Bog standard simple account - advice please

cally6008

(sorry I know this gets asked a lot)

I'm wanting to open a bank or building society account.
I am aiming to put away £10 per week to put towards unforeseen bills and the likes of the quarterly gas bill etc.

I don't want an account where I have to put a set amount of money in each month.
I don't want it to be with Barclays, the Cumberland or Lloyds.
I don't want or need an overdraft facility.

I do want it to be with a bank/building society that I can physically walk into the place, pay money in and take money out.

The ones near me are (this is from typing banks and my town into yell.com)
- Royal Bank of Scotland
- HSBC
- Alliance & Leicester
- Bradford & Bingley
- Natwest
- Beneficial Finance
- Clydesdale
- Abbey

sutton111

I would recommend a basic account.

RBS/Natwest- Offer good basic account you get a debit card so you could pay your bills over the phone.
Clydesdale- also do a good basic account were you get a debit card.

See here for more info on basic accounts.

username

I would recommend you apply for the standard current account(s) unless there is a specific reason why you would like a basic one, such as having a bad credit rating.

The reason why I say that is because of the fact that some banks are awkward to those customers who have such accounts, and they place restrictions on what they can do.
Some I have heard don't even allow their customers to use the counters at branch to withdraw money/deal with queries, and instead direct them to the telephone or the machine to bank with.
Some don't come with debit cards and none of them have chequebooks (whilst cheques may not be used much these days, it is useful to have the facility open to you, if this is going to be your only bank account).

cally6008

I want a basic one as some of the current ones state "you must put (x) amount of money in your account per month" which is not what I want the account for and not what I can afford either.

As far as I know, I think my credit rating is ok.

rb10

cally6008 wrote: »

I want a basic one as some of the current ones state "you must put (x) amount of money in your account per month" which is not what I want the account for and not what I can afford either.

As far as I know, I think my credit rating is ok.

Often you won't have to put £x in per month. For example, the Halifax Reward account states that to get the £5, you have to put £1000 in per month, but if you don't put £1k in, they aren't going to close your account, or charge you, or anything like that! You just don't get the £5. But you do get a much better service than any basic account would give you.

So as you reckon your credit rating is ok, go for a proper account.

CLAPTON

cally6008 wrote: »

I want a basic one as some of the current ones state "you must put (x) amount of money in your account per month" which is not what I want the account for and not what I can afford either.

As far as I know, I think my credit rating is ok.

Maybe you misunderstand what a 'Basic' account is ... it is specifically designed for people with creit problems and doesn't mean an 'ordinary account' ..so don't go there

Virtually every bank offers an ordinary a/c with debit card, cheque book etc. and doesn't require a minimum amount each month. Although you say you don't want an OD, a small one is potentially very useful as it means if you acidentally go overdrawn by a few pounds you won't get charged lots of fees and a black mark on your record.

book12

If you don't want to get credit scored again (or having a your score lowered due to a scoring process done by the bank), I would suggest a basic bank account.

orangeslimes

you should be able to find a savings account to fit with those requirements too I think? if you make sure it is one with branch access. just a suggestion that would avoid any credit score problems.

cally6008

Narrowed it down to

Natwest Step Account or HSBC basic bank account

Think I'm errring towards the HSBC one though

How quick do either of them open accounts up ?

456789

Personally I prefer HSBC but their basic account only comes with a cash card

Natwest will give you a Solo/Maestro debit card but not everyone on this site is happy with them

If you don't need a debit card go with HSBC if you do try Natwest

If you go into a HSBC branch they should open it up there and then

cally6008

I can't believe that HSBC wouldn't accept a Photo Provisional Driving License as proof of ID