Co-Op Cashminder Accounts

ChopinonaBudget

GazHatesBanks wrote: »

You can pay in cash at a Post Office which is immediately shown on your account.

If you need to pay in a cheque, be aware that if you can't get to a branch then you can get some envelopes from Co-op which can be left at the post office although it does take a few extra days for them to clear.

I had cheques go missing then turn up 3 months later. I only use the PO for cash now. Bear in mind that what the post office do with your cheques is um post them, and royal mail aren't exactly known for their reliability.
The cash facility is excellent. I save up cheques though for a dir t deposit into a co-op branch

lizzy23

some co op stores have a bank in them i know there is one local to us that does, i have used the post office for both Cash and Cheques, Cheques were paid in on Friday and have shown as cleared today

rising_from_the_ashes

GazHatesBanks wrote: »

You can pay in cash at a Post Office which is immediately shown on your account.

Brilliant - it's really being able to get cash in and then being able to transfer it online if needs be that I need.

GazHatesBanks wrote: »

If you need to pay in a cheque, be aware that if you can't get to a branch then you can get some envelopes from Co-op which can be left at the post office although it does take a few extra days for them to clear.

ChopinonaBudget wrote: »

I had cheques go missing then turn up 3 months later. I only use the PO for cash now. Bear in mind that what the post office do with your cheques is um post them, and royal mail aren't exactly known for their reliability.
The cash facility is excellent. I save up cheques though for a dir t deposit into a co-op branch

Re the cheques - this is what I currently have to do with my main bank account - but they annoyingly won't take cash deposits which is the problem.I tend not to do it as I've also had cheques not arrive at the bank.

I do have another account with a local bank that I can pay into but there's no online facility on that account, so I can't then transfer the money or can't take the cash out & pay in to my main account, as no-where to do this! (nothing's simple eh!)


Will look at the Cash*minder in more detail today - sounds like it should work well as I'll be able to pay cash in & move around online.

The cheques could still go into the other account & I could then withdraw the cash once they've cleared (if needs be) and pay into the Cash*minder account , thanks

john10001

lizzy23 wrote: »

No they don't charge fees, as far as i'm aware they do stop you going overdrawn, by not allowing payments to go through if there is insufficient funds, as for the rest i'm on a DMP and all my payments come out of my cashminder account

Thanks! I am sure I saw a post where someone with a cashminder account did go overdrawn by a quid or two and they threatened to close their account down. So I am unsure whether they do block transactions and prevent this from happening or whether they allow it to go through.

john10001

FireWyrm wrote: »

Strange...I have a cashminder and a cheque book.....

Its about the simplest account possible. No overdraft, no credit cards. A simple debit card and (perhaps) a cheque book. It's as close to real cash as you can get and much like the old style bank accounts of the early 90s. No hard sell either.

Well worth it in any event. Besides, how hard is it to really keep an eye on the situation and stop yourself going overdrawn with online banking, mini-statements, balances at the machine and no unexpected charges to worry about?

It is very hard if your bills and other payments all go out on different payment frequencies to your pay from your employer, even with online banking.

john10001

sexyshark wrote: »

if a direct debit bounces you get a £15 charge

That's one of the reason I cancelled all my direct debits over 1½ years ago and set up standing orders instead. I now control the payments not the banks and my payments all go out on the day I am paid which is on a 4-weekly basis.

This still causes me some issues because bills and other payments are mostly monthly affairs and the actually account statements get out of sync with when I make payments and that costs me a few charges a year still but a lot less than with direct debits when I have no control over anything and no guarantees whatsoever despite what the DD info may say.

I once had a direct debit that no matter what the bank had done they would have still charged me a fee it's scandelous.

I think the big banks have the system all sown up and know how to profit from you.

rising_from_the_ashes

john10001 wrote: »

It is very hard if your bills and other payments all go out on different payment frequencies to your pay from your employer, even with online banking.

My advice would be to have a 2nd account for all your bills / d/debits.

Very easy to maintain as all you need to do is transfer a set amount each payday to cover all payments - don't touch the account for anything else and you can relax knowing that no payments will be missed (and you'll not need to worry about having charges added etc).

john10001

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

My advice would be to have a 2nd account for all your bills / d/debits.

Very easy to maintain as all you need to do is transfer a set amount each payday to cover all payments - don't touch the account for anything else and you can relax knowing that no payments will be missed (and you'll not need to worry about having charges added etc).

That's not a bad idea. I do that already with my rent but may do it for all my bills in future.

Are there any other basic bank accounts besides the cashminder but similar that people recommend? And do you have to pass credit checks to open these types of accounts?

FireWyrm

john10001 wrote: »

That's not a bad idea. I do that already with my rent but may do it for all my bills in future.

Are there any other basic bank accounts besides the cashminder but similar that people recommend? And do you have to pass credit checks to open these types of accounts?

Natwest have a fairly simple account. Mine doesnt have an overdraft but there is online banking, a really well thought out smart phone app and the ability to have as many 'e-savings' accounts connected as you want simulating the idea of a 'pot' system for savings.

I dont know if they did a credit check or not, but I wasnt asked for anything more than identification which admittedly was a bit of a pain to get verified at a bank window. However, they accepted my husband (who has a non-existant credit rating) with almost no problems and he's now (for the first time in over 6 years) a legitimate bank account holder, co-signed with me.

Incidentally, the purpose of that account is exactly as RFTA suggests and it holds a float for food and fuel. My main bills account is now seperated and my wages still go there, but a DD bounces money to Natwest on the 1st of the month. It is my intention to 'zero' the account on the last day of the month and bunt any savings into the attached savings accounts, making way for a fresh parcel of money to come in on the 1st.

rising_from_the_ashes

Barclays do a basic account that people recommend - in fact ....I actually think my bills account may be one of these (main account is more fancy & has benefits & a charge!) - works great.

I can access online, transfer money between my accounts, have d/debits and SO on it.

http://www.barclays.co.uk/Otheraccounts/Cashcardaccounts/CashCardAccount/P1242557963900

I've also just opened a RBS basic account - choose this over the Co*op Cash*minder in the end ....

http://www.rbs.co.uk/personal/current-accounts/g1/other/basic-account.ashx

Fine for my needs - online banking, branches where I live/work etc

It was really easy & I couldn't believe how quick it was - they were able to verify my ID online and it was open and available within a day!:T (obviously waiting for my card / PIN etc to arrive).