PTSB Switching.

littlevillage

Got a recent statement from my current bank, BOI they are now taking the p1ss with current account charges.

€30 for overdraft facility .. whether you use it or not. A quarterly charge PLUS transaction charges for everything under the sun.

I am seriously considering moving my current account to PTSB... They have effectively free current accounts .. (as long as you lodge money every Month eg. Salary) has anybody else done this and how did you get on ?

Did you have any complications .. I would need to change my salary drop and I have quite a few Direct Debits, ESB, Credit card, phone etc.

What is PTSB's IT systems like ? ATM's, websites etc. ?

homer911

Transferred recently from Danske. Unfortunately I missed the last switching date before they closed my account so set up my standing orders myself and rang around to change the direct debits, some companies would do it over the phone. Where the account was in joint names they needed authorisation by both parties in writing but usually sent out a form to do this

Communication from ptsb was good through the process. Their online banking is pretty basic unfortunately but i believe they are working on it. Plenty of branches and ATMs around the place..

DMcL1971

A lot of people have moved to PTSB over the last year. Their customer service and online banking are fine. The current account even pays interest at 1% on the first 1500 of the balance. I don't understand why anyone is still with BOI or any other bank that is charging for current account services. By the way in order to get free banking the 1500 per month lodgement does not have to be in one lump (like from your salary) it can be made up of several smaller lodgements and withdrawals as long as the total of all lodgements add up to €1,500 or greater.


Here is some practical advice on how to switch. I have switched banks several times in the last few years. So I have seen what commonly goes wrong.

When opening a new current account with PTSB or any current account provider, they offer a switching service. This means they will look after contacting your old bank, switching all your DD's over, transferring your balance and closing the old account for you. Though it sounds like a great service I would strongly advise against using it. I have heard far too many stories from people of how one or two DD's didn't get switched over and payments bounced. Next thing you know you have a new bank account and you don't know which bank account your DD originators are using. Worse still you might miss a mortgage payment or have the credit control department of some service provider chasing you for missed payments. It is far better instead to control all this yourself.

So, to avoid all those hassles, I would recommend you do not use their switching service and instead you do it manually, and it is a lot easier than it sounds.

First, set up the new current account with PTSB. When the account is set up you will receive a letter confirming your new sort code and account number (BIC/IBAN) in around 3 days. A couple of days later you will receive your ATM card and your PIN. Around the same time you will be set up on their online banking and phone app. Your new account is now ready to use.

Second, inform your employer of your new account details so that your salary goes to the new PTSB account.

Third, you want to start transferring you DD’s across to PTSB. Start off by transferring some money into your PTSB account, so that you actually have a balance. You can then sit down and ring each of your DD providers and tell them you want to change your DD details. Now you are probably thinking that that sounds like a pain in the arse, well, surprisingly it’s not. The majority of them do the details change over the phone and send you a confirmation letter in the post the next day. A couple of the more old fashioned ones might insist you sign a new mandate and fax or post it back into them. I did this in work one day during lunch break. In 45 minutes I had all of my 6 DD’s transferred, the vast majority of that 45 minutes was spent waiting in the call queue to get an answer. You could also transfer them one at a time if you like, therefore making doubly sure everything goes the way you want it timing wise. Make sure to leave some money behind in your old account just in case a DD doesn’t transfer correctly or in time. That way you avoid a DD bounce issue.

Fourth, wait for a while until you see the DD’s coming out of the new PTSB account. Once you are happy that everyone is now using your new details and your old account has been sitting there doing nothing for a while, you can just transfer the remaining balance of your old account to the PTSB account and tell your old bank to close your old account.

Obviously this method is dependent on a few things. You being able to figure out what DD’s are supposed to be coming out of your old account, is the first. Second that you actually have enough money to be able to leave a small balance in both the new and old accounts for a couple of weeks while you make sure everything has settled down nicely.

Delta2113

Just do it -move to PTSB -you wont regret it. I also agree I cant understand people staying with BOI,AIB, Ulster or KBC for Current Accounts.

dobsdave

Search for ptsb in this forum, it gets asked quite a lot.

Fred Swanson

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wonski

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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+1

It doesn't take that much time to call the providers / banks with new bank account number. Some still require a signature and post you the forms, but at least you know yourself if 1 or 2 payments are still to be taken from the old account. Do not close the BOI account until you are sure all the DD's and SO's are transferred. This is where the switching service fails, so better to do it yourself.

AlexisM

littlevillage wrote: »

€30 for overdraft facility .. whether you use it or not.

PTSB charge for this too - €20.

Galadriel

AlexisM wrote: »

PTSB charge for this too - €20.

They didn't tell me about this fee when signing up so I cancelled it and got the money returned, not paying for something I know I probably won't use.

littlevillage

Thanks for the responses guys.

I'm going to go for it :-)

Think I will take the excellent advice from "DMcL1971" and handle the switch myself

DMcL1971

At least when you do it yourself you know exactly what is going on.