Setting up a group account?

grad_gal25

Hi,
I and some neighbours are setting up a community garden for the shared garden roof space to grow fruit and veg and have agreed to put in £1 per week to a group bank account to buy things like seeds and soil, ect. the thing is I am trying to work out what is the best type of bank account to go for? do we just set up a standard account but have 4 or more people who are on the account? or is there another type of account that we can set up with a treasurer or several people as treasurers? Any advice welcome.
Thanks Amber

Andystriker

Many people on here advise against opening joint accounts, even with loved ones, because your credit file becomes linked.

I would have thought opening an account in the way you are suggesting would be even more risky, so think hard before doing so.

jonesMUFCforever

If you do decide to open an account then a club/society is the type you need.

What normally happens though is that everybody starts well and pays up then they forget etc etc until just the diehards remain.
IMO much easier to just share the area between you and let each individual do what they want in their space.

sueeve

How about putting the £'s into a shared jam jar?

Stuart_W

A club/society account is certainly what you need if everyone is serious about the idea. A standing order (£4.34 per month might be preferred to £1 a week by some banks) only needs to be set up once - then it's sorted.

Usually, there needs to be some kind of agreed constitution, and often at least three names officers (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer are common) and whilst all three signatures are needed to open the account, you can choose to allow withdrawals by only one named person if you like (depends - anyone likely to do a runner with the cash??)

I've previously used Girobank and Co-op in the past for group accounts.

Girobank are now owned by Santancrap so perhaps best avoided. Co-op do a good one. You can arrange for free access in/out at your local post office, which may be convenient, depending where you're located.

http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/servlet/Satellite/1196151412581,CFSweb/Page/Business-CommunityBanking?WT.svl=copy

Loughton_Monkey

Income of £4 a week is hardly the stuff of joint bank accounts!

Do the obvious. Appoint one or other of you the 'Treasurer' who would then open an Internet Savings Account in their own name. At each 'committee meeting' that person would regularly supply a written account of income and outgoings.

Or failing that, as has been suggested, the 'Jam Jar' system is just as good. I cannot see any 'treasurer' creaming off money. Can you?

grad_gal25

Stuart_W wrote: »

A club/society account is certainly what you need if everyone is serious about the idea. A standing order (£4.34 per month might be preferred to £1 a week by some banks) only needs to be set up once - then it's sorted.

Usually, there needs to be some kind of agreed constitution, and often at least three names officers (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer are common) and whilst all three signatures are needed to open the account, you can choose to allow withdrawals by only one named person if you like (depends - anyone likely to do a runner with the cash??)

I've previously used Girobank and Co-op in the past for group accounts.

Girobank are now owned by Santancrap so perhaps best avoided. Co-op do a good one. You can arrange for free access in/out at your local post office, which may be convenient, depending where you're located.

Thanks this is the kind of info that I was after. The Jam jar idea is less likely to keep going and people will forget as someone mentioned. Also we have the issue of where we will put it so that random visitors to the close done take off with the cash. So we thought a group account where we all put a standing order for the money then it can be put to use when it is needed for things like soil, seeds etc... (PS its a roof garden so needs lots of work to get it going so sharing the space and just doing what we each individually want with it won't really work).
Thanks again.
Amber

grad_gal25

Loughton_Monkey wrote: »

Income of £4 a week is hardly the stuff of joint bank accounts!

If we get everyone who shares the space involved then it will be 14 flats in total. But I will be surprised if everyone gets involved. However it is 4 households that are starting the whole thing in motion.

powerone

Lloyds and other banks do a trust account. Its like the charties accounts.

jonesMUFCforever

A trust account is not what OP wants in this case.
A trust deed would cost a lot in relation to the turnover of the account.

powerone

I meant an account that is in Trust for many or few people.

http://www.natwest.com/business/products/business-current-accounts/community-account.ashx#tabs=section1

http://www.lloydstsbbusiness.com/community/index.asp