After 5 years of trouble free banking First Direct declined to pay a Direct Debit of £50 that would have taken me £23 over my agreed limit. My mix up, my fault, no quibble there. The company the payment was for took payment over the phone next day with no issues and no repercussions of any kind. However First Direct informed me that they would report this to Credit Reference agencies as a missed payment and that this would have an adverse effect on my credit score. If you value your credit rating do not bank with First Direct. This extremely Draconian policy appears to be unique to First Direct/HSBC group. Please be aware that they will happily harm the credit rating of their own customers even when there is no requirement for them to do so. Most banks do not do this for single missed payments. First Direct will.