Mind Your Cash With Cash Minder (Co-operative Bank)

Member Name: ChrisChoice

Product:	Co-operative Bank
Date:	03/08/09 (113 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Suitable For Everyone

Disadvantages: No Credit Options

I have quite a bad credit rating and had tried unsuccessfully to open a new bank account, this was due to wanting to reclaim by bank charges. I was advised that sometimes they will refund charges and then close your account.
I checked about online and discovered the Co-operative Bank. They offer an account called the CashMinder account which is suitable for everyone, even people who are bankrupt.
I went in during a busy lunch hour and was immediately given a seat and a simple form to fill in. They only require basic details and as long as you are on the electoral roll they only need a passport or driving licence as ID. If you are not on the electoral roll you need to provide proof of you address, this can be anything from a bill, bank statement or even a benefit letter.
Once they took the form back from me they explained that by opening this account you were also opening a Smartsaver account. This is just a savings account but was handy to have.
The Cashminder account comes with a Visa Electron card which you can use as a debit card in shops, but like the old Switch card. You can set Direct Debits up and get wages paid into the account, but can not go overdrawn on the account, and they do not give you a cheque book or overdraft.
I opened this account on the Thursday and the following Tuesday I received both a Visa Electron card and a Savings card. The pin numbers for both cards arrived the following day.
You need to lodge £10 into each account to activate them, but you can withdraw this straight away.
I think this is a great account and a way of managing your money properly.

Summary: Good Basic Bank Account