... So I feel I have lots of experience in this area, and know a good bank when I walk into one!
My first ever bank account, when I was a mild-mannered teaching student with a huge overdraft and a penchant for beef and tomato flavoured pot noodle and vodka, was with the Co-operative Bank. I ... Read review
Advantages: Ethical, Environmentally Conscious, Customer Led. Disadvantages: In my eyes, none at all. It's all good.
...and vodka, was with the Co-operative Bank. I kind of walked into this account by default, given that my parents had always banked with the Co-op and as I didn't really have a clue about banks accounts, budgets or money-matters generally I went with the obvious option of following their lead.
I have to say it was both the best financial, and ethical decision I have ever made.
The Co-operative Bank is the ONLY high street bank to have an Ethical Policy which is guided by its customers and dictates exactly who it will and will not do business with. In 2005 they turned away £10million worth of business because it conflicted with their ethical policies. Ethical policies which were helped into creation by the beliefs of their customers.
One of the businesses the bank turned away in ... more
"If you want to change the world, be that change" - Mahatma Ghandi
*****Introduction*****
I have lots of bank accounts - no money I hasten to add - but lots of bank accounts. So I feel I have lots of experience in this area, and know a good bank when I walk into one! My first ever bank account, when I was a mild-mannered teaching student with a huge overdraft and a penchant for beef and tomato flavoured pot noodle and vodka, was with the Co-operative Bank. I kind of walked into this account by default, given that my parents had always banked with the Co-op and as I didn't really have a clue about banks accounts, budgets or money-matters generally I went with the obvious option of following their lead.
I have to say it was both the best financial, and ethical decision I have ever made.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*****The Thing About Banks*****
The thing about banks that I think we sometimes forget is that when we give them our money to safeguard it, they don't just pop it in a vault and leave it there till we need it. They use it to make more money. Different banks use our money in different ways, and not all ways are good ways.
For me, the idea that my money might be helping to support companies which are ethically unsound, or who pollute the environment, or who use child labour, or who don't pay their employees a decent wage, or who make guns and bombs or who advocate nuclear technologies….the list goes on, but the point is - I wouldn't give my hard earned, principled cash to a man who makes guns for his living any more than I would give it to a man who employs 4 year olds at a going rate of three pence per day to make carpets, so why on earth would I let my bank do the same???
The answer, of course, is that I wouldn't.
The Co-operative Bank is the ONLY high street bank to have an Ethical Policy which is guided by its customers and dictates exactly who it will and will not do business with. In 2005 they turned away £10million worth of business because it conflicted with their ethical policies. Ethical policies which were helped into creation by the beliefs of their customers.
One of the businesses the bank turned away in 2005 was:
"International bank £30,000 asset finance facility supporting the acquisition of computer equipment by international bank. Business could not refute allegations that its' services aided the activities of militant groups involved in terrorist activities. In particular, that it manufactured insurance products for the families of suicide bombers."Check out this link for more examples of where the Bank has turned away applications for finance from companies whose practises are out with the Banks ethical and environmental guidelines. It makes for very interesting reading…
For me, the fact that customers have a say in how their money is used at the Co-operative Bank seems to make perfect business sense in that customers are the core of any business - without them, you have no business, and a bank is no different. Yet no other high street bank offers this, and I'm sure that if asked, many customers of these other banks wouldn't have a clue how their money is used.
UK Banks funding dodgy overseas Arms Trades and unethical practises has recently hit the headlines. So it seems that people are becoming more aware these issues, however, the question remains - do you know how your money is used?
The Co-operative Bank began as the CWS, The Co-operative Wholesale Society, in 1872, though the Co-operative Movement dates back to 1844. It grew in Newcastle, Manchester, London and Glasgow, and by 1972, it was known as The Co-operative Bank, and had over 30 branches across England. In 1992, it became the first bank IN THE WORLD to introduce a customer-led ethical policy, and in 1999, it launched SMILE, which was the first full internet bank in the UK.
The Co-op as a company has recently relaunched it's brand, and reinstated the DIVI scheme, where customers who pay their £1.00 lifetime membership fee get dividends from the profits of the company at the end of every tax year. Every penny that you spend on any of their survices, from Banking, Morgages, Food Shopping, Clothes and Household Items, all the way through to Wine and Flowers and Funeral Expenses, goes towards your share of the dividend profits. It's a great idea, and one that I happy partake of, as I know where the profits are coming from, and where they're not coming from. For me, this is the most important aspect of my consumer power. By chosing what to buy, and who to buy it from, I make a difference. I'm really rather proud of that.
I have loads of accounts, all doing different jobs, from savings to bills to holiday funds. My main account is a current account called The Privilege Account. For this I may a monthly subscription of £7.50, but I get lots of added value, like an interest free overdraft facility, high percentage discounts on tons of different products and services, like 50% off UK and Ireland hotels, 40% off magazine subscriptions, 20% off fair trade fashion from HUG and loads more. It also gives a £35.00 money off privilege when you sign up to Ecotricity (clean, green electricity - read my ecotricity review for more info). All in all, for me, it's worth the money. I already have an overdraft, which I would have to pay for if I had one of their standard accounts, so it's all swings and roundabouts really.
As I have always banked with them, I've never had to go through a "switch" - however I know 3 people who have switched in the last few months, and they all said it was painless. Ask at the bank for details (contact info below).
Access to your money is very easy, at the bank, at cash machines that display the LINK sign, at the Post Office (where you can also deposit money if you can't get to a branch), and online. You can call Armchair Banking, which is the telephone banking system - open 24 hours a day and do any banking you need to. I'm always calling them at 2am when I remember that I forgot to pay a bill or transfer some money. It's very handy, and they're all really nice people who work there, they never judge you for calling at stupid o'clock!!! Of all the access points, it's probably Armchair banking I use the most, but my local branch (Grey Street, Newcastle) is great too - never long queues, very polite and helpful staff, and it's easy to book an appointment to see an advisor if you need a proper chat.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*****Conclusion*****
The Co-operative Bank is a bank for the future. It is a bank which has principles - and not ones that are solely designed for the purposes of ripping us off and running as fast as Mr Beep-Beep-Road Runner far away into the distance with our cash.
Oh no. The Co-op has fine, upstanding principles which I think ALL companies ALL OVER THE WORLD should adopt. I mean, how hard can it be to say a big fat NO to putting money towards BIG GUNS and not investing OUR money into businesses or organisations which fail to uphold basic human rights? Not hard at all really and the Co-operative Bank is surely leading the way in Ethical and Ecological Banking.
For me, its all in the details. My statements are sent to me printed with eco-friendly ink on 100% recycled paper - and if I want, I can go paper-free and save whole forests of trees. In my branch (where the staff and friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and professional) EVERYTHING is eco friendly, down to the paint on the walls (and there are signs to tell me this, if I didn't know already!)
A HUGE 97% of their electricity comes from renewable sources and even my credit card is made from recycled plastic. It's all good. And if more people knew just how good, just what an impact one little thing like changing your bank account could have on our society and our environment, then I truly believe you wouldn't be able to see The Co-operative Bank for the dust clouds as scores of people run, skip, hop and jump, old bank details in hand, ready to make a leap of faith and change the world.
Check out www.co-operativebank.co.uk and "be the change"…
Advantages: Very Friendly Staff, Disadvantages: Tell you when i find any.
Well you are probably wondering from the title what i am going to write about.
Was i in so much trouble that i was going to take my own life.
Was i in such a mess that i thought about running away and just trying to start a new life.
Well i will explain, i started work for the co-op 5 years ago roughly, and i decided to also open a co-op bank account to get my wages paid in there monthly. I Went to the local branch, they was very very helpful, ... ...if i would like an overdraft on my account. what kind of account it was for, i explained it was for paying my wages in and so forth, until finally there we was, finished i had got my bank account set up, just a normal run of the mill, no overdraft bank account. So my first weeks wages went in, and i was there yes hooray, everything is going good, every month the wages went in fine, the interest rates was good, but nothing special, but looking at ...
mentalmickey100 28.04.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Co-operative Bank
Advantages: fantastic ethical policy, can be friendly and 'human' Disadvantages: just not very good at providing banking services!
I chose the Co-operative Bank for all the right reasons. I care about human rights, fair trade, the environment and sustainable development - there doesn’t seem a lot of point donating to a charity which is going to save the earth/children etc, then depositing my money in a bank which will lend it to multinational corporations with scruples reflecting all that is worst about globalization. The Co-op’s ethical investment policy, upon which ... ...BANK next to the word Co-operative in the High Street, who’s cashpoint I used the other day to withdraw a big wad on my Company Barclaycard. As many of you will know I run market research discussion groups, and had to sort out respondent incentive payments for that evening. However my incentives were GBP50 each, and the machine paid out in 20s, as I explained to the nice lady at the counter having gone in and queued up. So could I just change ...
Cazz 21.02.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Co-operative Bank
Advantages: EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE, MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE A CUSTOMER INSTEAD OF A PROFIT Disadvantages: NOT ENOUGH BRANCHES
...a bank account at the Co-Operative bank, and I would like to share my views with you, I will start of with;
Customer Service
I have really got to say the customer service that you get from the bank is second to none, I have only had dealings with call centres, and lets admit call centres don’t hold the best of reputations, but I find that they really do try and help, and are definitely not afraid of conversation, not only do you get the financial ... ...nice friendly person sat at the other side of the phone, who seems like they will go that extra mile to help you. I haven’t yet had to use a branch so I cant really comment to much on the customer service on a face to face level yet, but I expect it to be pretty much the same.
Accessibility.
You can never say that you cannot access your account, the bank offers a wide range of options, there is internet banking, telephone banking (which also ...
carl_1_uk 28.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Co-operative Bank
Advantages: Friendly staff Disadvantages: Not many branches
I have to admit thatr I adn't used my co-op account for years until about 3 years ago when I had a rather large falling out with Barclays, but since then the Co-op have been rather good.
As a plain current account, I was quite surprised when I rang to ask for an overdraft and was told I was already approved to have £1000!!! WOW! Ok, so it cost me something like £15 to set it up, but for that I get a £1000 overdraft until June 2001.
The customer ... ...staff that I've spoken to being really helpful and polite. The internet banking side is also easy enough to use, although it's not very easy to set up a direct debit or cancel them on the site. I tend to use the customer service helpline for things like that, but it's useful to check your balance and order cheque books etc.
The only downside I can think of is that there aren't many branches. If I need to pay hard cash in, I have to go to the local ...
Biffa 26.12.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Co-operative Bank
Advantages: Friendly to the individual and the world Disadvantages: can get a bit mixed up sometimes
I have banked with the Co-Operative bank in various ways for quite a few years now. Initially I used them primarily for savings and direct debits, but then swithced completely when my environmental conscience and love of small animals demanded that I abandon the evil, bunny-killing Natwest.
I really like the Co-Op's ethical policy and the fact that they walk the walk rather than just talking the talk. I have always found the telephone banking services ... ...sure your needs are being met rather than the bank's need for profit. Even if this isn't entrely true, they at least give the impression of genuinely having your interests at heart, which makes a pleasant change.
However, my dealings with the bank have not been without one or two glitches. The first was when I opened my initial savings account with them, along with a cheque for £2,000. A very nice Scottish man in the Wigan branch set up our account ...
Medusa 10.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Co-operative Bank
Staff courtesy
Promptness of service
Efficiency of service
Competitiveness of char...
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Advantages: None whatsoever. Disadvantages: All contact and services from them.
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Advantages: Excellent online banking, easy to open account, great customer service, ethical policies Disadvantages: I can't think of any
I have been banking with the Co-operative for just over 3 years now so I like to think I have enough experience of the service to give a fair review. I joined whilst I was working as a debt adviser. Ironic since I had a mountain of debt at the time which is only slightly smaller now! If the people I advised were entering into a debt management plan or an IVA, they were advised to set up a new basic bank account. One of the list of bank accounts we recommended was the Co-Operative Cashminder account. One of my colleagues already had this account and she had nothing but praise for the Co-operative. So, since I was in the process of reclaiming my bank charges from Barclays at the time, I felt a change in my finances was in order.
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Advantages: good service Disadvantages: don't know how the interest rate compares
I have a cash mini ISA with the Co-operativebank. For those of you who don't know, ISA stands for Individual Savings Account. They are a saving incentive by the government, who won't tax you on your interest. There is a maximum you can save and you can only have one mini ISA and one maxi ISA and one has to be cash and one has to be stocks and shares. If, like me, you don't have huge amounts of money to save, then the maximum isn't a problem.
I find this particular ISA very useful because I have my current account with the same bank and can easily transfer money from one account to the other via their internet banking service or on the phone. There may be better companies as far as interest rates are concerned and there are certainly ways you can get higher returns on your money, but for me this is convinient, easy and virtually ...
Good rates, good service, good branches: all the benifits of a building society without the disruption of carpetbaggers!
It's not officially a building society, and like all plcs, has a duty to make profits for it's shareholders. It does a good job of hinding this fact t (*)
