Coventry Building Society opinion

Lord_e55ex

Hi all

I have been moving from ISA product to product within Virgin for years, but am giving serious thought to opening a Coventry Building Society account and transferring one or two.

All I wanted to know, the age old question, what has everyone’s experience with them been like? Ive had a real easy time of it with Virgin. Obviously you only hear the horror stories. So was just wondering what’s peoples experiences had been?

thank you

colsten

Getting your online access set up initially can be a bit of a PITA , and long-winded. The login is also painful as you need a gridcard, which is also used for some other transactions. I seem to remember they said they'll be updating their system in the near future so this should become easier.


Other than that, I can only say positive things about them. I have two cash ISAs with them as they had the best interest rates in the market at the time I was looking. One was a transfer from Nationwide which they completed within 2 working days.

The only reason I would stay with a given cash ISA provider who doesn't offer the best interest rate in the market is that I am committed to a fixed term ISA with them.

Tom99

You need to fish out your gridcard to log on, so a bit of a faff, but to my mind that makes it less likely the account could be hacked.
I think withdrawals go through PM on the next working day which is not ideal.
Customer service very good - they will reply to secure message promptly.

Reed_Richards

They frequently have some of the best interest rates available from a building society. I have used them for some years without any real problems although the grid card login is a faff. If I remember correctly, when you request a withdrawal the request is not processed until the following day and subject to limits on the amount.

Speedster2

I’ve found them pretty good. I have held their cash ISAs and have an Offset mortgage and it’s very easy to transfer balances back and forwards between them. Cash ISA and JISA interest rates are market leaders.
Agree the grid card is a bit of a pain. I have a photo of mine in Google Keep notes app so I don’t need to physically have the card on me to log in. Hoping that the system update the poster above mentioned does do away with that aspect.
Customer service on the phone has been good so far.

Rich2808

I think they are fine to deal with but they are frankly lax in their use of personal data.

I applied for an online isa transfer (via a secure system) and they then sent me a letter by standard post with all the information I had supplied on the back of the confirmation letter:

Name
Address
Home tel
Mobile
Email
Date of birth
NI number

Existing ISA account number

Most other providers just send you a letter saying we are processing your transfer from x Bank or BS. I thought it was appalling they would send so much personal data through the post when it simply was not necessary – as it could expose people to ID fraud if their post was intercepted.

Miró

Rich2808 wrote: »

I think they are fine to deal with but they are frankly lax in their use of personal data.

I applied for an online isa transfer (via a secure system) and they then sent me a letter by standard post with all the information I had supplied on the back of the confirmation letter:

Name
Address
Home tel
Mobile
Email
Date of birth
NI number

Existing ISA account number

Most other providers just send you a letter saying we are processing your transfer from x Bank or BS. I thought it was appalling they would send so much personal data through the post when it simply was not necessary – as it could expose people to ID fraud if their post was intercepted.

I had this too and I was a bit surprised! I opened a new ISA and did an online transfer just over a week ago.....so far I have received eleven pieces of post from them - most of them unnecessary!

Rich2808

Mir! wrote: »

I had this too and I was a bit surprised! I opened a new ISA and did an online transfer just over a week ago.....so far I have received eleven pieces of post from them - most of them unnecessary!

I got four different envelopes from them on one day when I opened an ISA account – and I was already an existing member with an ISA account with them (so already had my login and grid card).

Their postage bill must be enomous!

Lord_e55ex

Cheers all, thanks for the advice. It sounds like they’re worth a go

phykell

I’ve had a good experience with them over the last few years but I’m only really commenting to say hat I don’t mind the grid system at all. I use password management software which allows me to store comments against each login so I have my grid copied in there. It’s a bit clunky compared to other schemes but for the sake of security, I don’t really mind at all, as it’s at least enforcing security for many people who would tend to be lazy, choosing the same PIN numbers and passwords as their other accounts.

caveman38

I've just noticed the rates down today. The 2 Yr. FR ISA I took out last week at 1.9% is today 1.6% - maybe other rates have changed too.