Best basic bank/building society accounts

[confuzzled]

Hi, I'm new to all this, so please be gentle with me. [:I]

I'm on the verge of travelling down the IVA route and am considering which basic bank account I'd be best to change to. I realise similar questions have been asked in the past, but many of them were some time ago now and I imagine there may be different accounts to consider.

At the moment I've not started the IVA process, although I'm sure my credit rating is not good due to a few missed credit card payments, but I'm hoping I'll have more choice of accounts if I get in sooner rather than later.

One thing I'm confused about is who actually owns certain banks / building societies as there seems to be more 'umbrella' ownership. My creditors are RBS, HSBC, Barclays, Egg, Tesco and MBNA so I'd want to avoid getting an account with any that have links with the above.

Ideally what I'm looking for is a basic account but one that allows direct debit and standing orders, includes a visa debit card (or similar) and where I can bank online to check statements, etc. I've heard good things about the Co-op and Yorkshire banks but they don't have any branches near me which concerns me if I need to pay cash in, etc. Have others managed with not having a local branch, or am I best to go with a bank that's more accessible?

Any advice would be gratefully received.

[kallis3]

Hi,

The Co-op are excellent and I believe you can pay money into an account from the Post Office. I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

You can open an account with them via the phone.

[Skippy]

I don't have a Co-op near me so I use the Post Office. If you pay in cash it shows straight away and cheques normally clear within 4-5 days.

[confuzzled]

Thanks for the replies so far. Looks like the Co-op may still be a viable option, then. I hadn't even considered the possibility of being able to pay in cash and cheques at a Post Office.

Did you need to request a paying in book so you could do this easily? Or did one just appear anyway?

Have you ever had a situation where you need to send someone a cheque? I rarely use my cheque book on my account at the moment, but I know I won't get one with this account. Is there a way round it? Do Postal Orders still even exist?

[Skippy]

I think that they just sent me a paying in book, but it's easy to order one online when you are registered.

As far as I know you can still get postal orders.

[kallis3]

Postal orders do still exist!

I sometimes accept them as payment for items people have bought on ebay, and I have used them myself.

It costs to buy one, but not that much.

[zim zim]

Have you tried the Alliance & Leicester? We went to them after being turned down by Barclays and got accepted pretty much straight away! Still have a cheque/debit card, cheque book and full banking facilities.

Regards zim zim

[Skippy]

I know you've missed a few payments confuzzled, but why don't you try applying for a full account rather than a basic account? When I tried (unsuccessfully!) to get a full Abbey account they sent me the forms for their basic acccount so it shouldn't prevent you from getting a basic account.

[Shining]

I got a full Smile account as my IVA was being processed but do you know I never use it, I always use my Natwest Solo Account, I love the Natwest, I feel valued as a customer.

[kallis3]

Apart from the fact that they were one of my creditors, I don't rate Nat West.

Daughter had an account with them and they messed her around big time. She has just changed to Barclays.

[jtomo64]

I would recommend the Lloyds TSB Classic Account, it provides free banking, a Visa Debit Card and Cheque Book.
There are no charges to run the account and you can use the online banking 24/7.
There is no overdraft so its ideal for use while in an IVA.
Easy to register and open online.

I dont think any of your creditors are linked to them either.

J.

[confuzzled]

Again, thanks for the advice - some really helpful responses. I had, incorrectly, assumed you had to have a basic account while you were in an IVA but I must admit I'd feel reassured if I could get a more standard account. I'm drawn towards Co-op as so many people seem to rate them but Lloyds/TSB would be another good alternative, I feel.

Lesley mentioned smile - does anyone else have experience of them as they seem a good option too.

One concern - looking on the smile website re transferring Direct Debits from your current bank, they say they get a list from your current bank and arrange for them all to be transferred for you. Obviously I wouldn't want my direct debits to my creditors transferred - any idea how this works?

[Shining]

The only thing with Smile is they give you an automatic £500 overdraft, I emailed them after the account was open and asked for this to be removed, printed their reply to say it's been removed and forwarded it to my IP. It's a good account, I just prefer the Natwest but do use it for cheques for daughters school.

[jtomo64]

With the Lloyds TSB account I just opened it online and was sent a pack to complete to transfer all direct debits to the account.
I just did not return the pack and arranged the transfer of direct debits myself. It was really easy to do, I just phoned the companies I needed to set up direct dibits with and gave them the new account details, infact some of them I could change online, like BT and British Gas. A few companies completed the process over the phone and others sent me a new direct debit mandate.
This way I avoided the tranfer of creditors to the new account.

It is not necessary for the bank to do the direct debit tranfers, you can do it all yourself with just a few phone calls.

Good luck!!


J.

[kallis3]

We did our direct debits ourselves as well. Easy to do and they were set up again quite quickly.