anyone have a think bank account? ThinkMoney

frankie

My sister in law passed away early last November. I have been trying to clase her think money account since then. They still haven't done it despite promising to do so. Have filled in all the required forms etc, have phoned them on their very expensive phone line and still getting nowhere.

They are a disgrace.

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hi

Think Money has asked to reply to you frankie. MSE doesn't endorse anything a company says on the forum.

Dear Frankie,

Thank you for your post, I am part of the team at thinkmoney. We are sorry for your recent loss. Based on the information in your post we believe we have identified you and our records show that we closed your late sister in law's account in early December and posted the cheque to you on the 11th. The cheque has not yet been cashed. We have called you today (Thursday) (but been unable to reach you) to establish if you would like us to cancel the cheque and re-issue it. Please do get in touch. Many thanks, Sarah.

JuicyJesus

Posting personal information on a forum about a customer who they "believe" they have identified?

So much fail.

pmduk

I'd like to believe it's because they've so few customers.

michael1983l

I used think Money for a while, first of all I would say do not bother.

You can only withdraw money from your account up to a maximum of 3 times in any one day between 0000 and 2359 hours. You can get cash back but up to a maximum of £50. You cannot use certain cash machines like that of Co-op ones. And they only support your account during office hours.

I had my card blocked for no reason on a Friday evening, I had just bought a round of drinks, I could not pay because my card transaction declined even though funds were available and I had already made 3 withdrawals that day so could not obtain any more cash.

Their internet banking facilities are basic and poor.

You need to give about 2 weeks notice to ammend or change standing orders or Direct Debits before they lock them out.

And when you get paid on payday the money goes in at around 7 am rather than at 2am like every other bank.

Also whenever there is a bank holiday your payments inexpliciably take longer to send, even if it is sent on the Friday before the BH monday.

I must state here, that they normally go same working day via faster payment on a working day, but don't around bank holidays for some unknown reason even if it isn't actually sent on the BH.

Payments sometimes go missing too and you have to chase them up.


Overall. Don't bother.

George2014

ThinkMoney is expensive, but the accounts work well and the staff are really helpful. However, considering the monthly charged paid, you should expect to be able to get hold of someone reasonably quickly on the phone. Unfortunately this was the case a few years ago, but no longer. It's like calling up the worst mobile phone helpline - sometimes taking over an hour to get through to someone. Not good enough for the monthly cost - I'll be leaving soon.

cybertortoise

I am with them and happy with the account. There's no set up fee and the monthly charge is rising to £17.50 per month. Despite this it is less than I was paying Lloyds in missed direct debits, yes my own fault but I am happy to pay the fee for the excellent customer service and peace of mind of having my bills covered and no charges for missed payments to worry about ever.

LadyJ2308

Think Money are not just a bank. They're a service provider too. They manage your account and the fees are management fees. They co-ordinate and liaise with your creditors to help negotiate reduced payments, they deal with any debt demands and take all the stress away. I paid off over £12k of debt in 8 years using their service and now that I'm virtually debt free I plan to stick with them despite the fee (now £17.50) because it gives me complete peace of mind knowing that it isn't physically possible for me to overspend. Yes, high street banks give you online banking (so does TM AND they also have a text message service too) but having no access to the money reserved for bills is what people with uncontrollable spending habits need. I was a shopaholic. I have a friend who is bi-polar and he spent the same amount on an engagement ring as he did on the wedding.... now that he's being treated, he see's how ridiculous that is. Anyway, it's people who have trouble controlling their impulses (my daughter is ADHD and will probably need something similar when she's old enough) who are better off with this type of account just to give them peace of mind. Believe me, the stress that constant debt phonecalls and letters causes.... it's well worth the money.

fuzzyfangle

Although I'm replying to what seems like a fairly old thread, I thought it was important to tell you about my experiences to hopefully persuade everyone NOT to go for a thinkmoney bank account.

This is the worst bank account I've ever had.

Whilst when we got it at first it was helpful when we had an IVA, since the company has moved to being an independent bank instead of being part of the RBS group as it was previously, there have just been too many mistakes and unacceptable issues. Firstly, their mobile app often fails or 'can't connect' which means you have to log in online, or more often than not phone up to speak to someone. When you phone as an existing customer the wait times to speak to someone are never less than 25 minutes in my experience, but truthfully the more realistic wait time (that I've experienced in the last 3 months) has been 40 MINUTES! To understand the next problem we've had you've got to know a bit about how the current account works - it works by compartmentalising your account into 2 sections; one which is called your 'salaries account' and another called your 'card account'. Although this feels like two separate accounts it's not because they have the same account number. The reason for this is (or was in our case) very practical, because you give them all the details of your direct debits and they keep the income from your salary aside in that 'salaries account' to make sure you have enough money to pay for bills. The surplus or 'disposable income' is then put onto your 'card account' for you to spend on everyday things like food etc. Sounds great yeah? Well it is until they mix up the names of your direct debits and make duplicates, which result in you getting text messages that tell you you don't have enough money to pay your bills. For example, I had one text message yesterday that was for an amount over £200 and they labelled it as the water rates (when they have it on file that it's only £35 a month). They have 'Money Manager's that are supposed to make sure that everything runs smoothly on the account. You pay £27 per month as a fee for this privilege. Our experience has been that we have had to keep a very close eye on things because of their mistakes. As a result, we're in the process of changing our bank!

the_pottages

Hope I'm not to late replying ....please please please do not touch this bank I've been with them for many years and over the last 3 it's been awful I pay them to pay my bills mine is a joint account so not cheap I've had bills unpaid standing orders stopped allsorts go wrong at the min my account is frozen as I'm going though a desperation and because my ex won't speak to them I can't get a penny no way round it my rent won't be paid they won't honour existing direct debits or anything my wage goes in today and I can't get it resulting in 4 kids on school holiday with out a penny ....all I need now is to no how to claim every penny I've paid them back

Do yourself a favour try Yorkshire bank b yourself account it's very much like think but FREE