Bank Account Switching

churchymill

Hi all,

6 months ago, I completed a switch to the Co-Op bank.

I was tempted by a kind welcome offer and the Everyday Rewards offered (£5.50 per month, more than any interest I could have received), as well as good reviews for their customer service and online banking.

Despite this, I have been hit heavily by the closure of my local Co-Op bank, leaving me 20+ miles away from a Co-Op branch. As you can imagine, it now requires a day trip for the simple task of paying in money and/or cheques.

Furthermore, the listing of Co-Op bank for sale has made me even more keen to explore other options.

My question is this - as I only switched from Santander six months ago, what impact would another bank switch have on my credit rating, and would it be seen as a negative move? What options do I have?

Thank you all in advance,

Adam

badger09

churchymill wrote: »

Hi all,

6 months ago, I completed a switch to the Co-Op bank.

I was tempted by a kind welcome offer and the Everyday Rewards offered (£5.50 per month, more than any interest I could have received), as well as good reviews for their customer service and online banking.

Despite this, I have been hit heavily by the closure of my local Co-Op bank, leaving me 20+ miles away from a Co-Op branch. As you can imagine, it now requires a day trip for the simple task of paying in money and/or cheques.

Furthermore, the listing of Co-Op bank for sale has made me even more keen to explore other options.

My question is this - as I only switched from Santander six months ago, what impact would another bank switch have on my credit rating, and would it be seen as a negative move? What options do I have?

Thank you all in advance,

Adam

Adam

I have been using Co-operative as my main account for well over 40 years. I can probably count on my fingers the total number of times I have visited a Co-operative branch in all that time.

Do you realise you can pay cheques into your account at a Post Office? All you need is a supply of envelopes from the bank.

Having said all that, if you do want to switch, there should be no negative impact on your 'credit rating':cool:.

Alternatively, you could simply keep the Co-operative account and apply for another current account elsewhere. It makes sense to have more than one, in case of system glitches;)

xylophone

As you can imagine, it now requires a day trip for the simple task of paying in money and/or cheques.

What is your nearest bank branch? Open an account there for paying in your cheques?

EachPenny

badger09 wrote: »

Alternatively, you could simply keep the Co-operative account and apply for another current account elsewhere. It makes sense to have more than one, in case of system glitches;)

Sound advice, as is xylophone's.

I'm looking forward to seeing where my Co-op account ends up and what incentive any new owner may offer to existing customers to keep them from switching away. And if there is no incentive, well I've not lost anything.

LXdaddy

I've held my Coop Account for coming up 50 years. I opened it with my grant cheque for my first term at University (I told you it was a long time ago) The account is still based in what was my then home time.

It's never been an issue that I can't get into that branch. I'm still about 20 miles away from the nearest branch. When I need to pay in cheques I use the Post Office counter service. Withdrawal of cash is via ATM wherever I am. All other transactions are done online.

Proximity to a branch has never seemed to be of major importance.

I should also point out that I have several other "current" accounts and have used the switching service to collect the benefits whenever they seemed worthwhile.