Cahoot; Good, Bad or Ugly????

greenwich

Milarky wrote:

I have also found that they can be very quick to respond to messages - but that applies to any account query not just current account ones.

I email them a query yesterday (Saturday) evening and got a reply on Sunday morning. It's a shame that it was standard text pulled from their database and didn't answer the exact question I had asked but, hey, you can't have everything.

CopperPlate_2

Hmmm. Lots of praise. Maybe I'm the only one to think that they're an incompetent bunch...

Have been a customer for a few years now - maybe 2001? - in the early days I opened two current accounts and savings accounts, but gradually have closed them until I'm down to a savings account and a flexi loan that I haven't used.

Tried opening a current account a month or so ago - disasterous. They didn't send me the credit agreements, even with chasing about a weeks later. Their customer services is a shambles - you can't get a straight answers out of them and when you do you find out later that it was a load of rubbish and you're better off asking the paperclip (or whatever the MS Office-type electronic help-thing is on their site) for an answer for all the good the humans are.

Steer clear. Don't be tempted by the interest.

Go with FD or Smile.

CP

sly_dog_jonah

I can whole-heartedly recommend the Cahoot current account/savings account arrangement. I sweep funds across from savings to keep the current balance at £0 as the DD's and cash withdrawals go out. To be on the safe side I now try to maintain a £250 positive balance as I can't guarantee to check the balance every working day, and I have a lot of DD's going out each month in fits and spurts.

I've only got the following minor gripes:

* its a bit fiddly to set up future dated withdrawls from Savings > Current (you have to enter the Sortcode/Account number manually) I use the future dated withdrawals to ensure that there will always be enough funds for the really biggie direct debits, by setting the transfer date to be the previous working day. ... Instant transfers are very easy though.
* transferring money in via direct debits takes 4 clear working days.
* can't download statements/transactions.

Overall though the Cahoot account is a great way of maximising interest and hugely reducing the risk of getting 'returned DD'/'exceeding overdraft' charges which other high-street banks like to give out like sweeties.

CopperPlate_2

Smile gives you all of the above but you can also pay in cash at Post Offices which clears immediately, unlike cahoot which takes a couple of days to clear into your account.

At the end of the day, the amount of interest payable on a current account balance should be negligible anyway cos it should all be in a high interest account as soon as poss.

Know that loads of people like cahoot - can't for the life of me imagine why though - but if it was a contest, smile wins hands down. Great customer service, paying in at Post Offices, reasonable rates of interest on their current account and an easy to use website.

That's my last word on it as I don't want to get into a debate about bank accounts...!:D

CP

loobs40

Cahoot as an internet current account is great. I can handle everything online, occasionally depositing cheques at the post office

Customer Services is quite another and would rate as the worst I have come across. I try to avoid ringing or emailing because all i get back is garbage and never a straight answer to a question

Cerbera_2

CopperPlate wrote:

Go with FD or Smile.

CP

I have read about Smile but Cahoot has the edge with their 0% £250 overdraft.

FD?

gm_xone

I have both a current and savings account with Cahoot.
I'm happy with the interest rates and the services available.

Customer service is not the greatest though. Took them four attempts to send me envelopes on one occasion.
I don't particularly like the website either. It's functional, at best. (just my opinion!)

CopperPlate_2

Cerbera wrote:

I have read about Smile but Cahoot has the edge with their 0% £250 overdraft.

FD?

FD offer a basic £500 fee free OD I think, but that can be increased to £1000 - but you're still charged interest if you use it - it's not interest free. Smile is the same. I'd agree that the cahoot interest free OD is useful, but the more pedantic amongst us might point out that you shouldn't be using your OD on a regular basis anyway unless there are cash flow issues.

I'm afraid that I'd rather not get the IFOD if it meant that I knew I could rely on things being sorted out if it all went wrong. Judging by the impression cahoot gives its customers with regard to administration, customer service, etc., can you IMAGINE what it must be like behind the scenes - in the places where there is NO customer contact? If they can't even send out the forms to open an account properly, or envelopes to pay cheques in, what must their back office processes be like?

Sorry. Wild horses wouldn't tempt me back to them.

CP

daveboy

I have posted this elsewhere in a thread on this board........BUT

Cahoot interest free overdraft will go down from £250 to £100.

I think this will be effective from around 5th November for existing customers, but do please refer to Cahoot to be safe.

Not as competitive as they once were now!

CopperPlate_2

In that case - DEFINITELY smile