Ulster bank U First acount

Got a note today to say that monthly charge, which they call 'mmbership fee' is being increased by 11% per month from August. New monthly charge is €10 per month.

Among the "benefits" of the UFirst account is a savings account paying a paltry 3.85% AER. Even the UB eSavings account pays a better rate than that.

Another so-called benefit is Telephone and Internet Banking. Those are both available with the standard current account. They were really trying to pad out the list with this one.

And they don't automatically set the account up with an 0% interest overdraft facility of up to €500. They make you ask them for it, cap in hand.

Most of the so-called discounts on a very limited selection of holidays and hotels can be got just as easily or beaten altogether with comparable products by shopping around.

The interest on credit balances is a derisory 0.65%.

Better personal loan and mortgage rates are available from UB's stablemate First Active or from Tesco Personal finance which is a reseller for RBS.

In summary those of us that have UFirst accounts look like suckers.

i wonder will the membership fee on the u first "gold" be going up too? i pay €14 a month at the moment for u first gold.

Alex said:

i wonder will the membership fee on the u first "gold" be going up too? i pay €14 a month at the moment for u first gold.

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Just as a matter of interest, is there any upside to this account?

Why would anyone pay a bank €14/month if there was not a very large upside to this?

I came to have an ordinary UFirst account because in a moment of madness I bought a new car and wanted the money immediately for instant gratification. It would have taken a two week wait for the loan application to be processed by Tesco. The one plus point was they approved it immediately and put the money in my account.

The only reason I have one is it gives a .1% discount on our mortgage so just about works out worth it ... it's getting pretty close to not being worth it anymore though!

Ceist Beag said:

The only reason I have one is it gives a .1% discount on our mortgage so just about works out worth it ... it's getting pretty close to not being worth it anymore though!

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According to the website you should get .2% discount... However the rates are not as good as they used to be when it was .1% discount...

"
Flexible Tracker Mortgage with ufirst discount offer

All the features and benefits of our flexible mortgage with a special discount of 0.2% on our flexible tracker mortgage rate for the lifetime of your loan. Enjoy the added benefit of a free valuation worth around €130 exclusive to ufirst current account holders."

from [broken link removed]

rgfuller said:

According to the website you should get .2% discount... However the rates are not as good as they used to be when it was .1% discount...

"
Flexible Tracker Mortgage with ufirst discount offer

All the features and benefits of our flexible mortgage with a special discount of 0.2% on our flexible tracker mortgage rate for the lifetime of your loan. Enjoy the added benefit of a free valuation worth around €130 exclusive to ufirst current account holders."

from [broken link removed]

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Interesting! Our rate is better than those listed tho so not complaining but I might check it out with them anyway.

Ceist Beag said:

Interesting! Our rate is better than those listed tho so not complaining but I might check it out with them anyway.

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Interesting I think I get 0.1% not 0.2% and also had to get a valuation done for top up - I wonder would that have qualified for free valuation have e-mail them to find out.