60 yr old with no bank account

artydoll

Hi there
Is it possible for myself,60 yrs old ,who has never had a bank account ,to get one now .
I am retired and get state pension with a top up from dhss . I have no debts ,have always paid my bills up front with cash ,so I dont think i have any credit rating .

M_Thomson

artydoll wrote:

Hi there
Is it possible for myself,60 yrs old ,who has never had a bank account ,to get one now .
I am retired and get state pension with a top up from dhss . I have no debts ,have always paid my bills up front with cash ,so I dont think i have any credit rating .

Hi,

I am sure it is possible. You could perhaps try and get a basic bank account which comes with a Solo or Electron debit card. Failing that the Post Office do a cashcard account. One question, how have you managed to get your pension and or salary from when you were working paid? I thought with pensions they had to be paid into a bank account now.

C_Ronaldo

im sure you would get one, get a basic account to start off with

artydoll

Thanks m thomas
I have a post office card account ,to get my money out.I am having a few problems , I really need an account I can pay money into. You cant pay into a post office account.I used to have a post office savings account ,into which i could pay cheques and postal orders,I sell a little on ebay ,in my daughters name ,this was great ,but now these accounts have been closed. I also need to pay my rent by some means,maybe direct debit ,or with credit card ,over the phone,as my local authority has now decided ,rent collectors will no longer be calling every fortnight ,for thier payment. This means,i now have to travel 4 miles every 2 weeks to pay my rent .
I know this doesn.t seem much trouble,but when you are 60,with dodgy knees ,it is .

regularsaver1

some of the basic bank accounts the high street banks offer, also offer the facility of using the post office counters - might be an idea

buxtonrabbitgreen

artydoll wrote:

Hi there
Is it possible for myself,60 yrs old ,who has never had a bank account ,to get one now .
I am retired and get state pension with a top up from dhss . I have no debts ,have always paid my bills up front with cash ,so I dont think i have any credit rating .

you can open a nationwide account online. I did this for my oh who has not had a bank account for several years, although he is still working. It is just a basic account with a cash card but you can use it to pay direct debits. I hope this may be some help.

Rallya

Natwest do a basic account called the Step Account, you get a solo debit card and can use DD and SO. You can also withdraw money over the post office counter with it.

HTH

Ken68

I've been with them all, Arty, much prefer Nationwide.
Depends what's in your town, but a local office whoever.

oldwiring

OT but Poerman are merging with Natiionside, so if CEO or similar whospole on R£ this morning is right htere should be even more branches available.

margaretclare

Hi artydoll

Yes, you could get a basic bank account which would be a darned lot more useful than the PO card account which is very limited.

What you need is 2 kinds of proof that you're who you say you are:

1. Personal ID e.g. driving licence or passport, or there are other kinds of ID e.g. birth certificate if you haven't a driving licence or a passport - and there are older people who haven't got either.

2. Proof of where you live - utility bills addressed to you.

You don't need 'credit-worthiness' as you're not asking for credit. It helps to be on the electoral register - again, proof that you're who you say you are and that you live where you say you live.

All of the high street banks and most of the building societies offer a basic bank account - they have to, since the end of pension books 2 or more years ago. They all call them different things e.g:

NatWest - Step account
Royal Bank of Scotland - Key account
Co-operative Bank - Cashminder account

Just go into the one which is most convenient to you, near where you go shopping etc, and say you want a basic account. Take those pieces of ID documentation with you. You shouldn't have any problem at all.

Best wishes

Margaret

artydoll

many thanks to you all:T :T :T :T :T

margaretclare wrote:

Hi artydoll

Yes, you could get a basic bank account which would be a darned lot more useful than the PO card account which is very limited.

What you need is 2 kinds of proof that you're who you say you are:

1. Personal ID e.g. driving licence or passport, or there are other kinds of ID e.g. birth certificate if you haven't a driving licence or a passport - and there are older people who haven't got either.

2. Proof of where you live - utility bills addressed to you.

You don't need 'credit-worthiness' as you're not asking for credit. It helps to be on the electoral register - again, proof that you're who you say you are and that you live where you say you live.

All of the high street banks and most of the building societies offer a basic bank account - they have to, since the end of pension books 2 or more years ago. They all call them different things e.g:

NatWest - Step account
Royal Bank of Scotland - Key account
Co-operative Bank - Cashminder account

Just go into the one which is most convenient to you, near where you go shopping etc, and say you want a basic account. Take those pieces of ID documentation with you. You shouldn't have any problem at all.

thanks to you all for helping me :T :T :T :T :T :T :T
Best wishes

Margaret