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Azhar H

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Review of the first direct, Current account:

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Stranded Abroad With 2 Young Kids.

I switched from NatWest to First Direct. I regret it. I moved an account from NatWest to First Direct partly because of its reputation for customer service. After discovering how its fraud process works when you need urgent help abroad, I will be moving elsewhere. Before travelling with my two young children, I informed First Direct of my travel through its online service. I was not told I needed to do anything further. My card worked normally before First Direct suddenly blocked it following an ATM transaction. I have no issue with a bank protecting customers from suspected fraud. The problem is what First Direct did afterwards. First Direct confirmed in writing that it blocked my card at 7:07pm. It did not contact me at all. No call. No SMS. No app notification. Had they told me, I could have dealt with it safely from my accommodation. Instead, I discovered it the following day while out with my two young children. I couldn't pay a restaurant bill and was then declined at three ATMs. I was stranded, unable to access my own money and with no idea First Direct had blocked my card the previous evening. What I have since learned about their procedure concerns me even more. First Direct says its system determined that my case required "human intervention", meaning the normal SMS verification wasn't available. Instead, I was placed in a queue for its Fraud Detection Team to telephone me. First Direct says an outbound call "may take some time". More than 24 hours after blocking my card, they still hadn't called me. I had to call them. I find that astonishing. Their fraud system had identified potentially fraudulent activity abroad, blocked access to my money and determined human intervention was necessary. Yet their Fraud Detection Team couldn't get through its queue and contact me within 24 hours. This wasn't a routine customer service query. First Direct had actively prevented access to my money because of suspected fraud, yet 24 hours later I was still waiting for the required human intervention. First Direct also confirmed that when it doesn't send the SMS, it regards the card declining as the prompt for the customer to contact the bank. Think about that. The bank knows it has blocked your card. You don't. You find out when your card starts declining and, if their fraud team hasn't reached you, the burden is on you to contact them. When I contacted Live Chat and explained I was stranded, they couldn't remove the block or arrange a callback. I was told I had to telephone them. So, stranded with two young children and unable to access my money, I had to find a telephone or local SIM simply to call my own bank about a restriction it had imposed without telling me. When I eventually managed to call, the block was removed. I complained. First Direct's written position is that no bank error occurred and its systems worked as intended. It says the process complies with banking regulations and offered £50 as goodwill. That explanation is perhaps the most worrying part. If this genuinely is the system working as intended, customers should understand what can happen abroad: your card can be blocked without you knowing, SMS verification may be unavailable and you can be left waiting in a fraud queue. In my case, they still hadn't called more than 24 hours later. It leaves me questioning whether First Direct has sufficient resources if a customer requiring human intervention can remain in a fraud queue for more than 24 hours without contact. I also bank with NatWest, Lloyds, Barclays and Monzo and have never experienced anything comparable. First Direct prides itself on customer service. Being left stranded with two young children, unable to access my money, while the bank knew my card was blocked but hadn't contacted me more than 24 hours later, spectacularly failed that test. I regret switching from NatWest to First Direct and will be moving my banking elsewhere. Reviewed on: 10th August 2026

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