Basic bank account feedback thread

dr_adidas01

doinright wrote: »

I have just been into Barclays and opened a basic bank account in about 30 minutes with absolutely no problem at all. The lady assistant was very helpful, she asked why I had chosen Barclays but straight away said it wasn't a trick question and I did not have to explain anything, I said I was trying to get my finances in order and needed a basic account with a debit card that I could also use to set up direct debits. She did ask if I would be having any regular payments made into the account, such as salary, benefits or pensions. I said I would be doing but just wanted to open the account today. She filled in the forms, took my passport as identity and said I didn't have to put any money into today and I would get my welcome pack in the post in a couple of days. She gave me my account number and said I could set up online banking once I got my welcome pack! It was such a relief. I can now start and sort out my debts knowing I will still have a bank account. I would recommend the basic account to anyone especially Barclays as there were no awkward questions to answer and no credit check needed. Thank you everyone here.:j:j:j:j I am going to be able to sleep tonight!:T

Actually they do credit check you for the basic account these days, people have been turned down if there is seriously adverse information on it.

mickyb1974

This is a bit of a whinge but has made me very angry basically i have a co op cashminder account have debt issues that i am slowly clearing i have gone overdrawn by a few quid on 2 or 3 occassions in last 12 months so they wrote to me saying my accounts to be closed . they cancelled all my dd and standing orders before i got the letter which makes things difficult to pay as i got paid today i felt i was treated very badly.

in recent years i have lost my dad and marraige and things have been tough ... then 4 days after they inform me they closing my account i get an email from the co - op its made me very angry and like they are mocking me to some extent read below , can anyone tell me how i go about sending an email complaint niall booker is cheif exec of co op bank

basically the email thanked me for sticking with them through the toughest time in their history and how they were gonna look forwards in the summer to see how they can help their customers and finally thanked me again for my loyalty.

They have thanked me by closing my account during my worst time of financial history !!

The email has left me fuming and i want to complain i was told i could do it over the phone but would recieve no correspondance back any advice please.

i tried to copy and paste the email i recieved from them thanking me etc for sticking with them and being loyal but it wouldnt let me as a new user

dr_adidas01

mickyb1974 wrote: »

This is a bit of a whinge but has made me very angry basically i have a co op cashminder account have debt issues that i am slowly clearing i have gone overdrawn by a few quid on 2 or 3 occassions in last 12 months so they wrote to me saying my accounts to be closed . they cancelled all my dd and standing orders before i got the letter which makes things difficult to pay as i got paid today i felt i was treated very badly.

in recent years i have lost my dad and marraige and things have been tough ... then 4 days after they inform me they closing my account i get an email from the co - op its made me very angry and like they are mocking me to some extent read below , can anyone tell me how i go about sending an email complaint niall booker is cheif exec of co op bank

basically the email thanked me for sticking with them through the toughest time in their history and how they were gonna look forwards in the summer to see how they can help their customers and finally thanked me again for my loyalty.

They have thanked me by closing my account during my worst time of financial history !!

The email has left me fuming and i want to complain i was told i could do it over the phone but would recieve no correspondance back any advice please.

i tried to copy and paste the email i recieved from them thanking me etc for sticking with them and being loyal but it wouldnt let me as a new user

While this is indeed a very sad story the T&C 's of the cashminder account clearly state that if 3 payments of any kind bounce or cannot be made then they will close the account.

So as you have breached the terms and conditions of having the account Co-Op have done exactly what they said they would do by giving you notice of account closure.

I would suggest you try opening an account somewhere else possibly with Barclays (cash account) Natwest (Basic Account, thought you will be limited to RBS and Natwest cash machines for cash withdrawals) or Lloyds for there basic account.

You need to go an set up a new account to get your salary paid into.

ColdIron

mickyb1974 wrote: »

The email has left me fuming and i want to complain

What are your specific grievances? They have acted exactly in accord with the T&Cs that you agreed to and signed

mickyb1974

my grievance is that 4 days after removing all my dd and standing orders without notifying me even though they have to give me 30 days notice they send me an email thanking me for my loyalty and sticking with them through their time of hardship etc it just seems a bit ironic they sent me that days after being completely the opposite with me in my time of hardship.

I have opened a basic account with nationwide and shall be more careful not to cause such hassles like i did for co op bank by going 4 pound over drawn on a few occasions as i cant image the damage that caused them !

pmduk

The email mailing list will have been prepared weeks before, it's best regarded as an advert even though it describes itself as a 'service message'

Complaining may make you feel better, but is very unlikely to achieve anything.

Herbalus

mickyb1974 wrote: »

my grievance is that 4 days after removing all my dd and standing orders without notifying me even though they have to give me 30 days notice they send me an email thanking me for my loyalty and sticking with them through their time of hardship etc it just seems a bit ironic they sent me that days after being completely the opposite with me in my time of hardship.

I have opened a basic account with nationwide and shall be more careful not to cause such hassles like i did for co op bank by going 4 pound over drawn on a few occasions as i cant image the damage that caused them !

You might find it easier to not evaluate the 'seriousness' of your overdrawn amounts. As far as a bank is concerned, it doesn't differentiate between going £0.10 and £100 overdrawn - it just marks it as overdrawn. Therefore what a reasonable human might regard as a small breaking of the T+Cs, however fair or unjust it is, or however much it damaged a big bank or not, doesn't really come into it.

With a basic account one needs the mindset that debt, even debt of 1p, isn't an option. Glad you're determined to do that with the Nationwide account.

Taylor35

Hi. This has happened to me today, on checking my account this morning I found that none of my direct debits were showing, I telephoned the bank and was informed that they had sent me a letter on 25th Feb (which I have yet to receive) stating that they are closing my account on 25th March, if that is their right that is fine, I accept this was my error due to going overdrawn, but, I have DDs due to come out of my account over the next few days, I am unable to contact the companies as I am unsure of who they are (that is a separate issue and any comment regarding this is unnecessary so please refrain from commenting on it) my question is to dr addidas 01really, you mentioned the terms and conditions regarding closing the account, could you quote the section you are referring to please (I hope that does not come across as rude, I am trying to find that particular section but it is heavy reading). Also, as the account is still active for the time being shouldn't they still abide by the direct debit guarantee and give 10 working days to cancel?

innovate

The Direct Debit Guarantee doesn't guarantee that a bank makes the DD payments. Google for it to understand what it does guarantee.

You should be able to find out what DD payments have been made in the past and to whom - these will all be individually listed on your statements.

It sounds wrong that the DDs should have been cancelled when you have as yet not been notified of the closure of your account. Are you sure you have not received any letters before?

Regarding finding things in the terms and conditions: if you press CTRL+F on any web page or PDF document, you get a search window and can search for anything you like.

cifpower

Taylor35 wrote: »

Hi. This has happened to me today, on checking my account this morning I found that none of my direct debits were showing, I telephoned the bank and was informed that they had sent me a letter on 25th Feb (which I have yet to receive) stating that they are closing my account on 25th March, if that is their right that is fine, I accept this was my error due to going overdrawn, but, I have DDs due to come out of my account over the next few days, I am unable to contact the companies as I am unsure of who they are (that is a separate issue and any comment regarding this is unnecessary so please refrain from commenting on it) my question is to dr addidas 01really, you mentioned the terms and conditions regarding closing the account, could you quote the section you are referring to please (I hope that does not come across as rude, I am trying to find that particular section but it is heavy reading). Also, as the account is still active for the time being shouldn't they still abide by the direct debit guarantee and give 10 working days to cancel?

The particular clause is

19.2 You can end this agreement and close your account by phoning us on 08457 212 212 or writing to us at The
Co-operative Bank p.l.c., P.O. Box 200, Delf House, Skelmersdale WN8 6GH or in a Co-operative Bank branch. We can end this agreement and close your account at any time but we will give you at least two months’ notice unless there are serious circumstances (e.g. fraud investigation or where you seriously or repeatedly break this agreement) which in our reasonable opinion justify us closing your account with less notice.

"Repeatedly break" means 3 strikes and you're out. Although not explicit it is all within the "our opinion" bit