Banking at Barclays

AndyBSG

kboss2010 wrote: »

It's not the bank's fault, it's a legal requirement that banks are not allowed to give bankrupt customers online banking.

That's simply not true as any BR with a CO-OP Cashminder account will confirm.

TheGardener

Well it seems looking at other posts about Halifax and CO-OP that as BR's (discharged or not) we have to expect a lower standard of service. I understand we are BR and that they have lost money in many cases (although Barclays were not one of my debts and the bank I did owe money to should in some ways accept part of the blame but that's another story) and they don't make any money out of us in terms of account fees (except penalties) I also get that BR is not supposed to be an easy option but as a financial rehabilitation process, the banking system available to us sucks.
I just wish my local Credit Union (who have so far been amazing opening a savings account) offered a current account - I know some of the larger ones do and would highly recommend anyone looking to see if they have one in their area (some unions & employers like the Police Force also have them) They may only offer basic accounts but with no shareholders in the traditional sense and no 'bonuses' to pay to anyone - they are an ethical alternative.

alastairq

My point is that when operating on a tight budget - not having real time info is really hard and to be fair - I resent the suggestion that I'm not budgeting properly. I am finding this incredibly hard and the whole banking system seems determined to put as many obstacles in the way of effective budgeting as possible. British Gas have been a complete nightmare and the bank have not helped.

Your resentment is entirely misplaced.

No-one has suggested or implied anyone else has budgetary issues.

the issues of 'account management' are bank-led, not personal, and apply to all account holders.

Having experience of both Co-op and Barclays internet service, I post as I found them.

The issues of Direct Debits don't arise with Co-op.....the DD shows up at midnight of the day they are due....[yet the account only has to have sufficient funds to meet the DD by midday.....]....so logging on firs thing, will show the DD. [that is, if the claimant has actually claimed the DD on the correct, due date?}

Personally I view DD's as the spawn-of-the-devil....I am all-electric..and to convert to DD doesn't offer me anything like the annual discount available if I had both gas and electric. [£45, I can take that or leave it over a year]...so I continue to pay quarterly [if I feel like it]...with a paper bill.

Other DD's are for insurances and TV, etc....even my watter is paid manually, by me, online, each month.

Maybe I'm a control freak at heart??

My suggestion of having two [or more] accounts came from advice received years ago from CAB....even the Co-op thought [and still think] it is a good idea, as an aid to budgeting.

certainly I have no fears of having insufficient funds to meet a bill....the amount being set aside when the salary hits the bank account.

For power, I set aside a random amount each month, into yet another account [a Smart Saver, for what it's worth, also with online, instant transfer access.].....plus, on all the Co-op accounts, I receive a Dividend each year [being a 'member'..]...

The ability to make instant transfers means, if I am down to the wire [which I have been, many times] I can at least shuffle things around temporarily...even at 3 A.M.!

Trying to do things with but one account would be for me a nitemare!

wharty

sniggings wrote: »

No bank allows online banking to undischarged BR as a policy. Only Barclays will allow a BR to have an account as a policy, without online access.

discharged and undischarged are two different things, the OP is referring to undischarged BR, Barclays and most other banks will offer accounts with online banking to discharged BR.

Well me and my wife are undischarged and we have a CO-OP cashminder WITH internet banking?

We got our account 2 weeks before we declared in June and have had no problems.

philnicandevan

wharty wrote: »

Well me and my wife are undischarged and we have a CO-OP cashminder WITH internet banking?

We got our account 2 weeks before we declared in June and have had no problems.

see thats the thing...you opened BEFORE you declared bankruptcy..co-op are fine with that it's if you apply once bankrupt they wont allow an account

Action_Jackson

I opened a Barclays basic account about a week after I was declared bankrupt (last year, still not discharged) assuming that any existing accounts would be closed.

The woman who dealt with me at Barclays was very nice and sympathetic, and said she wasn't really sure if I'd get internet banking or not.

I signed up for the phone banking assuming I wouldn't get the internet banking, but lo and behold, I received all the internet banking stuff a few days after opening the account and have been using it since. Maybe I was just lucky.

As it happens, I didn't really need the new Barclays account, as I already had a basic co-op current account with online access that remained open after BR (the OR had written to them allowing me to keep it).

I know co-op no longer accept new account applications from undischarged bankrupts, but as I was an existing customer I guess that rule didn't apply.

alastairq

philnicandevan wrote: »

see thats the thing...you opened BEFORE you declared bankruptcy..co-op are fine with that it's if you apply once bankrupt they wont allow an account

Which observation hilites..the need for those intending to petition for BR, to plan ahead?

Whilst I appreciate some individuals might get a surprise to find they have been made BR...for most folk, forward-planning is the key to a low-stress BR.


For those who, for example, owe HMRC a large amount...[and to whom the prospect of HMRC petitioning their BR?]...a wise move surely is to apply for one [or several] Co-op Cashminder accounts ASAP?

In practice, Co-op's current policy with regards to undischarged BRs really should not have caused any great issues.

sniggings

wharty wrote: »

Well me and my wife are undischarged and we have a CO-OP cashminder WITH internet banking?

We got our account 2 weeks before we declared in June and have had no problems.

notice how I said "policy"...I too had a Barclays account with internet access, phone banking the same day I went BR and I told them this too, but mistakes do happen, it is policy it seems for Barclays to not allow online banking to BR before discharge, some are lucky some are not, co-op no longer acept BR people but if you had the account before you went BR they tend to let you keep it and again it's their policy not to after BR open one, but in practice it is not always how it turns out.