I yesterday went into Halifax bank armed with my various forms of acceptable ID. I informed them that I wanted to open a standard current account (not a high interest account), & that I didn’t require an overdraft, a cheque book, cheque guarantee card or credit card.
I went through the application process during which I was informed that my application would be subject to an ICB credit check. When I enquired why this was considering that I was not applying for any sort of credit & that the visa debit card that comes with the account would surely be declined if I were to attempt a transaction greater than available funds in my current account.
I was told that with the type of debit card (Visa debit card) that they supply, an ICB report was required. I don’t foresee any problem with the report, & went ahead with the application.
Does anyone else find it strange that they require this, considering if I had gone to Ulster Bank, for instance, I could have done the same thing & got a Visa debit card automatically with no ICB credit check? Or is it the case that I am being pre-checked for future credit, even though I stated I don’t require it?