Once you close your account, you can’t come back
Did you know that some providers only allow you to be a customer once? So if you shut your account, that’s it – you can’t come back.
We asked the biggest banks and financial firms what their policy was for customers that leave but might want to re-open an account in the future.
Here’s what they told us:
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The providers that you can’t go back to
Sadly closing your account at these popular banks and providers could mean you won’t ever be able to rejoin.
Chase
Chase says that currently customers can’t reapply for an account if they’ve previously closed one. The bank says that allowing customers to ‘re-onboard’ after they’ve left isn’t a ‘functionality’ it offers at the moment.
However, these rules only apply when you close your entire account down. As you can open as many as 10 current accounts with Chase, you can switch additional “dummy” accounts away to take advantage of bank switching offers. Just be sure to leave at least one Chase account open.
Chip
If you have a Stocks and Shares ISA open or a Cash ISA open and you close your Chip account, you won’t be able to open an investment account or Cash ISA in the future.
The same goes for when you request an ISA transfer from Chip to another provider.
I asked Chip for more information on this but it didn’t respond to any requests for comment.
Starling
Starling says it’s unable to offer any new accounts to previous account holders at the moment although it says this is temporary. This is because it’s currently doing some ‘work behind the scenes’ but will reopen new account applications to previous customers ‘very soon’.
However, one former customer in the Be Clever With Your Cash Facebook group said this issue has been ongoing for two years – but Starling did not respond to any requests for comment.
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The providers that do allow customers to return
When we asked these banks, they all said you could reopen an account – but bear in mind this is not a guarantee. Each account will have acceptance criteria so you’ll still need to meet this in your application.
HSBC/First Direct
Customers who have banked with HSBC or First Direct previously and then closed their accounts are free to open another account with either bank in the future. This is as long as they meet any relevant eligibility criteria at the point of re-applying.
Lloyds/Halifax/BOS
Lloyds says customers who close their bank account won’t be prevented from re-opening one, providing affordability and eligibility criteria is met.
Metro
Customers who have previously closed an account can come back at a later date and re-open a new one.
Monzo
The digital bank says it does let customers re-open accounts if they close them. However you’ll have to wait 30 days before trying, and you’ll need to contact customer services first. Plus, Monzo says there’s no guarantee it’ll be able to re-open your account when you request it.
Nationwide
Nationwide says, as a general rule, there’d be no issue with a customer opening a new account at a later date if they’ve closed one previously.
However, this is providing you still meet the account criteria. For example if your credit score decreases or you move abroad, you might not be able to open a new account.
If you come back to Nationwide you also might not qualify for introductory offers. For example, customers who open a FlexDirect current account can only benefit from the 5% credit interest and cashback offer once, so you’d not get it if you re-apply for this account in the future.
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Plum
Plum customers can re-open their Plum account after closing it. In cases where you can’t do this automatically, the customer services team will help you to do it manually.
Revolut
If you’ve closed your Revolut account you can open a new one. Or you could try and re-open the closed one although Revolut says it’s not as easy. You’ll need to have your ID document with you and open an in-app chat with Revolut Support. Staff will then look into whether they can re-activate your account for you.
Santander
Santander allows customers to open an account with it again if they’ve previously had an account, provided they meet all the other eligibility requirements. It says there is no limit to the period of time which needs to pass between closing the account and opening a new one, however there are restrictions around benefitting from a switching incentive.
Trading 212
Customers who have closed their accounts with Trading 212 can open a new account at any time with the same email address that was previously used or a different one. This applies to everyone, and there are no specific exceptions.
TSB
TSB says there are no restrictions that would prevent a customer who had previously cancelled a product with TSB coming back to take out another in the future.
Amelia’s analysis
There doesn’t seem to be a logical reason why some providers won’t let you open an account if you’ve closed one previously, while other banks do. It just seems like a cynical ploy to stop customers leaving.
The good news is that if you are with one of these banks and you want to move your money elsewhere, there’s no harm in keeping your account open with a small amount in it. Just make sure you check your provider’s rules about dormant accounts to avoid your account being frozen as a result of it not being used.
