the final operator i.e. OR

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.

[WillowTheWhisp]

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.

Originally Posted by jambutty

I don’t know about anyone else but I read that as having a minimum of £1,500 in the account at all times regardless of how much is pushed through the account.

No, it's an either/or. If you have a spare £1,500 kicking around doing nothing and leave the balance as a minimum of that all the time that is one option. Another option is to have £1,500 going through the account each month (ie 2 salaries in and all your DDs and SOs out as long as a minimum of £1,500 goes in.) The third option is to have another one of their products. A savings account for instance - they make money on that by paying you less than they get from investing/loaning the money.


Got interrupted by a phone call whilst I was typomg that so there was a delay!)

[harwood red]

I am with First Direct and they are the best bank I have ever been with. Their service has been second to none..... and would be happy to pay the fee....luckily I don't have to as I also have a savings account, visa card and offset mortgage with them. They have sent a letter to all customers advising them if they will be charged or not and if they would be liable for the charge, if there are other options they could go for to avoid paying it

[WillowTheWhisp]

They haven't sent me a letter

[harwood red]

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

They haven't sent me a letter

Mine came yesterday, maybe they are staggering them so they don't all arrive at once

[jambutty]

Let’s forget the additional product bit and concentrate on the single current account.

How will I know if I have an average monthly balance of £1,500?
By month we mean calendar month. As a guide, to calculate your average monthly balance, add together the end of day balances for each day during the month in question, then divide your total by the number of days in that month.

Many people do not keep an accurate record of their account and certainly not on a daily basis. They rely on the monthly statement, if they get one.

If I deposit £1,500 on the first of the month and withdraw just £1 on the last day of the month the total daily balances add up to £44,999. Divide that by 30 days and the average balance will be £1,499.96r and fall foul of the £10 fee. In order not to fall foul of the ‘fee’ I would need to have an average of £1,500 in my account each day of a month. Or put it another way a minimum of £1,500 at all times. Thus my interpretation is correct entwisi.

Let’s look at your interpretation WillowTheWhisp.
Two salaries to a total of £2,000 get paid in on the first of the month. To keep it simple let us assume that 2 DD’s of £50 are paid out on the 10th and 11th and one SO of £50 on the 12th. The first 9 days the daily balance is £2,000, on day 10 it is £1,950, day 11 £1,900 and day 12 £1,850 and remains at that level for the remainder of the month.

That is 9 days at £2,000 1 day at £1,950, 1 day at £1,900, 19 days at £1,850 – to a total daily balance of £41750 divided by 30 equals £1,391.66r and thus eligible to pay the £10 fee.

That account had more than £1,500 going through it yet still falls foul of the £10 fee. Of course being salaries some of the money will also be used to pay the odd bill and buy food or a few pints at the pub etc. It isn’t about how much money goes through the account but about how much money STAYS in the account all month. The TOTAL DAILY BALANCES must add up to £45,000 or more in a 30 days months to avoid the £10 fee.

You could start the month off with £10,000 in the account, withdraw £9,500 on the third day and still fall foul of the £10 fee. However if the withdrawal is not made until the fourth day the account will not be charged the £10 fee. So when withdrawals are made also comes into the equation and there it can get very complicated.

To maintain an average daily balance of £1,500 you need to deposit more than £1,500 on the first of the month or have more than £1,500 already in the account on the first of a month, and not withdraw an amount that will not carry forward to the next month an amount less than £1,500.

The simplest way round this debacle is to open a savings account with whatever the minimum is allowed and just let it sit there.

[WillowTheWhisp]

As I haven't actually seen the wording of the letter yet I cannot be absolutely sure about this but from what I've heard so far it isn't about average balances it's about total deposits in that month. If that's the case then you could in theory pay £300 in and draw it out and pay it in again 4 more times and hey presto there's your £1,500.

[jambutty]

You don’t need the letter WillowTheWhisp just go to the First Bank web site and read the FAQ’s.

I’ll give you a helping hand. Try http://www.firstdirect.com/faqs/index.shtml

[entwisi]

And if you did read it it clearly says

You will be charged £10 for any month you do not pay in at least £1,500 or maintain an average monthly balance in excess of £1,500, unless you take out an additional product with us (see answer to earlier question for details of which products qualify).

PAY IN AT LEAST 1500 OR MAINTAIN etc

so as Willow quite rightly says, if you pay in 100 pounds and withdrew it and paid it back in 15 times you will have satisfied the criteria. thus you interpretation is NOT correct Mr JB. There is NO requirement to have 1500 quid in your account at any time.

Semantics is a wonderful subject for discussion, however this isn't even slightly ambiguous.

Ian

[WillowTheWhisp]

And then people wonder why make such a palaver about correct grammar and punctuation.

This couldn't have been worded more clearly. Just imagine the problems caused when things aren't.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Option One
you credit your Bank Account or Cheque Account with at least £1,500 each month (internal transfers from first direct accounts excluded),

Opton Two
keep an average monthly balance in excess of £1,500 or

Option Three
have an additional product (see next question for details) with first direct you will not incur our banking fee.

Do you understand it yet Jambutty?