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cahoot questions

I'm hoping someone can give me a bit more info about cahoot.

We currently have a joint account with halifax which we set up when we bought our house in jan. we use it for joint bills and therefore only put in enough to cover these each month. We went with halifax for convenience but shortly after opening the account they sent a couple of letters addressed to my partner to his ex girlfriends house. They had a joint account with haifax two years earlier and live in the same street so I could understand how this occurred, and he contatced the bank and the problem appeared to be sorted. However this week a letter addressed to me was sent to her house. This I cannot understand or condone as there is no reason for my name to be linked with her address and all other communications for me had previously been sent to the correct address. I find it appalling that a bank can send personal info to the wrong address like this!

anyway..... I am obviously unhappy with the service and wish to change. We like the idea of the £100 free overdraft with cahoot but I cant figure out from the website whether its possible to get a joint current account with them. Also as they are connected to abbey national does that mean you can pay cheques etc into your account by visiting an abbey branch?

any other info/advice on this and any other (interest free pref) overdraft facilities would be much appreciated!
Mummy to Thomas born April 27th 2010 8lb 5oz
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Comments

  • vandanfc
    vandanfc Posts: 2,048 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Hi

    I can confirm that Cahoot do allow joint current accounts, I have a joint account with my husband. Applied years ago, but I cannot see why the rules would change.

    Yes they are part of Abbey but not directly linked, so no you cannot pay cheques into your cahoot account at an abbey branch. You pay cheques in via the post office, probably using special envelopes/slips that cahoot will provide on request.

    You could also look at Alliance & Leicester as they have a good overdraft facility, but many people may not agree that they are any good. As with all banks different people get different service and have different opinions as to how good or how bad a bank is.
  • gill_81uk
    gill_81uk Posts: 2,851 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker Name Dropper
    is there any charge for paying in cheques via the post office?
    Mummy to Thomas born April 27th 2010 8lb 5oz
  • PBA
    PBA Posts: 1,521 Forumite
    No charge for paying in at the post office. You put the cheques in a special envelope, leave them at the counter and they are sent on for processing. You can also pay in by 1st class post, and cahoot supply prepaid envelopes for you.
  • Just a warning about Cahoot from my own experience with them. Might be isolated but they have been incapable of setting up Direct Debits. One in particular for my Council Tax, three failed attempts which lost me the monthly payment option resulting in having to pay the full amount. Had to use credit card for this as it had been budgeted as a monthly outgoing!
    They did not answer any e-mailed questions, particularly about the Direct Debits. On numerous occasions had to 'phone instead which still didn't resolve the issue. The only e-mail they have ever answered was the complaint about the lack of response. I think the only reason why it was answered was because I told them I was going to transfer my account which I am actually doing at the moment.
    Sorry to be so negative about Cahoot.
    p.s it wasn't my fault or the payees fault as the DDs are appearing on my new bank account like clockwork.
  • EKokay
    EKokay Posts: 47 Forumite
    My wife and I have separate current accounts. We joined through the
    quidco.co.uk website and got £10 each but I see it's up to £20 now.
    Not bad! If you want to do this remember to clear your cookies between
    each application (just in case).
    Also, having two accounts lets you use the cards more and get more
    cashback.
    We don't use it much so cannot comment on them.
    EKokay
  • d9nd5c
    d9nd5c Posts: 13 Forumite
    Do not go to Cahoot! Cheques paid at a Post Office takes a minimum of three days to reach your account plus another 5 days to clear. It takes too long for the money to be available.
  • EagerLearner
    EagerLearner Posts: 4,976 Forumite
    Hi there - I tried to open a joint account with Cahoot and it was a miserable and horrible process I would not recommend to anyone. In particular, they do not personally answer e-mails and instead have template e-mails for
    everything.

    Plus they take an extra day compared to any other bank to clear your funds.

    It seemed like a good idea at the time (we also did it for the overdraft) but it's really not worth it - opening a joint account was a nightmare and the lack of personal service made it a no-no.

    I am sticking with First Direct for now as when bad things happen to your bank account you need a real human to sort it out... read up on other posts about Cahoot first before applying...

    EagerLearner
    MFW #185
    Mortgage slowly being offset! £86,987 /58,742 virtual balance
    Original mortgage free date 2037/ Now Nov 2034 and counting :T
    YNAB lover :D
  • jicms
    jicms Posts: 488 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I have a Cahoot current account. The main problem I have found is the lack of information provided in their statements and direct debits which makes it impossible to identify things. Their service is very impersonal which can be a problem if things go wrong. We also had problems setting up direct debits but maybe this is the same with all banks.
  • robhall1973
    robhall1973 Posts: 17 Forumite
    I've had a joint account with cahoot for about five years now and not really had any problems. Had an issue where suddenly neither debit card would work but they sent replacements.

    Have not had trouble with communication - they do send template responses sometimes but I've never had any real problems. If you reply to the template response then you do generally get a more human response.

    It does usually take three days for cheques paid in to reach your account but I have had it happen sooner. Sometimes I think the Post Office branch don't send them off the same day...

    I have had problems trying to set up direct debits with some companies as their systems don't seem to recognise the cahoot sort code, even after all this time! But it's not consistent and therefore I don't think it's cahoot's fault.

    I think you have to weigh up the advantages of an internet bank against the disadvantages. Yes, payments are not credited immediately (which has never been a problem with me) but you do get benefits as well. Look at what you want out of a current account and match up cahoot against your list. If the advantages outweigh the disadvantages then go for it :)
  • AndyR_3
    AndyR_3 Posts: 324 Forumite
    I always pay my cheques in by post (to be fair, I only get about 3 cheques per year) and find them credited (as uncleared funds) the day after I post the envelope. Not sure what the advantage of using the Post Office counter is really, since Cahoot provide pre-paid envelopes and it's quicker (and usually easier) to pay in that way.
    Amazon sellers club - member number 63.
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