Co-Op Bank Switcher Offer - Launched 07/06/24

gsmh

anoukis said:

This is definitely not an online/mobile friendly account. You have to call them for pretty much everything. Their payments are slow even after adding a payee and making a couple of payments. I was considering keep it it to get the regular saver and the additional £75 but it now seems too much of a hassle if you need to call their fraud department every time to release payments. 

I've had a few Co-operative Bank current accounts over the years and this time chose to move my day to day account to them even though I was not eligible for the incentive. The online and digital banking is hugely better than it was even a year ago. I find them very acceptable. They used not to show pending transactions - they do now. Faster payments used to take a couple of hours, now the longest they take in my experience has been five minutes. When people criticise a bank's online service, I don't understand what they want to do that they can't. I suppose you might want to keep changing the status of a debit card, but I've never wanted or needed to do that. I don't want an online service as over-complicated as Barclays.

Like many banks they will use a fraud algorithm to flag up suspicious payments, I had to ring them about the first time I made a payment to my credit card. I did it once, and haven't needed to contact them again. Once the account is set up and running I can't think of any other situation where you'd need to have a conversation with them. All banks have that occasional fraud issue where you need to call them to get funds released.

gsmh

That's as may be, but my other current account is with the Royal Bank of Scotland and I rate them highly too and they are near the bottom of this list. I tried Monzo and absolutely hated it - its online offering was childish and dumbed down, so I'd rate them near the bottom rather than at the top. I have tried every single bank on the list in fact and my personal ranking wouldn't look like this at all. I found First Direct very poor with its online services - phone calls were often necessary and its overall service was very 'meh'. I find Starling OK but nothing special. Then factor in how ethical each brand is and the ranking would have Triodos at the top followed by The Co-operative then Nationwide. It's very clear when you read Trustpilot reviews, for example, that those with an axe to grind post a review, those who are happy tend not to. You just have to go by your own experience. Maybe you are drawing conclusions about the Co-operative Bank way too soon. Once they get to know you habits you will find transactions go through without a hitch. Your account is new, they don't know you yet.

WillPS

I share the skepticism with rankings and TrustPilot scores, but The Co-operative Bank's app and online banking fraud detection sophistication is incredibly subpar however you crack it. I think they are also alone amongst retail banks in not immediately sending Faster Payments, which is pretty inexcusable now we're over a decade-and-a-half on from their introduction.

Having used all of the generally available (in GB) ones now, except Virgin Money and Kroo, I honestly think it's probably the worst one. Worse even than Triodos which I found pretty shocking, at least their app had some ability to view/control the debit card.

Perhaps worth reviewing this topic, started by one @gsmh
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6409689/co-operative-bank-dreadful/p1

Rawrzy

Yeah their app is pretty lackluster honestly. I agree it's probably the worst one I've used in functionality. Not even being able to freeze the card from the app is a unique choice.

7sefton

Dreadful experience with Co-op tbh:

1. Waited over a week to find out if I’d even been granted an account (confusing ‘maybe’ letters - see my earlier post)

2. Turns out my switch request wasn’t received despite me doing it as part of the application - only found out when I messaged to ask when my switch date was 

3. Told to ring them to re-request a switch: limited opening hours for phones, and message says the wait is 30+ minutes (which I don’t have during a working day)

4. May not even get the switching incentive as ten days have passed since the account was opened

Pretty rubbish - I’ve made a complaint to see if that gets me anywhere 

Rawrzy

7sefton said:

Dreadful experience with Co-op tbh:

1. Waited over a week to find out if I’d even been granted an account (confusing ‘maybe’ letters - see my earlier post)

2. Turns out my switch request wasn’t received despite me doing it as part of the application - only found out when I messaged to ask when my switch date was 

3. Told to ring them to re-request a switch: limited opening hours for phones, and message says the wait is 30+ minutes (which I don’t have during a working day)

4. May not even get the switching incentive as ten days have passed since the account was opened

Pretty rubbish - I’ve made a complaint to see if that gets me anywhere 

I didn't get any notice about my switch (the one I selected during the application) until it actually started, and that was from the bank I was switching from. Co-op did eventually text me as well, but was a bit into the switch.

I'd imagine the bonus incentive should be fine, the co-op switch page literally says you have 28 days not 10

7sefton

Rawrzy said:

7sefton said:

Dreadful experience with Co-op tbh:

1. Waited over a week to find out if I’d even been granted an account (confusing ‘maybe’ letters - see my earlier post)

2. Turns out my switch request wasn’t received despite me doing it as part of the application - only found out when I messaged to ask when my switch date was 

3. Told to ring them to re-request a switch: limited opening hours for phones, and message says the wait is 30+ minutes (which I don’t have during a working day)

4. May not even get the switching incentive as ten days have passed since the account was opened

Pretty rubbish - I’ve made a complaint to see if that gets me anywhere

I'd imagine the bonus incentive should be fine, the co-op switch page literally says you have 28 days not 10

Nope it’s ten days - from the T&Cs:

b) Requests a full switch from a current account held with another provider into their Standard Current Account or Everyday Extra account within 10 days of the account opening date.

Rawrzy

7sefton said:

Rawrzy said:

7sefton said:

Dreadful experience with Co-op tbh:

1. Waited over a week to find out if I’d even been granted an account (confusing ‘maybe’ letters - see my earlier post)

2. Turns out my switch request wasn’t received despite me doing it as part of the application - only found out when I messaged to ask when my switch date was 

3. Told to ring them to re-request a switch: limited opening hours for phones, and message says the wait is 30+ minutes (which I don’t have during a working day)

4. May not even get the switching incentive as ten days have passed since the account was opened

Pretty rubbish - I’ve made a complaint to see if that gets me anywhere

I'd imagine the bonus incentive should be fine, the co-op switch page literally says you have 28 days not 10

Nope it’s ten days - from the T&Cs:

b) Requests a full switch from a current account held with another provider into their Standard Current Account or Everyday Extra account within 10 days of the account opening date.

Yeah but since you did apply for a switch I don't think the 10 days would apply, it should be the 28 days you get to complete the switch. It's their fault if they lost the switch info.

danny13579

7sefton said:

Dreadful experience with Co-op tbh:

1. Waited over a week to find out if I’d even been granted an account (confusing ‘maybe’ letters - see my earlier post)

2. Turns out my switch request wasn’t received despite me doing it as part of the application - only found out when I messaged to ask when my switch date was 

3. Told to ring them to re-request a switch: limited opening hours for phones, and message says the wait is 30+ minutes (which I don’t have during a working day)

4. May not even get the switching incentive as ten days have passed since the account was opened

Pretty rubbish - I’ve made a complaint to see if that gets me anywhere 

Did you contact them them to confirm whether or not you're eligible for the bonus? If it's over 10 days between account opening and you requesting your switch (according to their records) then I would be contacting them again. 

If you don't want to do it by phone, I would open a chat request and request to be transferred to their switching team. If you have a complaint reference number this will help as you won't have to go through the whole thing again.

Get them to confirm whether or not you're eligible for the bonus as then you have it in writing. If they say you are eligible and they don't pay, then you have strong grounds for an appeal and can use the chat transcript. 

Emily_Joy

The T&C for this one explicitly exclude current account holders. Were the previous Co-Op offers also excluding them?