Co-operative Bank - Caveat Emptor!

sallyjo_2

Hi,

I read the following on MoneySupermarket just now
Disgruntled bank customers vote with their feet

Building societies have seen a 30% increase in the number of enquiries, while ethical banks are also reporting higher demand for their products. The Co-operative for example, has reported a 29% hike in online applications over the last week, .....

I would like to warn anyone who is considering moving their money to The Co-operative Bank, thinking they treat their customers 'ethically', that this was certainly NOT my experience. In fact they were worse than the other current accounts I've had over 25 years which included Abbey, NatWest and HSBC who I'm with now.

A few years ago I had cash flow and debt problems. I got into trouble. (I'll be paid up by the year end, it's taken forever, but a useful lesson!) The Co-operative Bank were my current account then and the way they managed my account and treated me as their customer helped push me into problems. I got myself into trouble but by god they lured me in! I had an overdraft then, and on a few occasions I needed a temporary extension, eg £100 just for a week, they would routinely refuse those, but offer me a £2000 loan instead. I resisted for a while and then took them up on it. I had children and shopping to buy, and a car to keep running. It gave me even more debt which I struggled to pay back. I had several cards and was already juggling, they should never have offered it.

I also sometimes made a mistake and went over the overdraft, in those circumstances they debited their fee almost immediately, making it even more difficult to pull yourself out of the problem and make it to payday. The bank charges were coming like labour pains and I had to default and went to the CCCS. Five years later have paid off all but the Co-operative Bank, they're the last to go. All my other creditors one by one accepted offers. Not that lot. But they will get paid off by November. Hurray!

As you should know, once you're in debt with a bank, you are their b**ch, if in default you are their war criminal. Whilst in default, The Co-operative Bank has sent me the nastiest letters of most of the creditors, has routinely resisted the DMP arrangement annually and have to be negotiated with. AND they have sent me a default notice each and every year, ensuring that my credit rating stays poor-not that I need it as I'll be debt free soon and have learned how to save. None of the other creditors did that.

So - if you think they are better than the rest - they are not, absolutely NOT! so caveat emptor, stay clear of that nasty organisation.

rb10

sallyjo wrote: »

Building societies have seen a 30% increase in the number of enquiries, while ethical banks are also reporting higher demand for their products. The Co-operative for example, has reported a 29% hike in online applications over the last week, .....

Yep, and I understand that it's increased further since that article was written for both the Co-op and for Nationwide.

I would like to warn anyone who is considering moving their money to The Co-operative Bank, thinking they treat their customers 'ethically', that this was certainly NOT my experience.

The Co-op's ethical policy relates to their lending decisions, and is nothing to do with how they interact with customers.

A few years ago I had cash flow and debt problems. I got into trouble. (I'll be paid up by the year end, it's taken forever, but a useful lesson!) The Co-operative Bank were my current account then and the way they managed my account and treated me as their customer helped push me into problems. I got myself into trouble but by god they lured me in! I had an overdraft then, and on a few occasions I needed a temporary extension, eg £100 just for a week, they would routinely refuse those, but offer me a £2000 loan instead. I resisted for a while and then took them up on it. I had children and shopping to buy, and a car to keep running. It gave me even more debt which I struggled to pay back. I had several cards and was already juggling, they should never have offered it.

You cannot possibly be blaming the Co-op for this.

An overdraft extension is a very different request to a personal loan. The risks involved are very different - hence why personal loans are available for 6-10% whilst overdrafts are generally 15-20%+.

They made it available for you. But you chose to take the money. You chose to spend it. And so you have to take responsibility yourself. You cannot shift the blame onto the Co-op.

mulronie

I think people should be told exactly how political the Co-Operative Group is.

The Co-operative Bank's parent organisation the Co-Operative Group Ltd makes significant donations directly to the Labour Party (e.g. £50,000 paid in the first quarter of this year), as well as funding its own "Co-Operative Party" which fights on the same ticket as Labour Party members (e.g. Ed Balls is technically a Labour Co-operative politician).

I had to source this information on the Electoral Commission website as the Co-Op are rather unforthcoming about it to say the least.

As a member of the Co-Op, this is your money - the profits they make from your custom, and belonging to you as a member, are used to fund political parties which you may not approve of or want to support.

oldvicar

AND they have sent me a default notice each and every year, ensuring that my credit rating stays poor-not that I need it as I'll be debt free soon and have learned how to save. None of the other creditors did that.

I know you have been struggling, so you have my sympathy. And well done on reaching this point.

But three cheers to the Co-Op. Their ethics seem spot on in this case. They have stopped you getting in deeper (stoping you getting more credit), and by your account have really and truly taught you how to live debt free in future. If they had simply forgiven the debt and let you get away with it maybe the lesson would not have stuck so well. As you say, none of the other creditors did that.

bowlhead99

The comments from oldvicar and rb10 seem spot on to me.

sallyjo wrote: »

routinely resisted the DMP arrangement annually and have to be negotiated with.

After taking a loan from them you changed your bank to someone else and offered them pennies in the pound to call it quits. They probably thought it was in the best interests of their customers and employees that rather than just accept this, they negotiate. Certainly the employees were happy that they weren't made redundant and offered pennies in the pound on their last paycheck.

AND they have sent me a default notice each and every year

They sent you a default notice each and every year that you were in default. Once you reach a certain amount of time after you stop being in default, your credit improves. Meanwhile this information is useful to people that lend you money.

I'll be debt free soon and have learned how to save. None of the other creditors did that.

Sounds like lesson learned then. Have you written to thank them?

mulronie wrote: »

The Co-operative Bank's parent organisation the Co-Operative Group Ltd makes significant donations directly to the Labour Party (e.g. £50,000 paid in the first quarter of this year), as well as funding its own "Co-Operative Party" which fights on the same ticket as Labour Party members (e.g. Ed Balls is technically a Labour Co-operative politician).

As a member of the Co-Op, this is your money - the profits they make from your custom, and belonging to you as a member, are used to fund political parties which you may not approve of or want to support.

The Co-op Group is quite a unique organisation with its own set of values and principles and is owned and democratically controlled by its members. Individual members may not agree with the end result, and are free to go and start their own co-operative, or shop at Tesco, Asda or Sainsbury without a say or a profit share.

The Co-Operative Party has been going for 95 years and has representation in parliament and on local councils so its existence is hardly news. And given the well publicized ideology/ethics/business model of co-operatives one might expect it more likely to be a little more socialist than capitalist and therefore affiliated more with Labour than Conservative.

I had to source this information on the Electoral Commission website as the Co-Op are rather unforthcoming about it to say the least.

Well, some info about this is given throughout the Annual Report for 2011
In the Political and Charitable Donations section of the Directors' Report it's noted that the Group gave £533,000 in donations to the Co-Operative Party. To give some context to the figures, this half million is 0.004% of group revenue. A £50k Labour donation from £13.3bn of turnover is really not something I want to be told about each time I buy an apple or receive a bank statement from Co-op Group.

As you say, information on significant donations to political parties is publicly available through Electoral Commision website.

dggar

mulronie wrote: »

I think people should be told exactly how political the Co-Operative Group is.

The Co-operative Bank's parent organisation the Co-Operative Group Ltd makes significant donations directly to the Labour Party (e.g. £50,000 paid in the first quarter of this year), as well as funding its own "Co-Operative Party" which fights on the same ticket as Labour Party members (e.g. Ed Balls is technically a Labour Co-operative politician).

I had to source this information on the Electoral Commission website as the Co-Op are rather unforthcoming about it to say the least.

As a member of the Co-Op, this is your money - the profits they make from your custom, and belonging to you as a member, are used to fund political parties which you may not approve of or want to support.

you may equally approve of and wish to support these political parties.

antrobus

bowlhead99 wrote: »

...
The Co-op Group is quite a unique organisation with its own set of values and principles and is owned and democratically controlled by its members.

Theoretically, yes. However in practice (as with many 'mutual' organisations) the Co-Op is actually controlled by a self-perpertuating managerial oligarchy.

bowlhead99 wrote: »

... Individual members may not agree with the end result, and are free to go and start their own co-operative, or shop at Tesco, Asda or Sainsbury without a say or a profit share.

But not apparently free to challenge Co-op management policy? The irony is, that as a shareholder in Tesco or Sainsbury's, you have a much better chance of getting your voice heard, than as a member of the Co-op obliged to fight your way through its three tiered democratic structure.

P.S. And for what it's worth, I do happen to be a member of the Co-Op but own no shares in any retailer,

P.S.S. None of this matters to the OP anyway.:)

peterx

Been with the co-op bank for 35 Years and never been charged a penny except for when i took a loan out for my first car.I have a few current accounts and make money out of them.The co-op bank are par excellence but don't pay much interest.

mulronie

dggar wrote: »

you may equally approve of and wish to support these political parties.

If you read my comment I never said otherwise - surely you agree it would be nice if they were open and transparent about it? If not, why not?

Even members of unions have the right to elect for their subscriptions not be used to contribute to political parties - but the Co-Op don't offer this to their members.

bowlhead99 wrote:

The Co-Operative Party has been going for 95 years and has representation in parliament and on local councils so its existence is hardly news. And given the well publicized ideology/ethics/business model of co-operatives one might expect it more likely to be a little more socialist than capitalist and therefore affiliated more with Labour than Conservative.

Maybe so, but again - my argument is not with supporting Labour per se, but with the fact they are very cagey about it and that every single customer of Lloyds forced to move will be supporting the Labour party whether they want to or not, and whether they realise or not.

Since Labour won less than a 1/3 of the vote in both the UK General Election 2010 and the Scottish Election 2011, we can probably assume that even less want their money to support that party - and it would be nice if all people becoming customers and owners of the Co-Op were told exactly how their money is used and given a choice to opt out.Why don't you agree?

Porcupine

The Co-op Bank are a bank. A bank's job is to make money. You tend not to last very long as a bank if you give out free sweeties to everyone and say 'oh, go on, as a special treat we'll forget about your mortgage'.

They might be more ethical than the rest in certain specific areas, but you can't expect (and they don't imply) 'ethical' to mean 'never does any bad stuff ever' (where everyone's idea of 'bad stuff' is different and sometimes contradictory). If they did they'd get laughed at for having such uncompetitive products and would go bust in short order.

talexuser

I think that if you go overdrawn without permission and don't pay back loans, any other bank will act much the same.