Is the Co-op genuinely BR-friendly??

alastairq

T/C is three strikes in a quarter

With the Co-op, it's three strikes over the lifetime of the account...not a clean sheet after a certain period of time......

alastairq

Alistar wants a argument with anyone in my opion.

and should I not respond when challenged?

I suggest change.....in the way banks are run.

The technology is there...why is the ordinary private individual denied full usage, simply because 'it's always been done that way?''

dojoman

The simple thing is, if you don`t like the way coop does business then change banks.

DaisyChainMaker

Am I missing something here?

As a bankrupt I am grateful to the coop for giving me a bank account with online banking facilities. I am also very aware of my finances and obviously know when DD are due. So I ensure there are cleared funds in there in time for the payments. Terms and conditions of the account state that cleared funds must be there on a working day so I ensure there are.

I only have the one bank account, as it keeps things simple. Surely the whole process of going bankrupt is distressing enough without then worrying yourself afterwards about the terms and conditions of the bank account you can get.

DD go out on same time every month (normally) so its easy to ensure you have cleared funds there for a monday payment. Why leave things till the last minute? Going bankrupt has taught me to be more organised, budget wiser and ensure I have funds for payments and a little extra for emergencies.

andyf1980

I'm very grateful to the co-op for the service they provide to me and other brs. I think there are aspects of their service that they could improve but hey, no company is perfect

I think they're also pretty good and collecting customer feedback.

alastairq

he simple thing is, if you don`t like the way coop does business then change banks.

and most banks..in the UK, operate in the same manner..it suits them to do so.

However, the rules governing meeting DD's seem vary according to the type of payment into an account.

Hence my comparison of a simple, inter-account transfer [with the same person holding the two accounts...] and a BACS transfer....both having a different effect on he rules governing DD's.

alastairq

DD go out on same time every month (normally) so its easy to ensure you have cleared funds there for a monday payment. Why leave things till the last minute? Going bankrupt has taught me to be more organised, budget wiser and ensure I have funds for payments and a little extra for emergencies.

And very wise too...


My case, as noted very much earlier , concerned a DD which usually applies once every 3 months...and is for a sum in single figures.....and will vary between the 31st of a month, or the 1st of the next month!

Prior to the last working day [a Friday] for some reason....maybe I got sidetracked,,I transferred almost all of the balance in that particular account over to the running account....having seen to all the regular, monthly DD's.....and obviously totally forgot about this one 3 monthly DD....I think the account was short by one pound!

The running account had no need of the transfer....I simply wanted to gather up 'surplus' funds to transfer to a online savings account, as it happened...and I had set up the transfer 'details' on the running account.


Since the small, 3 monthly DD doesn't show up regularly, I forgot about it.....had I waited until this week to transfer the surplus funds, no problems would have occurred.

But I didn't...I got ahead of myself!

What annoyed me though was...over the weekend [Sunday night to be precise] my running account received the BACS payment, my wages!

I know from past experience, that if this occurs, the payment [balance] is acknowledged by the bank, as I can draw cash on it at a cash machine.

Not bad for a banking system that supposedly closes down over a weekend?


Immediately I noted the BACS deposit, I conducted an online funds transfer of my 'bills' money straight into the other account...[still oblivious to that small DD]....this new balance showed up straight away, as a funds transfer or bill always does.

I subsequently discovered it also showed up on the bank records the following morning...so was visible.

Later, I received notification of the failure of the DD.....and had the time to contact the bank, get the charge lifted, and discover exactly what/why things had gone awry...

This was when I was informed of the different effects on payment of DD's, that occur when a BACS funds transfer goes to an account, which has a DD moving out on the same day, but had insufficient funds in it the previous working day....

why should a BACS transfer of fund affect things differently, from a simple inter-account online transfer?

[aside from the fact, the RULES SAY SO...?]

During the same call, but earlier on, I got the same sort of lecture that has been posted by several, on here, from the Customer Services adviser concerning 'budgeting', and my apparently 'adverse' financial record...a response I eventually found to be somewhat derogatory.......

Hence, I raise the issue concerning what I perceive as the Co-op's underlying view of BR's......and, why, in this modern age of electronic banking and finance, do we still have a set of rules harking back to the days of cheques?


As I noted, if my wages had instead been paid into the account which had the DD....even though there were insufficient funds on the last working day...because the transfer [on a Sunday!!!!!] was a BACS, the DD would have been paid....


that issue alone raises question marks in my mind....

sizzler

Hi al

not been funny but coop help BRs and they have thier rules simple.

Surely we should be grateful for at least the support they give BRs by having a chance to have a bank account:)

I mean before BR when you are in debt they charge you to the hilt for mist transactions and late payments. The Coop dont they even give you another two chances:)

sizz

alastairq

in that respect, Co-op were no different...although I have had no issues with them......my issues lie with the banking system as a whole........Co-op are no different than any other with regards to their conditions of use.

I think the term ''BR-friendly'' is a bit misleading, however.


it is exactly what I would have expected from the Co-op, given their 'core' or 'target' customer base...

The 'surprising' one is Barclay's......given their own attitude towards BR some years ago...they have done quite a U-turn in attitude.

But let me make this clear...I do support Co-op, both bank and insurance...even though they may not offer the best of the financial world's products, they are..and have been, consistent in their customer approach...and their ethos as a bank and insurer.

They are, perhaps, a little archaic in their business approach, as has been noted by many others on here.

Almost as archaic as the old TSB...

skintwithiva

I have a coop account after entering an IVA, in the end I moved to the Yorkshire bank.

The Coop are very slow to show credits and debits, twice I have gone over by a few pounds because of this.

When you call up to sort it out they are VERY rude, I told the guy on the phone this and just got told the calls are all recorded, I work in a call centre to would be dragged in to a small room for talking to customers in the way they do.

Please not get me wrong, the normal help line are fine, its just the one you go through to if the account is in debit.

I have now move to the Yorkshire bank for my main account, online banking is ( once you get your head round it ) very good.

If you use your card it shows on your account with out delay so you know what you have in the account, in fact my pay goes in faster as well so if its dude to hit the account on a Monday I get it on Saturday )

They also take any DD out early as well, so if its due out on a Monday its out of the account on Saturday so you cant over spend.

If you do go over ( did it once forgetting about paypal ) you have until 12pm to get cash in the account.

The card is better as well, you can use it just like a full card, even at the fuel pups ITS JUST LIKE A FULL ACCOUNT )

One down side is you cant pay in via the post office. However, if you have a coop account already ( like I do ) pay it in there and then 2h transfer it over.

Cant recommend Yorkshire bank enough but its worth noting they act like banks of old, you will need to go in to open the account and if you call the call centre they will often get your branch to call you back to sort out problems, I like this though.