Co-operative Bank Accounts

...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 ...
...part of banking with the Co-operative is the excellent online banking facilities. I log in to my account online nearly every day and this helps me keep on top of my ingoings and outgoings each month. From here you can cancel direct debits at the click of a mouse and it's easy to send transfers between bank accounts. Since opening my Cashminder account, I also have a Smartsaver account with the Co-operative. Whilst the interest probably isn't the ...

nicolemorgan 10.08.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Co-operative Bank Accounts

...cash mini ISA with the Co-operative bank. 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 ...
...would highly recommend, for current Co-operative bank customers but also to other people. The Co-operative bank has been the best bank I have ever used. Despite not having a branch in my local town (the nearest being about 8 miles away) I have always found their service of the highest quality, unlike many high street banks who shall remain nameless. If I have to complain about anything its that you now have to pay for the postage when posting a cheque ...

meday 17.08.2001 (22.08.2001) · Read full review
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Review of Co-operative Bank Accounts

For a debt riddled society and banking systems that have been quite happy to fuel such a situation I can honestly say that the Co-op basic bank account is definitely one for those who would like to be in complete control of their money i.e those who do not want to or can not live on bank credit. Most people are accepted including bankrupts POSITIVES No annual charges (the account is free), Visa electron card shop online & instore as well as withdraw ...
...at branches, set up direct debits & pay bills online, internet banking, great customer service, wages & benefits can be paid straight into account. Easy to apply online/phone/writing & quick set up time. BEWARE please note banking is free however if you do set up a direct debit for instance and the bank refuses to pay it due to insufficient funds you will be charged about £18 if this sort of thing happens approx. 3 times then the account will be ...

dragonsurge 11.10.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Co-operative Bank Accounts

Hi, I recently graduated and thought I would give my opinions on the Co-op's student bank account, I managed to stay debt free for the first 2 years at university but in the 3rd year had a few financial problems, so I decided to go for a student overdraft, Initially I asked for a short term overdraft on my current account, specifying that it was to pay the rent on my student house. Unfortunately I was not told about the student overdraft facility ...
...a student bank account was brought to my attention I called in the bank to get some more details, I was immediately offered an account and a £1000 overdraft, which I took, the following week I received a letter telling me that my overdraft facility was now £2000, which I am sad to say I lost all self-restraint and used up fully. I mentioned in my local branch that I had previously had a current account and that I had been getting charged for the ...

ssteele 07.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Co-operative Bank Accounts

This opinion refers directly to the SMILE.CO.UK online account that I have. Having scoured the Sunday papers for best interest rate to be had in a Mini Cash ISA, the one that consistently tops the list is SMILE, which was, at the time, paying 7.25% tax free. UPDATE Mid FEB 2001. In common with all other banks, the recent reduction in the bank rate has reduced this to 6.75% but I'm confident that this will still leave Smile at the top of the pile. ...
...£3000 into Mini Cash ISAs, and this looks like being extended into a third year, before it drops to £1000. So in theory you could invest £3000 before 05/Apr/2001 and another £3000 straight away after that date. Don't forget, you can only open one mini cash ISA in any one year, and even then, this assumes that you don't have any maxi ISA at all in that year. The smile.co.uk site is easy enough to navigate and sign up for. The account gives instant ...

BNibbles 24.11.2000 (14.02.2001) · Read full review
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Review of Co-operative Bank Accounts

...a current account with the Co-operative Bank when I started working for them a few years ago, and before this I had heard little about them. They have strong ethical policies regarding how customers money is used, for example they won't support cruelty to animals or any company involved with pollution and I whole heartly agree with this and this was one of the main reasons I decided to stay with them even after changing my job. Until recently I was ...
...On the plus side the Co-operative bank don't have any cash machine charges at all and you can use practically ever cash machine going so you will never have a problem withdrawing your cash. However, this is now the case with most banks so nothing really to shout about. If you don't want an overdraft on your account and are paid your wages directly to the bank then you would find this account easy to use, but otherwise I would certainly go elsewhere ...

louise3233 06.12.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Co-operative Bank Accounts

The basic bank account which the government is trying to persuade pensioners to take up rather than collecting pensions from the post office may be available to all without credit check - but unfortunately the Co-op Bank seems to be floundering hopelessly. I took an elderly relative in to a branch on 3 November 2003, with all the required identification and a completed application form. The ID was photocopied and we were told that the documentation ...
...would be open in about 2 weeks. 3 weeks later, we rang the new account department, to be told that the 2 weeks had become 4 weeks. In early December we rang again - only to be told it could be up to 12 weeks before the account would be open - and that 12 weeks would be calculated from the date that the documentation was first processed at the new accounts dept (23rd November) NOT the date it was taken into the branch (3rd November) - in other words, ...

ashtonian 22.01.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Co-operative Bank Accounts

If you're between 13 and 18, the Co-op bank Bonus account will give you the 25% interest on £50!!! Here's the deal: If your average account balance over the year exceeds £50, they'll pay you a bonus of £10 on the anniversary of you opening your account - which is of course equivalent to 20% interest. Plus, on top of that, they will pay you the normal interest rate, which is 5.25% at the time of writing. Don't get me wrong; I'm not suggesting you ...
...other opinions to find that out, and they've given my dad a hard time with his business account. But if you've got a spare £50 and you are the correct age, it's probably worth a few minutes of your time to get a free tenner (unless paper rounds are *really* well paid in your area!). Plus you get a neat wallet with a little notepad in, which is quite cool... ...

jonm2001 24.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Co-operative Bank Accounts

I've been with the co-op over 10 years and echo the earlier review that their service is excellent. Their internet bank (smile.co.uk) is even better. However, whilst I trust them as a bank, I don't trust them to maintain conditions on their accounts. As an example (and I could take examples from all of their accounts), the Pathfinder account was truly excellent when they introduced it in the early 90s with interest around 6% and low charges for ...
...overseas withdrawals of £2, increased the rate from 1.5% to 2% and reduced the interest rate to 0.5%. What's happened over the years since is that they've added several new accounts with similar (but reduced) facilities. Their cash saver account only has a Visa Electron card (a type that didn't exist when Pathfinder was launched) and it too has dropped from about 6% interest down to 0.5% since they introduced yet another account with just a cash ...

Arnie7 28.10.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Co-operative Bank Accounts

I have a student account with the bank, having previously had one with Barclays, and am writing of my own experiences of this in particular. At Barclays, I found them to treat you as just a number, and I found that they were inflexible when I needed to increase my overdraft. Also, when my wallet was stolen, it took them 2 weeks to send me a replacement card. This, coupled with the fact that I was receiving statements only every three months was ...
...the student account overdraft limits were far more generous than those offered on the Barclays account. Also, I felt that it is important to consider ethics and environmental issues when you choose your bank- who, after all, you will probably use for the rest of your life. The application process was simple enough, and I found the internet banking very straightforward- which makes up for the fact that this bank does not have all that many branches. ...

joe_pesci 28.11.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Co-operative Bank Accounts

...standard current account with the co-operative bank for a few years now and on the whole they're OK. Good points: - Internet service is reliable and secure and easy to use. they also had this available than other banks did. - good ethical policy at the bank - they give you £10 if they make a mistake Bad points: - they send your new cheque book out way too early - i lost one because i had it for so long and the - you don't get ANY interest ...
...- i was overdrawn for only one day by about £20 and they charged me sharpish without explanation. i am currently trying to get the money back as i have been in credit for all the rest of my time with them - they totally screwed up when i changed over to them and i was effectively without access to my money for several weeks which is not a comfotable position to be in ...

EmmaJ 13.12.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Co-operative Bank Accounts