Child & Co RBS Branch to close

Marchitiello

Yes, I meant England (edited my post) and just for clarity, Drummonds does not allow new account applications in Branch, it all needs to be done online now, and the accounts are effectively managed by the central operations anyway for all RBS/NatWest accounts, unless you have been assigned a personal/premier banker,  so as per their official Statement, the only operating branch/brands will remain Drummonds, Holts and Child & Co (the address name changed to Victoria (B) does not mean that the branch is closed to new business (in that respect all the three brands/branches are, as if they remove the branch selector form we have discussed several times on this forum, and you open an account online from anywhere in England, you will be assigned a virtual sort code.

lr1277

Marchitiello said:

gary1312 said:

PloughmansLunch said:

Mine looks like this, though I’ve gone full ponce and treated myself to a little leather chequebook wallet

That's the first time I've seen a chequebook I really liked since my (actually still useable I think) Yorkshire Bank ones and my NatWest Student Account ones from many years ago that had pictures of wildlife on them. Does one have to call to order one? My last RBS cheque book was ordered in-branch but that's not an option now. Has anyone seen a recent Drummonds chequebook?

WillPS said:

ndrw said:

We need more data points! @WillPS are you happy to open a savings account in the name of science?

Sure. 

Original RBS account was opened at Greenock branch in 2020. Matching Digital Regular Saver opened at the same time.

Child & Co account was opened the year after via "the form", and subsequently the original account was closed (switched away) and the Digital Regular Saver closed. At this point my only account with RBS was the Child & Co account.

Subsequently opened another account and a new Digital Regular Saver, both were automatically assigned to 15-80-00.

Then in December 2022 opened a Drummonds Select via "the form".

So as of today my oldest open account is at 15-80-00 and my most recent account is at 16-00-38.

Just now I've opened a flexible saver, and that has been assigned to 15-80-00.

So what are we thinking here, 15-80-00 trumps all other active sort codes?

It must do. My theory about the Liverpool Group sort code being somehow not open to new accounts is trumped by your findings as Drummonds is very much open (card received yesterday, nicer than in the pics I've seen but not as nice as the Child one). You'd think it would default to Drummonds though, what with it being an actual functioning branch,

I actually think that in the RBS/NatWest reshuffle, the three brands/branch left operating in the England  being only Child & Co, Drummonds and Holts, and the confirmation that the  Child brand will live on as a Virtual branch, means that it is effectively the first/oldest branch in the above example (Liverpool Group Sort Code being “closed” for new accounts). Did anyone try to open an account using the branch selector form for a branch other than the three special ones (individual branding)? It may well be that the sort code will not be selectable or even if it was, the account would be open with a generic sort code? 

Please excuse my ignorance, but shouldn't Coutts be in your list? Or am I missing something? Perhaps Coutts is a subsidiary of Nat West or RBS so isn't included in your list?

Marchitiello

lr1277 said:

Marchitiello said:

gary1312 said:

PloughmansLunch said:

Mine looks like this, though I’ve gone full ponce and treated myself to a little leather chequebook wallet

That's the first time I've seen a chequebook I really liked since my (actually still useable I think) Yorkshire Bank ones and my NatWest Student Account ones from many years ago that had pictures of wildlife on them. Does one have to call to order one? My last RBS cheque book was ordered in-branch but that's not an option now. Has anyone seen a recent Drummonds chequebook?

WillPS said:

ndrw said:

We need more data points! @WillPS are you happy to open a savings account in the name of science?

Sure. 

Original RBS account was opened at Greenock branch in 2020. Matching Digital Regular Saver opened at the same time.

Child & Co account was opened the year after via "the form", and subsequently the original account was closed (switched away) and the Digital Regular Saver closed. At this point my only account with RBS was the Child & Co account.

Subsequently opened another account and a new Digital Regular Saver, both were automatically assigned to 15-80-00.

Then in December 2022 opened a Drummonds Select via "the form".

So as of today my oldest open account is at 15-80-00 and my most recent account is at 16-00-38.

Just now I've opened a flexible saver, and that has been assigned to 15-80-00.

So what are we thinking here, 15-80-00 trumps all other active sort codes?

It must do. My theory about the Liverpool Group sort code being somehow not open to new accounts is trumped by your findings as Drummonds is very much open (card received yesterday, nicer than in the pics I've seen but not as nice as the Child one). You'd think it would default to Drummonds though, what with it being an actual functioning branch,

I actually think that in the RBS/NatWest reshuffle, the three brands/branch left operating in the England  being only Child & Co, Drummonds and Holts, and the confirmation that the  Child brand will live on as a Virtual branch, means that it is effectively the first/oldest branch in the above example (Liverpool Group Sort Code being “closed” for new accounts). Did anyone try to open an account using the branch selector form for a branch other than the three special ones (individual branding)? It may well be that the sort code will not be selectable or even if it was, the account would be open with a generic sort code? 

Please excuse my ignorance, but shouldn't Coutts be in your list? Or am I missing something? Perhaps Coutts is a subsidiary of Nat West or RBS so isn't included in your list?

Coutts operate under a separate banking licenses, whilst Child&Co, Drummonds and Holts are simply brands operating under the RBS banking license

WillPS

Marchitiello said:

gary1312 said:

PloughmansLunch said:

Mine looks like this, though I’ve gone full ponce and treated myself to a little leather chequebook wallet

That's the first time I've seen a chequebook I really liked since my (actually still useable I think) Yorkshire Bank ones and my NatWest Student Account ones from many years ago that had pictures of wildlife on them. Does one have to call to order one? My last RBS cheque book was ordered in-branch but that's not an option now. Has anyone seen a recent Drummonds chequebook?

WillPS said:

ndrw said:

We need more data points! @WillPS are you happy to open a savings account in the name of science?

Sure. 

Original RBS account was opened at Greenock branch in 2020. Matching Digital Regular Saver opened at the same time.

Child & Co account was opened the year after via "the form", and subsequently the original account was closed (switched away) and the Digital Regular Saver closed. At this point my only account with RBS was the Child & Co account.

Subsequently opened another account and a new Digital Regular Saver, both were automatically assigned to 15-80-00.

Then in December 2022 opened a Drummonds Select via "the form".

So as of today my oldest open account is at 15-80-00 and my most recent account is at 16-00-38.

Just now I've opened a flexible saver, and that has been assigned to 15-80-00.

So what are we thinking here, 15-80-00 trumps all other active sort codes?

It must do. My theory about the Liverpool Group sort code being somehow not open to new accounts is trumped by your findings as Drummonds is very much open (card received yesterday, nicer than in the pics I've seen but not as nice as the Child one). You'd think it would default to Drummonds though, what with it being an actual functioning branch,

I actually think that in the RBS/NatWest reshuffle, the three brands/branch left operating in the England  being only Child & Co, Drummonds and Holts, and the confirmation that the  Child brand will live on as a Virtual branch, means that it is effectively the first/oldest branch in the above example (Liverpool Group Sort Code being “closed” for new accounts). Did anyone try to open an account using the branch selector form for a branch other than the three special ones (individual branding)? It may well be that the sort code will not be selectable or even if it was, the account would be open with a generic sort code? 

There's still one RBS in England: https://www.rbs.co.uk/Branch/161285-Berwick Upon Tweed.html

(The same place the only English branch of Bank of Scotland remains!)

trient

Marchitiello said:

Did anyone try to open an account using the branch selector form for a branch other than the three special ones (individual branding)? It may well be that the sort code will not be selectable or even if it was, the account would be open with a generic sort code? 

Define generic sort code? I know it's not what you asked, but it would also be interesting to know what sort code is assigned through the normal process these days, e.g. for new accounts opened en masse for the current incentive. My partner got 161253 which various sort checkers place either in Liverpool, Bath, or Manchester (the latter being printed on the account opening letterhead so I'll go with that).

Marchitiello

trient said:

Marchitiello said:

Did anyone try to open an account using the branch selector form for a branch other than the three special ones (individual branding)? It may well be that the sort code will not be selectable or even if it was, the account would be open with a generic sort code? 

Define generic sort code? I know it's not what you asked, but it would also be interesting to know what sort code is assigned through the normal process these days, e.g. for new accounts opened en masse for the current incentive. My partner got 161253 which various sort checkers place either in Liverpool, Bath, or Manchester (the latter being printed on the account opening letterhead so I'll go with that).

I am not sure what it is for RBS but I have opened account online with HSBC and Barclays, being an existing customer, and got assigned a generic “online of sort” sort code for those accounts, so I am guessing RBS will do the same, or it may well be the Berwick Upon Tweed branch WillPS mentioned above.

I am guessing that if they remove the old form altogether, all new accounts from E&W customers will be assigned a generic sort code unless these are opened through MoD campaigns or Private Bankers at Drummond (e.g. Lottery Winners) 

WillPS

WillPS said:

You can order a cheque book in branch, over the phone or via their 'Cora' live chat thing.

You might actually be able to do it at a Natwest Group ATM (which would include Tesco), I'll check this next time I think to.

Confirmed this evening:


You have to press 'Charity & misc services' on the first menu.

[Deleted User]

Have you previously had a chequebook on this account? As I know you can’t order one yourself online if you haven’t had one before. 

PloughmansLunch

[Deleted User] said:

Have you previously had a chequebook on this account? As I know you can’t order one yourself online if you haven’t had one before. 

I was passed around human agents a couple of times in the app chat, and eventually managed to get a chequebook posted out to me. Online banking looks easy to reorder but only if you have been sent one in the first place, and you can’t reorder at all in the app itself. 

[Deleted User]

I have ordered several books from scratch.