Opening a savings account post AD.

Grumpy_Shunter

My AD is midnight tomorrow. I have no IPA, and what few pennies I have I would like to try and start saving, it literally is only pennies, but it's a start.

Are there any significant difficulties in trying to open a savings account for ex BR's? Also, could anyone recommend a, shall we say, more lenient bank or building society that lends a sympathetic ear to ex BR's.

Many thanks.

GazHatesBanks

I found it easy to open savings accounts with Building Societies (didn't go the main banks - poor rates and even poorer service in most cases!).

Managed to get accounts with both Yorkshire BS & Nottingham. Both can be opened online as long as your identity can be confirmed online. Yorkshire has the advantage that you can opt for a cash card for withdrawals (if you need/want that facility).

arcon5

Otherwise just open a second basic account and treat it as a savings

[Deleted User]

Would an ISA be a problem?

It's not like you are wanting to borrow money.

luvchocolate

Hi I have a cashminder with co op but they would not open me a savings account..so I opened another cashminder for small amounts I wanted to keep separate
They did allow me an isa with Britannia but applied in branch with a meeting with an advisor as staff on counter told me ...no way!!

TheGardener

Credit Union!!! I love my credit union :j - BR is no obstacle and no minimum deposits. If the CU do well during the year then you get a dividend at the end of the year (my local CU paid 2% last year) Google Credit Unions and your area and you will find your closest. Also - if you are a regular saver with them, if you need a small emergency loan (although I am not advocating getting into debt again, only that sometimes all of us have an emergency) then CU interest rates are fixed at around 25%, they are not allowed to charge more.
I am a huge fan of CU's and they are a real 'ethical' alternative to the High Street.

Grumpy_Shunter

TheGardener wrote: »

Credit Union!!! I love my credit union :j - BR is no obstacle and no minimum deposits. If the CU do well during the year then you get a dividend at the end of the year (my local CU paid 2% last year) Google Credit Unions and your area and you will find your closest. Also - if you are a regular saver with them, if you need a small emergency loan (although I am not advocating getting into debt again, only that sometimes all of us have an emergency) then CU interest rates are fixed at around 25%, they are not allowed to charge more.
I am a huge fan of CU's and they are a real 'ethical' alternative to the High Street.

Cheers Gardener. That's very interesting. Is your money safe as it would be in a bank or building society?

TheGardener

CU's are covered by the same Government guarantee to protect your savings as any UK regulated High Street Bank or Building society. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/safe-savings

Savings up to £85,000 are completely covered (:rotfl:you are a lucky man if you need more cover than that!)

[Deleted User]

TheGardener wrote: »

then CU interest rates are fixed at around 25%, they are not allowed to charge more.

IMHO, 25% is very steep for a loan. :eek:

TheGardener

If you are BR then you don't have many options and we are talking about small amounts with CU loans, hundreds not thousands of pounds. If as a BR you are faced with an emergency then 25% is a brilliant rate! Some of the credit building credit cards are 35% + for BR's.

Anyway - I wanted to focus on the fact that CU's are an excellent alternative to the High Street for anyone for savings - not just those who are excluded from savings by the BR status

Serotine

I've got a savings account with out local CU (am undischarged bankrupt and they had no issues with me opening an account with them) - the way ours works with loans is you can borrow up to three times the amount that you've saved, as long as you've saved consecutively for 13weeks in a row (though there's no minimum amount you need to save each week).

(Not that I want to borrow! We've managed to save a bit since going bankrupt in October - basically for when the boiler goes bang or what have you Never managed to save before. It's exciting! )