I am leaving smile/coop bank

Archi_Bald

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Nothing to stop the bank having an ethical stance though.

How ethical is it to run a bank into the ground with hundreds of millions of debt, and making thousands of people redundant?

[Deleted User]

I also feel that I have subsidised the coop for long enough with hardly a penny in interest and like 1jim, I long ago moved the bulk into savings accounts with at least some interest. Taking the plunge and deciding to move was not an easy decision, direct debits, money coming in, easy transfers etc but halifax is now having my business. I get £100 just for moving to them and also £5 a month as both lots of pensions will be paid in monthly. It was relatively easy to move and I started to phone and write to the various agencies who drop money into the account. It took a few hours but I think I have finished. I just have to get myself online re halifax, drop a couple of £ in to check it is all working and that is it. So £60 a year for not being complacent for starters, plus a cheque book etc. It is a sad state of affairs tbh and whoever made the brittania decision should be held to account

ailuro2

I'm saddened, because Smile have always given us good service, we've been with them from pretty much the start.
We put up with the lack of interest these last few years, because tbh it was a faff moving to get a little bit more somewhere else and we didn't mind losing a bit of money if it helped them because we really liked their ethical stance.
Might have to have a look at what's been happening though.
I'm not rushing into anything, that's the last thing the Co-op / Smile need.

opinions4u

whoever made the brittania decision should be held to account

Long since retired on a pension several times our salary.

ColdIron

ailuro2 wrote: »

and we didn't mind losing a bit of money if it helped them because we really liked their ethical stance

Whilst your loyalty is touching I feel it is misplaced, it is certainly unrewarded. There are some things that deserve loyalty but commercial financial organisations are not one of them unless it is reciprocated

rb10

1jim wrote: »

Looked at nationwide does tick all boxes but feel that the management wages seem quite steep so wonder how ethical that is.

To manage a building society of Nationwide's scale effectively (i.e. without doing a Co-op) takes some talented people at the top. And talented people cost money.

Would you rather Nationwide was run by a handful of graduates on a £30k salary?

1jim

rb10 wrote: »

To manage a building society of Nationwide's scale effectively (i.e. without doing a Co-op) takes some talented people at the top. And talented people cost money.

Would you rather Nationwide was run by a handful of graduates on a £30k salary?

You are correct, I'd like them to earn more than £30k but not into the millions of pounds,


http://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2012/jun/22/nationwide-executive-pay

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-2377076/Nationwide-members-revolt-bumper-pay-awarded-directors.html

1jim

gt94sss2 wrote: »

Have you considered N&P - don't think they allow payments in at Post Offices though.

Regards
Sunil

Thanks, had looked at that one, don't to post office paying in but can post cheques to them so that's pretty much sorted :-)
Can't see a mention of them supplying cheque books as part of the account so have dropped them an email to confirm

Any others I should consider?

gt94sss2

1jim wrote: »

Thanks, had looked at that one, don't to post office paying in but can post cheques to them so that's pretty much sorted :-)
Can't see a mention of them supplying cheque books as part of the account so have dropped them an email to confirm

Any others I should consider?

I'm pretty sure I got a cheque book when opening an account.

I don't 'bank ethically' as such and use N&P for some of their other benefits. I would personally just get the best deal going (FD/Halifax/Lloyds etc) and bank with them.. but N&P seemed to mark your boxes.

As I have said somewhere else, I woudn't have considered the Co-op ethical if I had chosen to bank that way(soft loans to political parties) or the Nationwide (they screwed savers deliberately to keep their mortgage rates down).

Be aware though their systems only send/receive faster payments on working days. Not the end of the world but unusual - still you have to make some sacrifices somewhere...

Regards
Sunil

Milarky

opinions4u wrote: »

Long since retired on a pension several times our salary.

Yes, but they would have used golden parachutes produced from sustainable sources.