Do you have experience of 'managed banking'

fuchsiapink

Hello

I have just been speaking to my bank as I'm getting monthly bank charges which are snowballing out of control and making it impossible for me to get my account back under control. So I spoke to my bank to see if they could help me in anyway and after a very lengthy helpful phone call they put me through to 'Think Money' who have suggested I switch bank accounts to their 'Think Money' account which is something to do with RBS.

I've never heard of Think Money or 'managed banking' before, and although overall it sounds perfect for me I'm really wary, do any of you in MSE-land have any experience of managed banking. Am I doing the right thing? I couldn't help thinking that I was being 'sold' but I'm not sure if thats a product of my over suspicous nature.

Website for Think Money - www.thinkmoney.com
Website to reviews - http://www.moneysupermarket.com/c/debt/Think-Money/reviews/432/1/0/

Thanks in advance
FuchsiaPink

456789

you have to pay for this account btw:

If you've been hit with unexpected bank charges for going overdrawn, bouncing cheques, paying late or making ‘too many’ transactions, this could be the account for you. With thinkbanking, you pay a one-off set-up fee of £25, then £12.50 a month. If you're a joint account holder you can have an additional card for only £5 per month. That's it.

username

fuchsiapink wrote: »

Hello

I have just been speaking to my bank as I'm getting monthly bank charges which are snowballing out of control and making it impossible for me to get my account back under control. So I spoke to my bank to see if they could help me in anyway and after a very lengthy helpful phone call they put me through to 'Think Money' who have suggested I switch bank accounts to their 'Think Money' account which is something to do with RBS.

I've never heard of Think Money or 'managed banking' before, and although overall it sounds perfect for me I'm really wary, do any of you in MSE-land have any experience of managed banking. Am I doing the right thing? I couldn't help thinking that I was being 'sold' but I'm not sure if thats a product of my over suspicous nature.

Website for Think Money - www.thinkmoney.com
Website to reviews - http://www.moneysupermarket.com/c/debt/Think-Money/reviews/432/1/0/

Thanks in advance
FuchsiaPink

You're either a plant (sorry if you're not but the first sentence seems so like a company has written it!) or being taken for a ride.

I would open a basic bankn account with another bank and try and claim the charges back from your bank, this "managed" solution is most likely to have a string of charges with it.

Twister84

@ fuchsiapink - do you bank with RBS or Natwest already? Even if you don't, it might be worth speaking to a Moneysense Advisor before doing anything. Bear in mind they are not there to deal with charges, but they might be able to find the reasons for the charges and see what can be done so they don't occur again. This might be what you need. Also mention that you've heard about Think Banking and would like more information on it.


@ username - the OP is not being taken for a ride. I have had many customers who use Think Banking and it is there for a reason - the reason being that the customer is struggling with charges and wants to get his/her account back under control. Although there are initial set up costs and monthly fees, it does mean that the account is fee free and will not incur any charges for going overdrawn etc.


Good luck with everything

TRaven

Think Banking is Gregory Pennington, the ones who advertise that they can get creditors to freeze interest and perhaps write off debt (little more than an expensive IVA if I'm interpretting it correctly).

They operate the account for you through RBS. The card they issue is provided through Newcastle Building Society who do a lot of prepaid Mastercards.

If you can find out what is causing the charges and can make changes to avoid future charges, I would suggest you do so. Otherwise a monthly fee of £12 as opposed to a monthly maintenance fee of £28 + return fees might be tempting.

Do remember though that it is a managed bank account. They run the show and in order to set up a new so/dd, you would have to clear it with them.

fuchsiapink

Hi Everyone

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me.

@456789 - I am aware there are fees, I believe them to be an acceptable cost as they are considerably less than the bank charges I am getting.

@username - There is nothing I can do to prove that I am not a plant, but please be assured I'm not a plant, I only wish I were ! Think Money have told me that I will be charged £12.50 per month with a £25 setup fee, they say that is all the charges there will ever be, and if a direct debit is missed there won't be any charges as it will be their fault.

@Twister84 - I currently bank with Halifax and have a joint account with Natwest. I went through a financial review with a lovely lady from the Halifax and the recommended outcome was to talk to Think Money. Think Money recommend I open an account with them and they will take over managing my money.

As much as I hate the fact that I feel like I'm having my hand held, this is the exact thing I was trying to do with my own bank account. I have learnt that if I move all my bill outgoings to the same day as my money goes in I can stay on top of things. However this doesn't always happen hence the snowballing situation with the bank charges. So it seems to me that as I was trying to create an account like this for myself anyway it makes sense to go with Think Money until such a time as I am properly back on my financial feet.

There are a few things I'm worried about. If I move to Think Money will that adversely affect my credit rating? I have worked hard to improve it and I'm really concerned that I don't do anything to make it worse.

@TRaven - Your comments exacerbate my fears that opening an account with Think Money will adversely affect my credit rating. This is something I absolutley do not want to do. The charges have got to the point that the bank is taking them out of my account whether the money is there or not, which triggers more charges, I am stuck in a vicous bank charge cycle that I simply can not break. Think Money have offered me a solution that means I don't have to borrow more money to try and fix the problem which is the only solution I thought available to me. This morning is the first time in weeks I've woken up without a massive feeling of dread, I feel really positive about going this route. I wanted to see what fellow MSE'ers thought about this as a solution.

When things are back under control and I feel financially happy, is the process of moving from Think Money back to a normal bank account going to be a straightforward one. I don't know if this is the correct thing to do, but I think it would be sensible to not close my existing Halifax account, but keep it open till such a time that I want to move back.

I would like to point out that at no point have Halifax done anything wrong, I take full responsibility for the mess. I have been really happy with the service the Halifax have given me.

Many thanks for reading
FuchsiaPink

TRaven

To be honest while Think Banking does not do anything positive for your credit score, I don't think it hurts it either. Think Banking is not an IVA, I was just pointing out they are run by a company that does so.

However I think you could solve the problem by going to RBS/Natwest and opening two of their basic accounts. Cut the card in half on one and use that for your income/regular payments. Then use the other to transfer money that is not needed for bills. That will give you the same outcome as Think Banking and save you £12 a month in fees.

fuchsiapink

@TRaven - my main problem with that is I have a CCJ that is not 3 years old until April, which makes applying for bank accounts impossible. I did try opening another account with the Halifax but even though I already have an account they turned me down for a second. (Sorry I wasn't clear about this earlier)

the Think Money account there is no credit check.

456789

Some banks don't have checks for "basic" bank accounts - see the basic bank account topic at the top of this subforum

Mikeyorks

fuchsiapink wrote: »

I have learnt that if I move all my bill outgoings to the same day as my money goes in I can stay on top of things. However this doesn't always happen hence the snowballing situation with the bank charges.

With respect ..... that is a potentially costly error. If your outgoings include DDs - then most Banks (inc Halifax) insist that funds are available the working day before a DD is due out. And the proximity of credit to debits leaves absolutely no tolerance for error on anyone's part. Much better / safer and potentially less costly to create a gap of at least a few days between the input and the outputs.