Thinkbanking stay clear!!!

creditpunch

THESE GUYS ARE A COWBOY OUTFIT.

I’m short on time so will be quick even though I could write a book on these guys.
I have been with TB since I went Br in January 2009, I pay £15 a month for very basic service and zero customer service. But it worked for me. They give you 2 accounts one for your incomes (called the salaries account) that you can’t touch and all your bills are paid from, then any surplus is put into your card account for you to spend. You get a Mastercard Debit with zero credit facility which is good. There telephone number is a very premium rate number but if things are running smoothly you can avoid using it. You get online banking and a text service too that helps you manage your account.

Down sides are opening hours are no existent at the weekends and holidays on everything including the call centres and last Christmas even my card stopped working at 5pm Christmas Eve which almost wrecked Christmas because it didn’t start working until 5 days later when the bank was open again. There is no branch you can go into to resolve emergency issues and you are at the mercy of the call centre staff being human and not hold you to ransom, which as you will see they aren’t. Any mistake on your account can take about 2 weeks for it to normalise, if you make a card payment online or otherwise that requires pre authorisation (such as Next orders, supermarket shopping etc. When you order something and they ring fence the money in your account then take it for real when they are about to dispatch) Think banking will actually take the money from your account and when the company goes to take it for real Think banking will take it again from your account. The first lot will remain in TBs holding account waiting for someone to come and take it for about 5-10 working days before they put it back into your account so in effect you pay for the thing twice although you will get you payment back after 2wks. This plays havoc when you’re talking about large sums.

If you have an irregular payment coming into your salaries account then it won’t be credited into your card account until the next day and not at all if you don’t tell them via phone (expensive call) to a money manager where and who and why it came from, else they will reject it. I refused to do this last week on a one off loan from a family member. I told them it was a transfer from a UK bank account, and it was a for so many pounds and it was a one–off payment not a regular one. This wasn’t enough I need to tell them who this person was to me and why they where transferring money to me. I felt this was an intrusion of privacy and refused as a matter of principle. They said they would reject the payment. I said fine I will be changing accounts. Straight away I could not access my account on the phone, text, or online. I had no access to my account. They said it was technical problems when I called, which I don’t believe at all as it happen straight after the call. I had to wait 5 days till I could have access to my account/money. They said my salary would also be rejected if I didn’t tell them so I had to hot foot it over to the coop and open an account asap while telling my company to put my salary into my mum’s account for the time being. Totally held to ransom just because I didn’t want to divulge my personal life story.

So last night my account access came back and low and behold they haven’t rejected or returned the £600 to the family members account, they have held it and it says on my statement that it will clear on the 01/04/2011 (5 weeks!!!!!!) so not only did my tied me over loan not come to me I am now having to make explanations to my relative about their money. And who knows if TB will give it to me then. I have been on hold not for ages with them trying to sort this out being put on hold and fobbed off. I have absolutely no other way of resolving this with them quickly apart from their bullish ways.

So steer clear as this guys are cowboys and sharks with will do as they like with you money just for fun.:mad::mad::mad::mad:
I will be contacting the financial ombudsman as I’m sure this cannot be allowed or be fair.

tigerfeet2006

Sorry to hear you are having a bad time at the moment CP, hope you get it sorted quickly.

As you know we never recommend these type of accounts on here anyway if we can help it. It's the Co-op Cashminder and the Barclays Cash account all the way.

It might be worth seeing if the chaps on this board may be able to give you some ideas on what to do
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=20

confuzzled7

tigerfeet2006 wrote: »

Sorry to hear you are having a bad time at the moment CP, hope you get it sorted quickly.

As you know we never recommend these type of accounts on here anyway if we can help it. It's the Co-op Cashminder and the Barclays Cash account all the way.

It might be worth seeing if the chaps on this board may be able to give you some ideas on what to do
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=20

Why though? I'm with Secure Trust Bank (one of 'those types of accounts' - I love the way you say it like it's something unsavoury) and have been completely happy with them and would willingly recommend them. Barclays and Coop (who are continuously worshipped on here, it seems) were both useless and incompetent when I applied to them and I'd have been left in a very awkward position when I went bankrupt had I'd not found an alternative. Now I fully accept that my experiences with both Barclays and Coop might not reflect the excellent service many have received from them, but I sometimes feel this forum does little other than 'suck up' to Coop, which can be a little short-sighted as they aren't always a viable option for everyone.

I agree, though, that the OP's experiences with Think Banking are entirely unacceptable and I hope he/she gets things sorted soon.

Worcsman

not everyone thinks the coop is great, I've never used them, for me RBS are superb, been helpful, full stop. Banks and bankruptcy are a lottery, nothing makes any sense when it comes to banking after BR. I have a good salary now after BR and no outgoings other than my rent worth mentioning, normally my bank would have a gazillion ideas about how I could buy their services.. but as Im a BR, they cant offer most of their products.

i guess the coop account gets lorded up in the forum cos it works for so many other people. there's even a post tonight from a someone that has opened a business account with cheque book soon after discharge. not with coop though. the monkeys that are running your account aren't worth the effort. keeping your cash before clearing it for weeks??? are they cowboy builders that have moved into banking???

turboserver

"Thinkbanking stay clear!!!"
"THESE GUYS ARE A COWBOY OUTFIT."

In March 2011 I set up a bank account with Think Banking. At the beginning of April 2011, I paid multiple cheques into my account. The cheques had cleared and debited from the cheque payer’s account. I was told that the cheques will be credited into my account by the 15 April 2011.

However, this has not happened, I have repeatedly contacted Thinking Banking and asked why? The response on each occasion is that they are experiencing an IT problem and that they will get back to me when they have something positive to tell me. I asked for a guarantee that my money was safe, to which their “Money Manager” representative reluctantly replied yes after my fifth time of asking.

Think Banking have no idea what the IT problem is or the earliest/latest date that the problem will be fixed.

I am seriously anxious and concerned about their lack lustre and laid back approach to money that is a vital part of my every day living life.

Update
1. 3rd May 2011, after a further conversation with a Think Banking Money Manager, the multiple cheques (Totalling over £5000) were finally credited to my card account. I was told I could withdraw from any RBS ATM machine a maximum total of £450 a day.

2. I withdrew £450 each day from the 3rd May 2011 to 7th May 2011.

3. 7th May 2011, I received a letter from Think Banking stating that unfortunately we are unable to continue to provide a service and subject to their Terms and Conditions of use and hereby given 7 days’ notice that the account will be closed on the 12th May 2011. This letter was dated the 4th May 2011.

4. 8th May 2011 the ATM refused to process any withdrawal request.

5. 9th May 2011 I contacted a Think Banking Money Manager for an explanation. They stated that ATM refusal was a security check prohibiting the misuse of a stolen card. I stated that the card was not stolen and please could I withdraw the allocated daily amount. They apologised, but said that unfortunately the card will be blocked for 24 hours.

They also said that my Account will be closed and that I should make alternative banking arrangements and any balance remaining in the account on the closure date will be refunded (Note: Initially Think Banking said this was a directive that came directly from the RBS, in another phone conversation they retracted the statement and said they were not affiliated with the RBS).

“Think Banking Limited which is not part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group”

They said they were not at liberty to disclose any reason for closing the account. I said that my account was functional on the 3rd May 2011 and now a letter dated 4th May 2011 will close the account on the 12th May 2011; and after all the inconveniences of April, I should pay £25 setup fee and £14.50 monthly operational fee.

The account was terminated on the 12th May 2011 and subject to the outcome of a complaint I lodged concerning the service I received, will I hear whether I shall receive a refund of £25 setup fee and £14.50 monthly operational fee.

The most annoying aspect of dealing with Think Banking is that they constantly text/phone for your identification, salary and direct debit details, but as soon as they have these details they appear to offer any excuse for not providing a transparent banking service.

Think Banking are not a Bank, all they do is provide a questionable banking service.

confused76

this sounds dreadful...have you tried to get a coop cashminder account or barclays basic account? that just sounds like far too much hassle, unnecessary hassle! vote with your feet...

stuart30

Sorry but i dont see why you would want too pay a set up fee and pay each month too use such a service..:(

Bit like being married and paying for sex with a hooker when its free at home (ok service might not be top notch but free is free after all).

philnicandamy

stuart30 wrote: »

Sorry but i dont see why you would want too pay a set up fee and pay each month too use such a service..:(

Bit like being married and paying for sex with a hooker when its free at home (ok service might not be top notch but free is free after all).

for some people who are bankrupt this is the ONLY solution for them if they're refused a basic co-op/barclays account...

SunshineBear

I have used Think Banking for over 2 years with not the slightest of problems. If you keep communications open, as with any bank, you can minimise issues. I pay in irregular sums as I work for myself. No issues to report.

The problem as I see it is that for every 100 account 1 person will go online and sneer and snarl to release anger. You rarely hear about the 99 good reports.

philnicandamy

SunshineBear wrote: »

I have used Think Banking for over 2 years with not the slightest of problems. If you keep communications open, as with any bank, you can minimise issues. I pay in irregular sums as I work for myself. No issues to report.

The problem as I see it is that for every 100 account 1 person will go online and sneer and snarl to release anger. You rarely hear about the 99 good reports.

I'm glad to hear you had no problems SB...seems funny though both on MSE and in my CAB role i've heard nothing but problems with think

turboserver

Thank you stuart30, philnicandamy and confused76 for your comments and advice. I have applied and been accepted for a Co-operative Bank Cashminder Account.

SunshineBear wrote: »

I have used Think Banking for over 2 years with not the slightest of problems. If you keep communications open, as with any bank, you can minimise issues. I pay in irregular sums as I work for myself. No issues to report.

Thank you SB, I kept the communications open, paid in my regular wages and I was still subject to Think Bankings problematic banking service and elusive answers.

SunshineBear wrote: »

The problem as I see it is that for every 100 account 1 person will go online and sneer and snarl to release anger. You rarely hear about the 99 good reports.

Thank you SB, I also once thought as you did, however my post is not a platform for snarling or releasing anger, it is merely stating and sharing my experience with Think Banking and it’s not good.