Does anyone have any experience of go-henry

jonesMUFCforever · 16 April 2015 at 7:33PM

dasophster wrote: »

We tried to set up a Gohenry account but before we had a chance to put much money into it, they closed the account without telling us seemingly based on a credit check. Our credit rating isn't great but we have been approved for other things recently so we're mystified as to why this product that surely has no risk involved for Gohenry as no borrowing money is involved, has withdrawn their service. They didn't even have the decency to tell us either, just couldn't log in and then the guy in the call centre said he'd call us back. After waiting for hours they sent an email saying they reviewed the info given when the account was opened and decided to withdraw their services. So if you have a less than impeccablecredit rating yourself beware that Gohenry may withdraw their services without warning x

They might have thought you were going to use it yourself?

picklelily88 · 3 September 2015 at 10:06AM

Absolute rubbish - we've had a card for an entire year! It has never worked. Despite my calling, and emailing no-one seems to be able to give me a definitive answer I have been told a myriad of different excuses why it does;t work. I've now been told to go to an ATM to unblock it - even though I have done that before. I have asked them categorically to re-issue the card given it has never worked for my daughter - in a year!! but my request has been ignored and I was not allowed to speak to a superior about this situation. I have stood over my daughter and her card is rejected outright. They have no record of any earlier transactions so the person on the end of the phone cannot even verify my situation!! And they are unwilling to take my word for it! Take my advice and save your money.

mastertom · 5 October 2016 at 10:29PM

We have had a bad experience of this and I advise anyone thinking of setting up an account to be very careful.

I set up an account for my 11 year old son and put some money onto the card. In doing this, my debit card was linked to the account.

I put £30 into the account and of that £30, £10 was put onto the card.

Unknown to me, the browser had cached my gohenry user name and password and my son moved the other £20 onto the card. He then added another £20 from my debit card into the account followed by another top up of £9.25.

He went on a spending spree, and I managed to block the account before any more money could be taken.

Although a very good idea, the security aspect around this website is flawed. An 11 year old figured this out in 20 minutes.

Be very careful, but my advice is stay well clear until they sort out the security aspect. Family computers are shared.

eDicky · 6 October 2016 at 8:31AM

Although I've not used it myself, an alternative would be Soldo:

https://www.soldo.com/en-uk/

It seems to be cheaper than GoHenry, especially for overseas use so the subsidiary card available for under 18s would be useful on foreign school trips etc. I like the feature where various kinds of transaction can be switched off, for control and security.

mapk · 6 October 2016 at 10:20AM

Thought I'd chip in with my 10 pence-worth. Why not chip and pin your children directly to prepare them for their brave new world?

Cgo33 · 13 October 2016 at 9:46AM

I got my two eldest boys their go Henry accounts last yr, and so far so good. One is 15 and one is 13, I don't think primary school age is appropriate as tbh, I have a 9yr old and don't feel he should be away from my long enough to need a bank card or a mobile phone. Yes it has taught mine financial responsibility, few hurdles at first when my 13 yr old kept spending all his on the online games but missing wkend activities with his friends because he'd spent it all, but it's the nifty little app features that work for me. As soon as one of them spend a penny, I get a tx notification telling a me: what they've spent, where they spent it and at what time.
I have now mastered the spending restrictions. If they have been in trouble, I can lock their cards and restrict their money, it also offers notifications if your child is trying to buy anything with adult content etc. Great idea, just wished I'd av shopped round as you can get custom cards with their names on (which I did) but their all added extras, just under £5 a month disappears from my bank each month. (Would be money smart to just hand my kids their cash) (only once I'v inspected their chores are done lol, because money needs to be earned)
I would recommend this product but would say the age needs to be raised to 11.

Cgo33 · 13 October 2016 at 9:53AM

I also like that (God forbid) if they got lost or stranded, I can do a quick transfer and it appears instantly on their card. Giving them the ability to get to a safe place or top up their phone or get a taxi/bus etc. And by using their card I also know their exact location. My eldest plays basketball all over the country and has a bright future doing it as a career. So with all the subway notifications I get, I know where he and his team are.

Keedie · 13 October 2016 at 8:53PM

My son turned 10 last week, and he has had his GoHenry account for about 2/3 months now. He really loves it, and it has taught him the importance of working hard for your money (if his chores are not done properly, he does not get paid), and most importantly how to save. We went on holiday in August, and he was doing chores, gardening for my mum, decluttering for my dad etc, anything to earn a little bit of money. As I advised him that he can have holidays but if he wants spending money, then that's on him.

He has already started to save for our holiday next year, as he was restricted from a few activities as he couldn't afford it, and that bothered him. So he's set a target of £60-£100 next year, as he only managed £40 this year, as he didn't want to spend too much on holiday as he was also saving up for an Xbox One S, as I refused to upgrade him from a Xbox 360 (although it is starting to freeze a bit and overheat at times). So he saved for months, did extra chores, and told anyone that would listen, that he wanted a bit of money for his birthday. And seeing his savings goal percentage increasing each week, was a big boost for his confidence :rotfl:

Children nowadays are living a completely different life that we did at their age, and I think that teaching them to survive as financially responsible adults is no bad thing. They still understand the value of cash, and he puts all of his spare coins in a money tin, then pays them into his savings account, just as he has seen me doing for years.

Yes, this is a money saving site, but if you have a child that is ready for certain (controlled) financial responsibility, then why do you have to deny them the opportunity to learn until they turn 11? Perhaps, it is not websites and apps such as GoHenry or Osper that are wrong for aiming their services at 8 year olds and up - maybe the banks themselves could do with lowering the age limit... Then I would not have to pay for such a service, although it is money well spent.

jimjames · 14 October 2016 at 1:23PM

eDicky wrote: »

Although I've not used it myself, an alternative would be Soldo:

https://www.soldo.com/en-uk/

It seems to be cheaper than GoHenry, especially for overseas use so the subsidiary card available for under 18s would be useful on foreign school trips etc. I like the feature where various kinds of transaction can be switched off, for control and security.

Surely on a money saving site the alternative would be a bank account where it costs nothing and gives the child a debit card. My kids have had accounts since they were 11 which gives them a good grounding on handling money and using the card for spending.

titchwitch · 28 October 2016 at 11:18AM

I know this an old thread but in case anyone reads this again....I've been using gohenry for my kids for some time and it is so useful. Contrary to the comments about it not teaching kids about money, about it seeming as though what they're buying is free, it can teach them an awful lot if you use it right. The site allows for the parent to set tasks for kids to do which earn rewards and its all visible for the kids and they can see what they need to do. In fact i find its easier to see how money is being spent than when they have cash, for parent AND child.

Does anyone have any experience of go-henry

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free