Martin Lewis shared more success stories in the final episode of his new ITV series Extreme Savers on Wednesday night, including how one man switched banks so often he saved enough money to put down a deposit on his first home.
Martin explained how David Buckeridge is “one of the growing tribe who, rather than bagging just one switching bonus, calculatingly play the banks at their own game to absolutely max the amount of free cash” they can get.
But, the money-saving expert warned viewers that the financial tactics employed by the 31-year-old ‘bank bouncer’ from Coventry may not be the best option for everyone and could have a negative impact for some.
David shared with viewers how he has managed to take advantage of bank switching offers a staggering “15 or 16 times” over the last five or six years.
(Image: ITV)
He explained: “ Bank switching works by telling the bank you want to switch to that this is the account you want to switch from and in the space of seven [working] days they will transfer across all the money you have in your account, all your direct debits and any standing orders.”
David added how the idea behind bank switching is to make it as “seamless as possible” so that there is minimal disruption to your day-to-day banking service.
One of the banks he switched to gave him an impressive £250 in total. David explained how this was made up of an initial cash switching incentive of £150 and then a further £100 because he decided to close his account after just six months.
He said: “Because they were so confident in their services, they offered anyone who wanted to leave after six months a £100 for leaving. So, six months came round and I said I’m going to leave and true to their word they gave me £100.”
In total, he reckons he’s made £1,600 in switch money alone but says that amount doesn’t include any extra cash for referring friends and family, as well as interest.
Altogether, David said he is £4,000 better off compared to what he would have been if he had never switched accounts and stayed loyal to his original bank.
He said: “I would estimate I’ve made around £1,600 so far and that doesn’t include some of the referrals I’ve made from referring some of my friends and family to do exactly the same thing. It doesn’t even include the ongoing interest so compared to if I’d just left things as they were and kept with my old faithful account, I’ve made £4,000 more.
“I was able to put down a deposit on my first house and there’s no way I would have been able to do that without the bank switching.”
But Martin warned viewers that switching bank accounts might not be the right move for some people, he said: “One warning though – multiple switching can have a negative impact on your credit worthiness.
“Now that isn’t a problem if you’ve got no credit applications to make, but if you’re shortly to do an important application – for example, for a mortgage – I’d steer clear for the time being.”
If you missed any of the episodes from the Martin Lewis Extreme Savers series, you can catch up on the STV Player.
The founder of MoneySavingExpert.com also recently confirmed his consumer programme, The Martin Lewis Money Show Live will return to STV screens in September.
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