Cawood Smithie & Co

Advantages: ethical and cost-effective
Disadvantages: none

...I have been using the Co-op bank for nearly 10 years and have found it an excellent way of ensuring good interest on what is effectively a current account without a chequebook (Pathfinder Account) whilst in the knowledge that my money is not being spent to fund projects around the world that I do not approve of, eg rainforest destruction, pollution of the seas, supplying arms to underdeveloped countries etc. I am shortly to take out a mortgage with the Co-op too. I have found the bank to be extremely friendly and helpful both in person and on the phone, and there is the facility for secure internet banking also. I would certainly recommend this bank to anyone who is serious about their environmental principles. The Co-op bank is well-established and well-known and unlike smaller banks which offer ethical investment, I feel I can... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Good ethical policy
Disadvantages: Bad customer service

...I joined the co-op bank for political reasons, being of socialist tendencies, I wanted to put my money in a small bank which had a good ethical policy. I also knew that the co-op was a worthy institution, because it has always been committed to a (vague) link with trade unionism. It is quite a big price to pay for your principles, though, because I soon discovered that as banks go, they were pretty poor on customer service, and their branches were few and far between. They also offer no student accounts, and their overdraft facility is limited and expensive. If you really do have a strong dislike for multi-national banks and want to join the co-op bank, make sure you live near a branch, or you'll be in for a lot of hassle!... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: has an easy to remember, and spell, name
Disadvantages: everything else you associate with a bank

...I just wanted to pay some money into a friends bank account, which was foolishly opened with the Co-op, or the toy bank as it is dis-affectionately known. There are almost no branches of Co-op bank, this makes it insanely difficult to pay into one. Upon reading the co-op bank website however, I found that you could pay in through a post office. Off I went, wodge of cash in hand along with an account number and a sort code. Nope, apparently only the *owner* of the bank account can pay into it, with a proper paying in printed slip out of the chequeue book. Unless of course, I used a cheque, whwn I could pay in and not be the owner of the account. This is just taking the p**s. So I tried to phone up the bank helpline. I found that you cannot speak to a person at all, yo are put through to an autoimated answer machine that asks... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful