Been with the same bank for 6 years. Just added up all the little charges: "account maintenance" £8/mo, 40p per debit card transaction, £1.50 for cash deposits at branch, fees on international payments. I was basically paying them for the privilege of holding my own money. Switched last week to a smaller challenger bank with no monthly fee and free domestic transfers. Feels good. Anyone else done the same? Any hidden gotchas I should watch out for?
Banking
I switched business banks after getting tired of unnecessary fees
Welcome to the club. I switched three years ago aand only regret not doing it sooner. The big banks rely on inertia, pure and simple.
Which chaLlenger did you go with? I'm with Starling and it's been mostly fine. The app is decent.
£1.50 to deposit cash? Daylight robbery. I'd have left after the first statement.
Went with Tide, mostly because they handle invoices for freelancers. So far so good but only a week in. PixelPirate - did Starling try to upsell you on anything?
Watch out for the 'free' business accounts that suddenly introduce a fee after 12 months. Read the small print. Also some of them charge for cash deposits too, just less obviously.
Not to be that person but have you actually checked the FSCS protection? Some challengers aren't fully covered if they hold your money in a partner bank. Tide is fine I think but worth knowing.
I did the same last year. The switching service handled everything - direct debits, standing orders, the lot. Took about 7 days. The only annoying bit was my old bank calling me twice to 'see if they could win me back'. They offered me a £10 credit. Ten pounds. After charging me £300 in fees over three years.
SofaKingTired exactly. It's the death by a thousand cuts approach. They know most people can't be bothered to move
LurkerNoMore raises a good point. I moved to a challenger and then realised they didn't do business overdrafts at all. Nearly came unstuck when a client paid late. Worth checking what credit facilities you actually need before you fully commit.
Good shout on the overdraft thing. I don't have one currently but might need one eventually. I'll check with Tide. Also the FSCS point - I'll look into that properly.
GrumpyGeezer the 12-month teaser fee is real. My previous bank did exactly that. First year free, then £15/mo 'unless you meet criteria' which were impossible to meet. Absolute joke.
As long as you're not keeping millions in there, the FSCS thing is usually fine. Just don't leave a huge balance sitting in a non-protected account. Anyway, good luck with the switch.