Have you ever thought about changing banks? No? Me neither.
Just the thought of having to open a new account, change all direct debit procedures and wait for the new bank card makes you tired.
But as I recently found out, it’s actually not that difficult to switch banks and you can even make some money doing it.
All you need is your ID card and the details of your old bank account, that’s it.
How I switched banks and pocketed £175
I have been with the same bank – Barclays – since I moved to the UK over seven years ago. And before that I was with Commonwealth Bank in Australia my whole life.
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I’ve also been with the same two phone companies my whole life – Virgin (in Australia) and O2 (UK) until I recently switched to EE.
So you see, I am a creature of habit.
I’ve only ever had a current account with Barclays, and it wasn’t until recently that I thought it was time to open a savings account that I started looking at other banks – looking for the best interest rate.
I had heard and written about switching offers from major banks such as Nationwide, Lloyds and Barclays and thought I would have a look around and see what I could find.
I ultimately chose Lloyds as they had good interest rates on their savings accounts and a live switch offer.
The switching deal offered £175 if you switched banks and opened a Club Lloyds account, plus a free 12-month subscription to Disney+ (other subscriptions were available too, but I chose Disney+).
You also had to have at least two direct debits to be able to transfer – which was more than enough for me with Netflix, Disney+, Spotify and everything else.
All I had to do was stop by my local Lloyds branch and the rest happened automatically.
It sounded all well and good, getting that £175 and a good interest rate in a savings account, but the thought of having to open a new bank account, close the other one with Barclays and change all my direct debits seemed like a daunting task.
So I thought I’d go to my local Lloyds branch and ask them for help with the changeover.
I can tell you that my fear of moving vanished as soon as I walked in there. I gave them my ID, explained what I wanted to do, and they did the rest for me.
They immediately set up my new Lloyds account, organised a new bank card which arrived in the mail a few days later and set a date for the switchover.
I asked, “But what about changing all my direct debits? And do I have to go back to Barclays and close my account with them?”
The cashier at Lloyds said, “No, we’ll do it all for you.”
I left the store a little surprised and with that feeling you get when you think you’ve forgotten something.
But when I got home, used the activation code and opened the Lloyds app, all my account details were already there.
A few days later the £175 landed in my new Lloyds account.
Then, as the switchover date approached, all my money from my old Barclays account and most of my direct debits (there were a few that didn’t arrive, but it wasn’t a big deal) were transferred to the account.
I opened my Barclays app and my old account no longer existed.
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All I had to do was stop by my local Lloyds branch and the rest happened automatically.
I would therefore recommend that anyone shop around, take a look at what other major banks have to offer and see if they could save a few hundred pounds by switching banks.
Just come to your local branch and see the magic happen.
Be sure to read all the terms and conditions of the exchange offers so that you are not surprised.