Bank of Scotland Basic Account

Don80

mwarby wrote: »

I think they and other providers of basic accounts are looking at the unbanked and insolvent, rather than those looking to avoid bank charges

I thought they were also aimed at those in financial difficulty (which I am in - at least in the short term)?

System

Don80 wrote: »

I don't really want to pay £10 a month when a basic account has that built in. To me that is a rip off.

I'd been thinking about closing the RBS one anyway, I can't say I have had a bad experience with them, they're "ok". My other half is with the Bank of Scotland and we feel it makes sense as in the long term we'll want to open joint accounts and maybe a mortgage one day. As I had been thinking about closing the RBS one, I've been looking at alternatives anyway and Bank of Scotland seem to offer better accounts than RBS, and score higher in MSE satisfaction polls. I plan to keep the TSB account as I have a linked savings account which earns higher interest than elsewhere. Plus on the whole I like TSB. I have always had 2 accounts as I find it's easier to control my spending that way.

It's £10 per month with BOS but free with RBS as I said

Plus, there is no guarantee that you'll get a basic account as RBS, BOS and TSB all require you apply for a standard current account in the first instance.

As for customer service, RBS/BOS are broadly comparable in my experience.

Don80

Heng_Leng wrote: »

but free with RBS as I said

Hi, I did look at that. It looks like the control itself is free but you can still be charged. Their fees page says "£6 per day for unarranged overdrafts of more than £25 if you have registered for Overdraft Control." So it looks like you can still go overdrawn but more than £25 and you are charged anyway. I suspect in practice they would decline any transaction that would do that, but as I was thinking about closing that account anyway...

System

Don80 wrote: »

Hi, I did look at that. It looks like the control itself is free but you can still be charged. Their fees page says "£6 per day for unarranged overdrafts of more than £25 if you have registered for Overdraft Control." So it looks like you can still go overdrawn but more than £25 and you are charged anyway. I suspect in practice they would decline any transaction that would do that, but as I was thinking about closing that account anyway...

They cannot give you a 100% cast iron guarantee so are effectively covering themselves - but if your real reason is you don't like RBS fair enough, just make that clear.

If they deem you eligible for a 'full' account, you don't have a leg to stand on regarding fees. Basic accounts are run at a loss and aren't mandatory i.e. you can't demand one.

Don80

Apparently I am eligible for a Bank of Scotland Classic Account with Vantage. What they have done is add a £25 buffer, which should help. I've said no to an overdraft as that won't help me at all. I think what I will do is use this as my spending account, and use the TSB for all DD and SOs which will at least split bills and spending. I'm waiting for my card and PIN which will arrive in the next 5 to 10 days.

eskbanker

Don80 wrote: »

Apparently I am eligible for a Bank of Scotland Classic Account with Vantage. What they have done is add a £25 buffer, which should help. I've said no to an overdraft as that won't help me at all. I think what I will do is use this as my spending account, and use the TSB for all DD and SOs which will at least split bills and spending. I'm waiting for my card and PIN which will arrive in the next 5 to 10 days.

If you shift a couple of the DDs to BoS and set up cross-funding between the accounts of an aggregate £1,000 per month (e.g. £250/week) then BoS will pay you 2% interest on your balance, which should also help....

System

Don80 wrote: »

Apparently I am eligible for a Bank of Scotland Classic Account with Vantage. What they have done is add a £25 buffer, which should help. I've said no to an overdraft as that won't help me at all. I think what I will do is use this as my spending account, and use the TSB for all DD and SOs which will at least split bills and spending. I'm waiting for my card and PIN which will arrive in the next 5 to 10 days.

Good luck but be careful as you aren't protected from charges as it's a standard current account.

If you still experience problems, consider their £10 service as it will be cheaper than multiple charges.

Don80

Thank you all for your help/suggestions. :-)