www.iva.co.uk

Good evening,
just a follow up question with regards to bank accounts. I need to change my bank account before i enter into my IVA as advised. I have spent the last few weeks ,looking into different accounts. I felt that nationwide would be a good choice for me because they have no links to my creditors.
I went to the appointment today to open an account and this came back declined due to the credit checks.
I understand that the last months i have not paid my creditors the full amount has advised, so this most have had a impact on my credit file.
Because of this i am looking for advice as to which account i would be able to get. I hear that the co-op cash-minder might be an option. I am looking for an account that would give me a debit card so i can shop online and use in shops. online banking and able to set up standing orders.
As i hope to avoid the situation today where i took time of work to go to the bank, only to find i was not able to have an account. Even though i called to nationwide the lady on the phone told me that she would not be able to give me a 100% answer till i went to the branch.

Thank you for your help

Hi. Co-Op will give you all that you seem to need and can be opened over the phone very easily.

Just out of interest, was it a basic account the Nationwide declined you for? If you just ask for a current account they will try for a higher spec account, which will get declined to IVA'ers.

Co-op cashminder come highly recommended on here. Give them a try.

As you mentioned the Co-op - try phoning them

They do offer a Visa Debit card/on line Banking and Post office easy for cash withdrawals

No need to mention an IVA yet

There are others ie barclays/Yorkshire/Clydesdale

Thanks for the updates I believe that the co-op would be the best choice.

I think that nationwide did put me down for a normal account, but since I am pre IVA I thought this might not have been a issue. At the time I thought that the basic account just came with a cash card which would be no use to me. But the co-op cash-minder seems ideal for my needs.

Thanks for you help and enjoy the rest of your evening

You will get a debit card with the Co-op. As you are pre IVA you may be able to get a full account.

If you want to go with Nationwide - go back and have another word. If you tell them it's just a basic account, no overdraft etc they might reconsider.

I tried to open a Co-op account on line prior to my IVA and was turned down on credit checks. I applied for the wrong account. I rang them to open a cashminder and even mentioned I was applying for an IVA and they couldn't be nicer. I have no problem with the Co-op but it can be a pain if you have to pay in cheques as their branches are few and far between. You can use the PO but it takes 6 days to appear in your account. Paying in cash at the PO is instant. I don't pay in many cheques so it's not an issue with me.

I had a basic bank account with the co-op, however, if you ever get into a situation when you become overdrawn, if only a by a few pennies - three strikes and your out - they will give you notice that they are closing your account.

This happened to me, I then went to Think Banking

Pros: They basically manage your bills for you
Do regular checks on income and expenditure to
ensure everything is ok
No banking charges if you dont have fund to
pay a direct debit.
100% acceptance
Master card debit card.

Cons: Inital Set up fee
£14.50 monthly management charge

I think Co-op cashminder is better than Nationwide basic account.

I don't think there are many cheques issued these days so shouldn't be a problem.

I think most have a 3 strike rule. I c***ed up last month and I rang as soon as I realised and they were great. Just swapped a d/d around and we had a long chat about banking. Now I have my ISA with them at least I can always swap money around.
I wouldn't want to pay a monthly fee as I'm too tight!!

The Santander do a basic account, no debit card though. This may have changed since I set up my basic account with them though. You can set up direct debits and do cash withdrawals for your weekly shop and fuel purchases.

I wouldn't touch Santander at the moment - their customer service is total rubbish and they have a bad reputation. Glad you are happy with them though Kaykay.

Co-op, Barclays and Nationwide do a debit card.

I would not do a paid for account unless I absolutely had to.

I wouldnt suggest anyone pay £14 odd a month for a bank account when the co op cashminder is free!

Paul

I agree Paul - I now keep a book where I record everything as the Co-op is about 2 days behind on somethings (mainly Tescos!!). I know exactly whats in the account and take all the d/d's off the balance in the book before I start spending so I know where I am. I may even start paying myself £14 per month !!

i have a basic cashbuilder account with nationwide, comes with a visa debit card, i applied online declined the option of an overdraft,and recieved all my account details about a week later in the post. once details were received i logged into online banking with them where there is an option to allow them to change all of your direct debits over to them, which saves you a lot of hassle.
i also have an esaver account with them which is set up in minutes from your online banking account.