Wherediditallgo’s ‘path to enlightenment’ bankruptcy diary

wherediditallgo

3 April - The laptop came today, at which point I realised that I'd forgotten to get an adsl modem router. Couldn't find the one I wanted locally, so I'll go out tomorrow to see what I can find in town.

Got my second lot of statements through, & they don't make good reading. At one point I was charged £119 three months running in excess overdraft fees - the bank put through payments when I was over my limit, then billed me for the privilege! :mad: Although I won't be seeing the money, I'll take great pleasure in claiming those back. I haven't finished going through them yet, but I'm already at the £500 mark.

wherediditallgo

4 April - Spent far too many hours traipsing around shops to find the combined adsl modem & router. For the first time since being BR, it hit me how awkward & costly life can be without a debit card. I ended up paying an extra £15 for my second choice item because my first choice item was too expensive in the high street. I'd have far preferred to buy it online, especially as I'm so used to internet shopping (it would have been much cheaper & quicker) but I had no choice.

Managed to get the pc to connect wirelessly, but can't get the laptop to connect through it for love nor money. There are so many new terms to learn, & I'm really in no mood to do it, but I'll make myself.

Got some food shopping - probably the lightest bag I've carried from Sainbury's in years. Feels very strange to pay in cash.

wherediditallgo

5 April - Fought the battle with the wireless connection most of the day, but eventually won. I was determined not to ring the helpline, but asked for advice on a few forums, & after a few reboots & changes of settings it finally worked. :j I haven't got a clue what I did in the end as I did so much chopping & changing with it, so I'd better find out pretty soon how to save the settings in case I ever need to do this again. In the last 2 days I've learned more about a wireless connection than I ever thought I'd need to know, but at least I've conquered the machine.

gettingitsorted

wherediditallgo wrote: »

5 April - Fought the battle with the wireless connection most of the day, but eventually won. I was determined not to ring the helpline, but asked for advice on a few forums, & after a few reboots & changes of settings it finally worked. :j I haven't got a clue what I did in the end as I did so much chopping & changing with it, so I'd better find out pretty soon how to save the settings in case I ever need to do this again. In the last 2 days I've learned more about a wireless connection than I ever thought I'd need to know, but at least I've conquered the machine.

Well done WDIAG on winning your battle with the wireless conection,just to say that if you need any advice with it in the future then my OH is a computer boff and would be able to offer assistance should you need it .

wherediditallgo

5 April - Many thanks for the offer. I ring helplines maybe once a year at most, as I hate being beaten by technology. I couldn't work out why I couldn't use one computer to see the files on the other, but then I realised that I had "Do not allow exceptions" ticked in Windows Firewall & hadn't set up the sharing properly. Once I unticked this, the shared files started to show up. The person who writes an instruction manual that assumes you have absolutely no experience or knowledge of terminology, hardware or software is going to end up very rich very quickly. I find myself blinded by science too many times for comfort.

Got another letter from a DCA today, telling me I hadn't made March's payment. As it's Easter, I'll leave ringing them until Tuesday. Even if they're there this weekend, they won't be able to do anything with the information.

wherediditallgo

10 April - Came very close to screaming at the Co-op bank this afternoon. When I went to open the Cashminder account on 29 March, the man told me all the account applications go through the referral process, but there shouldn't be a problem unless there had been previous fraud as the account is recommended for bankrupts. He told me to ring him last Thursday to see how the application was going, but I didn't get a chance to so rang the telephone banking service today. I couldn't believe it when the woman told me the account still hadn't been approved! I insisted on speaking to a supervisor, & she said she'd get them to call me back. A woman called back, at which point I gave her the background & reminded her that their Service Level Agreement on their website says "Account opening - We promise to deal with your current account application within 48 hours of receiving it and to open your account without error". She said she'd pass my application details to the team dealing with referrals so that they could look at it first thing in the morning, & call me to confirm the outcome.

She told me that there was a backlog on account applications, but I told her that wasn't the point. I informed her that I'd told the man in the branch about (a) me needing the account by a certain date so that my salary could go in, & this delay means there's a good chance I might miss my employer's deadline for changes of bank details, & (b) the bankruptcy, & now I was being made to feel like a second-class citizen because my application hadn't been dealt with appropriately. She said that all the applications go through credit scoring, at which point I reminded her that the ones from bankrupts don't because there isn't a credit score worth looking at & no credit facilities would be offered, so the only thing to look at was whether there was previous or suspected fraud. As my own Esperian check verified there wasn't any fraud showing on the account, they would have got the same info when they did their own check which I've seen there myself. She just kept apologising - great that she has manners, but it's not a lot of good to me. Told her that if I don't hear a positive reply tomorrow on the account, I'd be making an official complaint. I'll see what happens tomorrow, but I've a nasty feeling my salary is going to be well & truly messed up this month. Thank goodness I did the extra rent payment just before going BR - I would be really stuffed otherwise. It's too late today, but tomorrow I'm going to look into getting another account just in case I need it.

I need to get my direct debits sorted out as soon as possible, so that I don't start getting letters about monthly payments for my utilities not being paid. I know there have been 2 Bank Holidays, but I don't care. All I care about is that this account is a recommended one, yet they can't even get themselves organised to open it in due time. I told them I was going bankrupt that day before they even had a chance to ask. What more do I have to do? Drag the OR's clerk to the branch kicking & screaming to confirm that yes, I can't manage my finances, have got a shedload of debt, & now need some slip of a thing young enough to be my child to quiz me on what I've been doing with my money? Does the bank have to humiliate me as well? :mad:

uther_2

I think you should try the Nationwide.I opened a basic account with them the day after Br.The cust. service woman could not have been nicer,and I walked out with my account number and sort code about 10 minutes later.The card came after 5 days,and the pin number a couple of days later.

NekoZombie

Hey wherediditallgo,

I opened my account same day as you at the co-op (gosh, we might have brushed shoulders even)! I was there 29.03.07, 13:15. I called them today, and the account had just been approved. They assured me that my new card and account details are in the post - indeed he offered to give me my account number but I didn't have a pen.

Fingers crossed, and all will be sorted for tomorrow for you. It has been Easter, after all, though I know its no excuse.

Neko x

wherediditallgo

I was there about 11.30am. The bloke I saw made it pretty clear he didn't want to deal with me, & I had to stand my ground to get seen. I've got his name, & if I don't hear good news tomorrow a complaint will swiftly follow. There's no point in them having a Service Level Agreement if they don't pay attention to it.

NekoZombie

I think we dealt with the same guy - he made me make an appointment but overall I'd say he was pleasant if reluctant to open a basic account. He asked me twice why I only wanted the basic product. I had a name change issue, so I'm suprised mine has come through before yours. They did a credit check on mine too - I got the impression it was standard but the outcome doesn't affect the opening of your account.