Santander and DMP

fatbelly

That sounds odd. They have said they will close your account but are refusing to help you switch your d/ds.

You are going to have to do it manually (again)

LilMissM

I've cried for the last hour. It was so stressful changing all my direct debits. I just can't stop crying

stu12345_2

Lloyds and nationwide were easy to open in those on a dmp, you get the basic account with no overdraft. but it's a debit card with contactless , you get offered their basic account, after they say you can't get one of their current accounts.when you apply 

I got rid of as many direct debits as possible, I pay manually when the bills comes in, eg rent, water, gas, electric.

it means less worry cos I can pay them a few days late if I fancy, cos I do it manually with my debit card via their website or phone

I remember my college lecturer many years saying a direct debit is an invitation for a company you owe money to to be in control.

maybe that's why I have so few as possible 

fatbelly

I agree with Stu. D/ds can be a pain, particularly for someone in difficulties.If one bounces, you get a charge, making the whole situation worse.

It's an opportunity to review each dd and see if something else wouldn't work better.

For water I decide what to pay and do this by standing order. Yes, sometimes I am in credit and sometimes not. But they don't charge interest, don't report to CRAs ( may not be true of all) and can't cut you off

stu12345_2

yes, it's amazing how my rent to the council which I pay on time on their website never shows in my credit history, suppose it's cos not a debt. cos it's paid in advance,even if I pay dd

but I will not set up a d d for gas and electric cos it calculates an estimated yearly bill, collects monthly and gives you your money back eventually if you pay too much.

where as if I did a DD on my water bill I get  billed for exactly what I use.

I complained to my gas electric provider that their DD service is unjust and not normal, compared to broadband or water, they said they were introducing a realtime DD billing in a trial number of households, but not mines.

so I will continue to pay within the 14 days when the real true bill comes in monthly and pay via my debit card on their site and if I'm going to be late I go on their site and state the date I will pay, no problems that way if I choose 

LilMissM

Direct debits are better for me because I have trouble remembering things (due to brain trauma) so I have to have things as simple and straightforward as possible. 

I have been in touch with Starling this morning, explained that they want to close my account but have rejected the switch to my new account and the lady I was talking with said she couldn't see any reason why the switch would've been rejected and she will look into it asap. 

My main concern at the moment is that I change all of my direct debits etc over and then the same thing happens. Someone on here said Nationwide are a good bank for people with poor credit scores, so I'm looking into opening a basic account with them. 

What a huge mess this is turning out to be  

stu12345_2

i have a nationwide basic account and wife has Lloyds basic, we both on a dmp, yes Lloyds is virtually a guarantee you will get an account there 

LilMissM

Thank you @stu12345_2 I have applied for a Nationwide account, fingers crossed I get it.

stu12345_2

I have a big calendar at home and mark the days bills are due, I check emails daily too and ask for my bills to be posted to me as well 

when I applied for nationwide account, I knew I wouldn't get the free money offer for switching cos I have low credit status and it has to be a current account.

so the nationwide site first asked do I have a current account with any bank, I still do with RBS, RBS reward account, which I've had before my dmp,
anyway , even to get their lowest current accounts it said I had to first apply for that, it rejected me, as expected.

it then said good news, you are eligible for a basic non current account, I filled in details and was accepted instantly.
I just had to wait few days for pin number in post.

call me old fashioned, but I won't apply for an online only digital bank 
I like ones with humans on the end of the line and perhaps even a bricks and mortar bank.

I find any problems or questions I have are sorted via their call centre rep on the phone, faster than typing in live help 

LilMissM

I have applied to Nationwide, got the account set up and all the details etc. Then today received an email saying sorry they were not going ahead with the account and it would be closed today. They didn't give me the option of a super basic account.

I have tried RBS too and they basically did and said the same. 

I feel like a leper or something. I have only defaulted on my loans one month. It hasn't even shown up on my credit report yet, but these knock backs are definitely to do with my credit score because RBS said " Unfortunately, having made those checks we are unable to proceed with opening your account at this stage." 

I don't know what to do. 

I did open a Co-operative account and have all the details and even a debit card, but when I'm trying to register for online/mobile banking it is just saying for security reasons the account is locked and to call this number, which I managed to get through to the other day after holding for an hour. I am on hold again now but with what's happened with Nationwide and RBS, I am not feeling particularly optimistic.

Any advice on where to go or what to do next? x