COOP Bank

Meijin said:
Yo Julz

Don't even think Barclays - remember only 10 years ago those *******s were in SA and only toned it down towards the end of the regime.

But the lack of branches may not always be a problem - some 'banks' can do deals with the few genuine building societies left (who ARE often local) - so you can have a card etc...

I remember my elderly relative had a bank account with the Bank of Ireland (who have a branch in my area) and had one with them because they are like SwiSS banks in that they wont (or wouldn't) give the account holders details to anyone - we know who IRS - and therefore were confidentially yours...so a different sort of ethics :wub: the cheques were legal tenders in UK but they would always check it out with staffleader in supermarket..."Judeeee!! Is this legal? etc...."
"Yes"
So just the wait - but I like the confidentiality bit altho' these days we have no rights...moan...culture of fear etc...
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I kinow what you mean about Barclays..But high street is good for convenience.
Co-Op has a branch in Reading (where I live) so it is handy...But I work in Slough and there is no branch there! Makes banking cheques a nightmare and getting cash (coins) and things we need from time to time even worse.
So I resurrected a very old NatWest account....so have one of those too.
Actually, I also have a few different accounts with Nationwide (including a cheque/saving account), but they take 10days to clear a cheque...even if it is a Nationwide cheque...and there is a limit of banking 5 bags of coins per day!! Totally crap for day-2-day useage...

Nationwide are one of the few mutuals left...I'm hanging on to my share account (despite pressure from the society to relinquish the rights) so that when (not if) they get taken over I will be due some cash.

But I need a bank in the street I work in (where I am Mon-Fri 9-5) so I can do all the over the counter things I need to do...I use CoOps' internet service where I can, but it has its' limitations!
I also find the CoOp one of the best banks for customer service and customer relations...They are always helpful and always efficient. (wish any of the others were half as good)...
 
I was going to move to the Co-op a few years ago but I wrote to them and asked them which countries and/or companies their current policies excluded; I was looking for examples to see how their ethical investment policy actually worked in practice. They refused to give me a single example, just spouted the advertising blurb.

So I told them where to stick their account and went with First Direct. Who I must say are excellent in terms of service and very cheap, cos they got no branches to maintain - who needs branches, its years since I've been inside a bank now. (Julz, what ARE those things you have to do over the counter? Anything that can't be done online or out the cashpoint can be done by post, surely.)

If anyone has a bank that's as good as First Direct for online banking and cost, but also has a genuine ethical policy, I'd like to hear about it.
 
Earthling said:
I was going to move to the Co-op a few years ago but I wrote to them and asked them which countries and/or companies their current policies excluded; I was looking for examples to see how their ethical investment policy actually worked in practice. They refused to give me a single example, just spouted the advertising blurb.

So I told them where to stick their account and went with First Direct. Who I must say are excellent in terms of service and very cheap, cos they got no branches to maintain - who needs branches, its years since I've been inside a bank now. (Julz, what ARE those things you have to do over the counter? Anything that can't be done online or out the cashpoint can be done by post, surely.)

If anyone has a bank that's as good as First Direct for online banking and cost, but also has a genuine ethical policy, I'd like to hear about it.
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How do you bank £100 in coins by mail?
How do you express clear a cheque for £1500 so the guy can collect his amps by mail?
How can you get the £50 in change needed for a float for the door by mail?
How can you pay in £1000 in cash by mail?

If you loose your cashcard, how can you get an emergency supply of cash by mail?

Of course on-line banking is possibel (95% of my banking is done on-line) but there are somethings you need or want a counter to do...
When people stop paying by cheque or cash and only pay donations, in advance, by on-line transfer or PayPal (adding the 4% charge it costs me to collect it) I will move....
But not to First Direct..They are part of the worlds' biggest banking conglomorate (HSBC) and are as bad, or worse, than many banks (including the CoOp).
 
Fushion Julz said:
How do you bank £100 in coins by mail?
How do you express clear a cheque for £1500 so the guy can collect his amps by mail?
How can you get the £50 in change needed for a float for the door by mail?
How can you pay in £1000 in cash by mail?

If you loose your cashcard, how can you get an emergency supply of cash by mail?

Of course on-line banking is possibel (95% of my banking is done on-line) but there are somethings you need or want a counter to do...
When people stop paying by cheque or cash and only pay donations, in advance, by on-line transfer or PayPal (adding the 4% charge it costs me to collect it) I will move....
But not to First Direct..They are part of the worlds' biggest banking conglomorate (HSBC) and are as bad, or worse, than many banks (including the CoOp).
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OK, OK, I surrender on the branch thing. Didn't know you did retail sales (ignorant of me no doubt).

Yep I know First Direct aren't good ethically .... there's a market niche here for an online bank that IS, I look forward to finding one.
 
I'm not banking expert - but imagine that the big problem is that its quite costly for an organisation to invest ethically and they will not get the same return on money as if they invest with indutrial-military-badpeople-r-us. So it will be very costly for customers to use their services.

I looked into ethical morgages a few years ago & it would have cost me more than i could afford -s o I went with the Co-op - who are the best of bad bunch.- I guess like most people i care - but maybe I dont care *that* much..?

But getting f*cked off with the Co-op & then going to a high st bank or one of their internet offshoots is a bit like getting pissed off with a small local cafe cos they sell meat - then going to McDonalds instead!
 
I've been trying to get the co-op to send me a form for about a month. Nothing ever arrives, I keep phoning, last time they said it had to be referred to some special form sending department who usually take about 3 weeks to get a piece of paper and stick it in an envelope.

crap.
 
New Economics Foundation (thunktank - the kinda tank I like and can do business with myself) have noted (well, in my opinion) that PENSIONS (there I've said it) investments can't carry on with the Stock Exchange elite 100 or whatever they are and must now begin to invest in green/clean energy projects (for example) - they reckon people want to see their cash invested in this sort of stuff now - hairshirtedness I think we can all relate to and profit by perhaps?
But will all this stave off the revolution for another millenium???? I'm not sure which way to jump - any advice? :grandad:
 
tortoise, I have found when dealing with companies esp banks that if they don't sort it out the best thing to do is make a formal complaint with their customer complaints department.

These departments usually have the ability to cut through the crap (eg ring your local bank rather than a call centre), worked wonders for a £1000 debt I hadn't run up :D

PHLUR :sun:
 
Technognome said:
tortoise, I have found when dealing with companies esp banks that if they don't sort it out the best thing to do is make a formal complaint with their customer complaints department.

These departments usually have the ability to cut through the crap (eg ring your local bank rather than a call centre), worked wonders for a £1000 debt I hadn't run up :D

PHLUR :sun:
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Whereas when The Woolwich (cunts) "misplaced" 90 grand of mine and left me struggling to pay 2 mortgages, one on a house I no longer owned the only thing that kicked their arse into gear was threatening to chain myself to the counter in one of their branches (I'm normally pretty level headed in these situations but it was a hell of a lot of money and they had dragged it on for a quite unbelievable length of time).

The poor bastard who had to deal with me earned his money that day but within 20 minutes they had "found" the money.

Probably a bit excessive just to get 'em to send you a bit of paper though.
 
The Coop ripped me off for about £25. I probably wouldn't have minded so much, but I was on the dole at the time and went hungry.
They made me agree a paying off the overdraft scheme, while I was on the dole, then changed the dates they wanted repayment, thus causing me to break the agreement, thus justifying them to charge me heavily. :mad:
Clearly all knowledge was denied when I tried to complain, and they've been fine other than this one so I couldn't be arsed following it up. But I've remained wary of them since, and yes, their ethical policy ain't perfect by any stretch, so for savings I'd look at Ecology Building Society and Triodos. :)
 
Stuoolong said:
The Coop ripped me off for about £25. I probably wouldn't have minded so much, but I was on the dole at the time and went hungry.
They made me agree a paying off the overdraft scheme, while I was on the dole, then changed the dates they wanted repayment, thus causing me to break the agreement, thus justifying them to charge me heavily. :mad:
Clearly all knowledge was denied when I tried to complain, and they've been fine other than this one so I couldn't be arsed following it up. But I've remained wary of them since, and yes, their ethical policy ain't perfect by any stretch, so for savings I'd look at Ecology Building Society and Triodos. :)
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Always get ALL agreement with anyone official in writing - I've learnt from experience that its the only way to do it. And if you're on the dole - you should never agree to pay off more than a token amount if you cannot afford it - go & see a Citizens Advice Bureau or Advice Centre for more info or help negotiating.

(sorry - slipped into work mode there..)
 
Thanks JohnM, worthy advice. Usually I'm quite good at negotiating these things but that day I was in the branch in floods of tears, talking to someone over the phone because they don't train anyone in the branch to deal with these things. :hug1: They said they would send me a written statement of the agreement but I never recieved it, so even if I did decide to follow up I'd have no proof.

The only conclusion I can come to is that if they are in it for the profit, no matter how ethical they claim to be, they're still sucking Satan. :unsure:
 
smile is as good as firstdirect, and has links to coop. So they have things like the biodegradable cash card, and a % of all money invested in them goes to greenpeace and anmesty international. I am shocked to here about them investing in the arms trade.... are you sure?? I only ask because they have direct links to anmesty who as everyone will know would not touch anybody in no uncertian terms that had the slighest connection to it, I will check this up as i work on behalf on Amnesty and Greenpeace on a regular basis, but if you could provide links referrences would make my life alot easier.

Take care, Peace, Love, Light and Unity :peace:
 
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