How to get a bank account - if you're unbanked - basic bank accounts

HappyNotHappy

tim_wood wrote: »

I got myself into a real mess with my finances and opened up a Basic Bank account with the RBS, in my infinite wisdom i decided to open up a "non credit scoring" account with the Yorkshire Bank who at the time welcomed me with open arms and provided me with a Debit Card which at the time the RBS could not do. However in 2008 i declared myself Bankrupt and once it had all been finalised i spoke to the YB on several occasions and they informed that it wasnt a problem and that my account would remain open. Surprise surprise a few days later I go to use my card and it wasnt authorised despite there being funds in it. When approached they told me that they do not want to deal with bankrupts and even cut my card up in front of me! I then went back to the RBS and explained the situation and they were execellent, they told me that my account was still open and that now they were even offering debit cards with the account.

Trust me i shall never go near the YB again and if anyone else asks me i will tell them the same and i am currently experiencing a great relationship with the RBS :T

I had an RBS basic account, which I managed with no trouble, never being overdrawn. I too have suffered some credit difficulty, so when RBS offered to upgrade my account I thought OK why not, only to receive a letter saying they were not able to do this and promptly closed the account I had, leaving me in a complete mess as my salary was paid into this account and I had DD's going out.

Wrote to the Banking Ombudsmen who are just pathetic and do not offer any support saying it is up to the banks who they do business with, so I do not have a leg to stand on.

RBS is backed by the Government with OUR taxes, so technically I own part of the bank, so in effect I can't open an account in my own bank.

Disgusting.

HappyNotHappy

cagsy wrote: »

I work with teenagers, many of whom need a bank account to apply for and receive their Education Maintenance Allowance. I try to encourage them to open a bank account before their 16th birthday, because they will only need their parent's signature, but many forget to do so.Some don't have passports, most don't have a driving license and so they don't have any other ID other than a birth certificate (if they're lucky). Can anyone offer advice please?

Seems like a good idea. We also opened accounts for our children so they could save money. But put on the account our contact names. We have suffered some credit difficulties this year and have managed to sort a lot of things out.

We decided to try and open an account in the same bank (Barclays) as our childrens account and as they are linked by name, they promptly closed our childrens accounts. WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT. Again they give no explanation and say speak to the Ombudsmen, who turn around and say it is up to the bank who they want to do business with and can withdraw at anytime.

Pathetic.

schal2607

Barclays offer a cashcard account for any customers, which includes a visa debit card and also online banking, it offers the same service as a normal current account without credit facilities, I opened one in my Barclays in Paisley and they were very helpful and sorted a few other things out for me as well

schal2607

glider3560 wrote: »

Most banks will accept a birth certificate when accompanied by parental ID. This usually works up to age 18 with most banks.


Banks dont accept Birth Certificates as anyone can get a copy of your birth certificate therefore leaving it open to fraud.

If a child doesnt have ID they can accept a parent or guardians identification

cagsy

Thanks for the advice so far, I've found that banks don't accept birth certificates on their own but they will accept parental ID up until the child's 16th birthday. The problem the kids have is if they wait till after their 16th birthday, then parental ID just isn't enough. I'm all for Martin's petition to have financial advice added to the curriculum. If any of you have kids age 15, please can you get them to open a basic bank account so that they don't have all this hassle once they reach 16, especially if they're going to be in receipt of EMA or a training allowance or salary from full or part time earnings the following year!

haddington

schal2607 wrote: »

glider3560 wrote: »

Most banks will accept a birth certificate when accompanied by parental ID. This usually works up to age 18 with most banks.


Banks dont accept Birth Certificates as anyone can get a copy of your birth certificate therefore leaving it open to fraud.

If a child doesnt have ID they can accept a parent or guardians identification

Thats a lie. I've opened a natwest adapt, bos expresscash, yorkshire building society freedom and a nationwide smart account all using my dusseldorf,german british embassy birth certificate followed by my parents council tax bill and my recent rbs statement. With funds to start up each account. I've had no problem opening any accounts and the guy in natwest thanked me for the amount of identification I brought along.
It's alot easier than you might think to open accounts as long as the identification process is done in branch. Had problem with no birth certificate number on certificate but I managed to sort that out with bos by going into branch and saying I've got no other documents. They just opened the account after that.

ESES

My partner has recently been into 'money trouble', therefore she went to open a basic bank account. She went to NATWEST, asked for a BBA and the personn who dealt with her insisted that they had checked, and there was no problems with her cred score. O.H. was pushed into opening a NATWEST gold account, £15/pm, various benefits etc. O.H. insisted 3 times that she wanted a BBA, but Natwest said they had no such product. Bear in mind, my O.H. is French and not as savvy as some others.
Next thing, she received a letter from NATWEST saying that they won't deal with her, she is not welcome at the NATWEST/RBS banking group and that they are not willing to enter into any further communication wse. IDIOTS!

exfoliant

Co-operative Bank have just turned me down for a basic account. No explanation given. I have no defaults and no CCJs or bankruptcy. I do have some recent late payments and I have a lot of credit card balances (5 credit cards in total, all maxed out)

exfoliant

ESES wrote: »

My partner has recently been into 'money trouble', therefore she went to open a basic bank account. She went to NATWEST, asked for a BBA and the personn who dealt with her insisted that they had checked, and there was no problems with her cred score. O.H. was pushed into opening a NATWEST gold account, £15/pm, various benefits etc. O.H. insisted 3 times that she wanted a BBA, but Natwest said they had no such product. Bear in mind, my O.H. is French and not as savvy as some others.
Next thing, she received a letter from NATWEST saying that they won't deal with her, she is not welcome at the NATWEST/RBS banking group and that they are not willing to enter into any further communication wse. IDIOTS!

That is appalling. Was the account ever actually open?

ESES

That is appalling. Was the account ever actually open?

As far as I am aware, it was open pretty much immediately, they took a £30 check from her to open the account, but she had no details for it. Next thing was that letter.