I’ve had a letter from First Direct, packed with meaningless marketing speak. It tells me that my account(s) with them will be changing soon, because apparently I’ve asked for this to happen (I haven’t). It gushes with excitement at how the changes will be good for them (because I apparently asked for them) and how much better off I’ll be, and how there won’t be any hassle for me during the switchover, none at all.

Thing is, I don’t trust gushing marketing speak. It makes me suspicious. What are they trying to hide?

I’m crap with understanding and organising finances, always have been. What I need is someone to explain these changes to me in language I can understand. Enter fool.co.uk:

I expect that this news will be greeted with dismay by many of First Direct’s 1.2 million customers. Indeed, it could be argued that First Direct has shot itself in the foot once again. It set itself up for a customer exodus when it introduced a monthly fee of £10 in February…

Damn right, and I nearly closed my account then. This new change won’t help me one little bit, but might make managing my money more complicated. I think I need to pull my finger out and shop around.

Recommendations welcome. (Especially from fellow freelancers who know the pain of income figures that sway alarmingly up and down from month to month.)