cahoot - quickest method to transfer-in £'s

ED

Calling cahoot customers!

In your experience, what is the quickest method for transferring funds into your cahoot a/c?

I'm currently locked-out of my basic cahoot a/c, and am awaiting postal arrival of documentation that will enable me to log-in. Meanwhile, I can't yet explore the IR Savings a/c that's been opened for me, together with attendant online info about how to manage the a/c.

Is inward Direct Debit an OK (or indeed ideal) method to deposit into Introductory Rate Savings a/c?

Or is BACS transfer just as swift (ie £'s leave Monday, arrive Wednesday)?

Also, how many days do Standing Orders take to move from the basic cahoot current a/c into an external a/c? (If they leave on a Monday, do they arrive on Wednesday?)

What is the latest day + time for moving £'s from Introductory Rate Savings a/c into cahoot a/c, ready for the overnight sending of Standing Orders? Can this be done on a Sunday, ready for outward SOs in the early hours of Monday? If not, is Saturday transfer OK? Or is this limited to 'banking' days (Monday–Friday)?

I'm spoilt rotten with the superb service at Coventry Bdg Soc! They allow Sunday transfers up to 4pm, & Mon–Fri transfers till 8pm, ready for next day outward SO payments.

But, now that I have a cahoot Introductory Rate Savings a/c, I'd rather keep my house-sale proceeds there as long as possible, earning 5.65% gross, instead of monthly trickles into Coventry's less generous 4.85% (NetSave Instant a/c) from yet another external a/c. Um, 0.80% differential = £80 pa more per £10,000 in cahoot! :-) :-) :-)

Of course from there the £'s are gradually to trickle, month by month, into regular monthly savings a/c's, as advocated by Martin Lewis in his Savings Fountain thread and book section…

Unbelievable_2

BACS leaves Lloyds TSB on Monday, arrives Cahoot on Wednesday.

Don't know if there is a quicker way - this is the only one I've tried.

Haven't done any withdrawals yet either - the site one-off withdrawal facility (BACS?) says allow a minimum of 4 working days and enter request before 4pm if you want funds to leave the same day.

ED

Many thanks, Unbelievable.

cahoot have now emailed me confirming having an inward Direct Debit mandate is OK. (A method new to me.)

Anyone know if cahoot limit customers to just one external a/c being linked in this way to Introductory Rate Savings a/c?

Also, is there a limit to the number that can be linked to the basic cahoot a/c?

MJSW

The best way of making deposits into a Cahoot current account from another current account is, surprisingly, by cheque. Cahoot pay interest immediately on cheques (strictly interest starts from the day after deposit, but the same applies to electronic transfers too).

So if you have another current account with a decent interest rate, then you can earn interest on the same money twice whilst the cheque is clearing! Make sure the cheque is clearing over a weekend and you can get 4 days extra interest for free! ;D

MJSW

Haven't done any withdrawals yet either - the site one-off withdrawal facility (BACS?) says allow a minimum of 4 working days and enter request before 4pm if you want funds to leave the same day.

I think they are being a bit overcautious there! All my BACS transfers from Cahoot arrive 2 days later, except for transfers to Chelsea Building Society which seem to take 3.

What is the latest day + time for moving £'s from Introductory Rate Savings a/c into cahoot a/c, ready for the overnight sending of Standing Orders? Can this be done on a Sunday, ready for outward SOs in the early hours of Monday? If not, is Saturday transfer OK? Or is this limited to 'banking' days (Monday–Friday)?

As long as the amount leaving the current account is within the authorised overdraft limit, then I do the transfer from savings to current on the same day that the SO leaves. The account may go temporarily overdrawn, but as long as it is less than £250 overdrawn at the end of the day then there is no interest charge.

The information on the Cahoot website about transfers between Cahoot accounts is complete rubbish in my experience. According to the website, you need to make the transfer by 4pm on a working day if it is to go through on the same day. However, transfers always go through instantly in my experience, no matter what time of day it is or whether it is a working day or the weekend!

ED

Thanks, MJSW, the cheque method sounds neat! Probably no use to me, currently, with house-sale proceeds spread amongst online a/c's. But very useful to know for the future (+ other people reading this). You're a star!

Milarky

ED,

The 'inward DD', as you put, it entails no loss of interest as the payment disapears from the paying-in [external] account the same date as appears in the cahoot IR savings account. The drawback to this is the '4 working days' requirement needed to request a transfer. [Contrast this with ING direct, which needs just two days notice of a DD deposit]

Haven't attempted to withdraw any funds from cahoot IR a/c as yet, but I assume '4 days' notice actually equates to the payment leaving in 2 days time and taking a further 2 days to arrive [via BACS]. Thus expect two days loss of interest there. If anyone does has experience of withdrawals to report, this information will be gratefully received

Ta  ;)

Meanwile IIMUT* cahoot only allows links to one external bank a/c [only one DD can be set up] again, comparing unfavourably to ING. The one plus point is cahoots DD madates are 'paperless' so could be switched around without too much delay.

BACS transfers from other accounts are unrestricted AFAIAA but, again, would lose you two days interest at least.

A linked cahoot bank a/c seems the ideal means of withdrawal - being able to 'fan out' payments to any other accounts via BACS again [eg straight repayment to credit cards]

*IIMUT = 'it is my understanding that' This acronym I just made up and twice forgot what it stood for!

ED

Milarky – excellent input, thanks! Enjoyed your acronym footnote, also. (Are you a writer? Very witty!)

Hope folk here are able to answer your query :

"If anyone does has experience of withdrawals to report, this information will be gratefully received"

Katys_Grandad

I paid a cheque into my account at the Post Office on September 23. Although the amount is shown on my account, it isn't yet available to me at the close of business today and won't be until Monday 4 October at the earliest.

Cahoot say that it can take 7 days to clear (not including the day it is paid in!!).

There isn't much point seeking out marginally better rates for your savings if this wait is typical. The only person making interst on my money at the moment is Choot.

This is surely unacceptable.

ED

Katys_Grandad – you've got me glancing through the download I kept of Introductory Rate Savings a/c details!

Luckily, it states :

"Interest is calculated daily based on the amount in your account at the end of each day"

What it doesn't mention, however, is how many days after a cheque shows on the IRS statement before interest starts being earned. As an example, Abbey start paying interest 2 banking days after a cheque is deposited over-the-counter (eg handed in on Monday, earns from & including Wednesday). Abbey allow customers to draw against the cheque from one banking day thereafter (Thursday, in my eg). A staff member recently told me it often takes much longer than this for cheques to clear, but they 'always' allow customers access on Day 4.

Your experience indicates it'll be Day 8 (banking day, that is) before you'll have access to your £'s. This does seem excessive!

Maybe depositing at the Post Office causes several days delay before Cahoot receive cheques…?

Or perhaps this is an isolated occasion of PO staff accidentally delaying passing along a cheque…?

Anyone else here had similar experiences? Or much better ones?

Katys_Grandad

ED - Thanks for your reply. This morning my Cahoot homepage shows cheque has now cleared (on a Saturday?).

I don't think it can be the Post Office's fault because Cahoot tell me that they did receive the cheque as normal. They say there are a number of "processes" they have to follow and these "can take time".

I will be monitoring future deposits very carefully - incidentally has anyone received pay-in slips for payment direct into a cahoot savings account?