Co-Op are closing our account!

Remmer

Bakeybadoo wrote: »

We have so much going in and out of our account that it's very hard, without online banking since I am unable to go out most of the time so rely on it, to know what's what to be honest.

I don't think it's a failure on our part. Their system is the worst I've encountered, their quickness, which we proved one time was their failure, to close our account was disgusting and then to stop DD's for 3 months is like slapping our hands and putting us in time out.

And lastly, the reason we went overdrawn on the last occassion was because I'd paid several small Paypal payments. I tried the day before the money was there and it wasn't authorised so it is checked before it's taken. The next day I paid and assumed that the money was then reserved. It was only the day after that I saw I was overdrawn and that was my final strike.

I had similar probs so what did I do? I kept a written record of income and expenditure. No room for error and it only takes a few seconds. Banking online has huge advantages but I don't trust the speed of update

desperate_mum_3

me too .. i write down what is due to go out , write down all transactions and deduct the day i use card then leave the amount in the bank until it is taken ... electron is VERY slow though but at least i have a card ...so i will put up with it

wherediditallgo

I know it might be a bit late for some, but I think the way round this is to use the Cashminder account just for getting your money into an account & for day-to-day living expenses like fares, food shopping etc, & use another account for your direct debits etc.

I've spent a large part of today sorting out my payments - I've now got the rent & Council Tax going out of the Co-op because they'll happen as soon as I get paid & that's where my salary goes into, the utility bills going out of another account, & any other bills going out of yet another one. I've set up transfers from the Co-op to the other accounts for the day after payday, which is plenty of time before all the other bills need to be paid, plus I've allowed a £20pm safety net in each one in case a bill is a bit higher than expected. As of Tuesday, I'll know that whatever's in the Cashminder won't be affected by things showing up late on the account, because the bills won't be going through it. It's been a palaver to sort out, but I'd rather do that than trust myself to write everything down like Remmer & DM, because I know that won't happen as often as it should , & I think I'd have to do one or the other otherwise I'd be in a horrible mess pretty quickly. To me, it's just an extension of sorting out my budget for the SOA & life after BR, which I would have had to do anyway.

I think we have to accept that all accounts have their failings, one of which for this one is I suspect not highlighting the "3 strikes & you're out" rule when you open the account. However, all accounts have rules, & more & more of us will come a cropper with this one if we depend on it because it's the only one we can get that has the Electron card. None of us can afford to lose accounts, so we have to work within what's a fallible system & make it work for us the best way we can. Cashminder's a basic account, so I'm going to assume it runs at a basic level & not trust it with anything more than my day-to-day expenses.

Bakeybadoo

Remmer wrote: »

I had similar probs so what did I do? I kept a written record of income and expenditure. No room for error and it only takes a few seconds. Banking online has huge advantages but I don't trust the speed of update

It was not to do with the speed of update or suchlike. It was to do with them authorising and then not reserving some transaction but others and us not being able to tell which was what and THEN not being able to get an accurate online balance.

Remmer

Bakeybadoo wrote: »

It was not to do with the speed of update or suchlike. It was to do with them authorising and then not reserving some transaction but others and us not being able to tell which was what and THEN not being able to get an accurate online balance.

So it WAS to do with speed of update online?? Am I missing something?

Madam_Arcati

You need to keep a book and write down your expenditure so that this doesn't happen.

Why blame the bank for your own mistakes?

wherediditallgo

Remmer wrote: »

So it WAS to do with speed of update online?? Am I missing something?

The way I've read Bakey's posts is that she paid some PayPal bills, but the money wasn't deducted from her account for a while, leaving her thinking there was more money in the account than there actually was. I think though that this is not just a question of whether the money is 'reserved' for paying out, but also a question of it being in transit.

Think of getting on a bus from home to work. You've paid your fare & you're on the bus, but you're not counted in the bus company's stats until they actually do them. So for a period of time you're not at home, not at work & not on the bus. You know that you're on the bus (your ticket is your proof), but until someone from the bus company actually checks their records/receipts you're not on the bus so must be elsewhere. It's the same with the account - you know that a payment has to be made, but until someone or a computer actually checks the account the money isn't where it's expected to be so is deemed to be where it started off from. It's the gap/time lapse between where it starts off from & when it shows as having left there to get to where you need it to be that causes the problem. We're used to the banks telling us cheques need a certain amount of time to clear, but we (rightly, in my view) expect card payments to be much quicker.

philnicandamy

Madam_Arcati wrote: »

What rubbish!

If you keep a record of expenditure you would never be overdrawn!

According to the OP this has happened more than once. We all know how much money goes into the account, we all know how much we spend.

So you are blaming the bank for your ineptitude at keeping your own accounts?

Folks who have been bankrupt to start with need to pay more attention to their spending habits otherwise they will end up bankrupt again.

Even with an account that has no overdraft facility the OP is STILL spending money that they don't have.
What does that tell you? They cannot handle money.

If you create your own mess blame yourself for a change, instead of trying to blame everyone else for your overspending.
Keep a book and learn by your mistakes.

Oh please not another expert telling us bankrupts how bad & useless we are

Madam_Arcati

I didn't say that he/she is bad or useless. What I said was that the OP should take some responsibility for their money.

philnicandamy

You imply through your postings all bankrupts have a couldn't care less attitude, this is totally untrue I struggled to find a bank account for a few weeks after being made BR & this has made me take an even sharper hold on what money I have...can I ask where you base your answers from? because from what I read your posting is rubbish...how is this helpful to the OP? to me this is more judgemental than helpful