With seven day switching coming into effect on Monday, we’ve rounded up your views on the speedier switching service. Will it be the push you need to split up with your bank?
Whether you’ve chosen your bank for its location, good service or (lack of) charges, moving away from your bank can seem like a big decision.
Currently, people are more likely to split up with their partner than divorce their bank. So will the seven day switch see a shakeup in the relationship department?
Location, location, location
It’s a key word in house hunting, but it seems ‘location’ is also influencing your choice of bank. Lauren left her bank when her local branch closed down:
‘I was a loyal customer until my building society left my local town. I generally keep all products with one bank for ease now, eg current, joint, savings and ISA. With interest rates so low, ease of banking is more of a priority.’
Time is money
William wasn’t convinced that seven days is quick enough to switch banks, telling us ‘that seems a long time in this day and age’. And Alan isn’t confident the switch will be delivered to deadline:
‘This seven-day time limit sounds like another promise the banks will break. I try to have accounts in good standing with two or three banks and building societies, so as to be able to use more than one even if there’s a problem or dispute with another. This has worked over the last 40 years or so though the declining number of banks makes it more difficult to keep up three good alternatives.’
Alan’s not the only one keeping his options open, as Figgerty explains:
‘When I switched bank account from Barclays to First Direct, I did not close my Barclays account in case there were problems with direct debits or standing orders. It all went really smoothly except for my Council Tax. That was because the Council needed me to confirm the change of bank unlike all the other institutions. I only planned to keep the Barclays account open until all payments and income transferred to my First Direct account, but nine years later I still use the account for all my online transactions.’
A bit of healthy competition
Andrew told us that loyalty is an out of date concept:
‘Sensible people now spend lots of time researching and switching … or threatening to in order to get a better deal from their existing provider. It saves you cash but what a pain in the neck!’
But Wavechange thinks there’s still room for loyal service:
‘I don’t believe that loyalty is necessarily outdated. I deal with various small businesses that provide services at a good price. It makes good business sense for insurance and breakdown recovery companies to reward loyal customers who have a record of making few claims and to discourage those that have a poor record from renewing. New customers are always going to be a gamble.’
So are you ready to embrace the seven day switch? Are you confident your account and outgoings will be updated in time?
Loading ...
