Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

[Deepie]

Re: Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

Well done SH.... If you want to see if it works...

You can write me a cheque for £ 150.00......

[ScabHunter]

Re: Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

A further update -

Yesterday, my Bank of Baroda Net Banking login details arrived via email, and logging in confirms the existence of my account and the £150 which was paid in to it.

Don't read this the wrong way – the Net Banking portal is extremely primitive. You cannot use it, for example, to pay bills or make payments out of your account. I would not recommend using the Bank of Baroda account as your main account unless you were absolutely desperate, that is, you couldn't get a half decent basic account in the High Street. If you can only get one of the absolute junk basic accounts such as Metro (they claim to be innovative – the only innovation is to have products which are worse than the others) or Nationsnide, which don't allow electronic payments, then you can apparently set up Direct Debits on a Bank of Baroda saving account. It doesn't seem to be possible through the online banking portal, though.

The best way to use this account is as a saving account, replacing the useless savings accounts which come attached to the better basic accounts such as Co-op Cashminder. That way, you will get a cheque book and a second debit card, and somewhere to store your savings where they will earn just a little interest.

Today, just around an hour ago, the cheque book arrived through the post. Here are some shots of it, taken with my cell phone as I don't have a scanner.

All that is left now is for the debit card to arrive, and for me to successfully credit the account through a NatWest branch without being charged, and this project will have been a complete success.

SH

[ScabHunter]

Re: Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

Just to update this thread with the latest development – Less than half an hour ago a letter came through confirming that the Bank of Baroda have opened my account. All of the account numbers, sort code, IBAN etc. have been included in the letter, so it should now be official.

I still don't have the cheque book or bank card, but that is not an issue as this is exactly what the manager said would happen – letter of confirmation first, followed by cheque book, and then the card possibly in three to four weeks time.

I shan't open the Champagne Ovaltine until everything arrives, but so far the bank have been good to their word and I don't expect any problems.

SH

[PlanB]

Re: Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

PPS PlanB is useless at arithmetic. 17th August 2011 to 30th April 2013 is a lot longer than nine months, and I don't think many of the ladies would relish a pregnancy which lasted for that length of time!

In which case I could have had two babies in that time

I may be "useless at arithmetic" but I'm clearly clued up on birth control

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

Thanks SH - thorough feedback, just what we like.

Hoping my wee plan also works, and debtors can get a full debit card with cheque book

[ScabHunter]

Re: Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

OK, here's a breakdown of my day in London which has hopefully resulted in me obtaining a new savings account.

The Aldgate branch is easy enough to find, on Commercial Road, Whitechapel, and is easy to reach by bus. I used a No. 15 from Regent Street. You could also just get the Underground to Aldgate East as the branch is well within walking distance.

When I entered the branch this morning, at around 10am, there was no-one else in the customer area, just two Indian gentlemen behind the protective glass which is typically found in banks. I told one of them that I wanted to open a savings account, and he pushed the form through the trough underneath the window.

Now, have you ever seen a branch of a bank with no pens in it? If not, visit this one! Oh, dear. Problem number one. I had to take the form into the nearby Ladbrokes betting office and fill it in there, making it look as though I was filling out betting slips! Never mind, form filled in, problem solved. I took it back to the branch, and gave it to the same teller who had given it to me.

I was immediately asked for identity documents, which I had obviously made sure to take with me. The passport and proof of address were photocopied, and passed without incident. The only potential difficulty was the need to provide an employer's address, but that was overcome in exactly the way the manager had told me in his email. A self-employed can just put their own address, and an unemployed person would simply write 'unemployed' in the first line. Neither of these states are a barrier to getting the savings account opened.

After the identity documents had been processed, I waited for the interview which takes place in an office behind the counters. The important point to make about this is that the bank officials are not trying to catch you out or find a reason to reject the application. As long as you can pass the identity check, they want you to have the account, and the questions are just to try to establish a relatively regular usage pattern for monitoring purposes. I didn't find any of the questions unreasonable or difficult to answer.

I don't live in London – I live around 70 miles away. They did ask about that, but when I told them I was a regular visitor that was accepted readily enough. I don't look or sound Indian and I don't have an Indian name (although I do share a birthday with Mohandas K. Gandhi, but that wasn't mentioned!), so that is not an issue. They told me I would get the cheque book and the debit card, so as long as that happens it will prove that credit scoring is not a factor either.

I can also confirm that it is possible to credit the account at NatWest branches without being charged, although apparently that is not automatic. It should be, but it seems that there are incidents of NatWest branches not being familiar with the Bank Of Baroda, and attempting to charge people for deposits. I was told that if you are going to be depositing money regularly at one branch, it is best to get it arranged in advance, and then there will be no problem.

I paid in £150 to get the account opened (£100 minimum), so it is now just a case of waiting for the paperwork and the card and cheque book to come through the post. I don't anticipate any problems, but I'll update the thread with any further developments.

So far, so good.

SH

PS What an amazing coincidence it is that both Niddy and myself should post at exactly the same time earlier today. When I was sitting on the park bench and saw his post come in, I assumed it was a direct response to the one I had just made. Obviously not!

PPS PlanB is useless at arithmetic. 17th August 2011 to 30th April 2013 is a lot longer than nine months, and I don't think many of the ladies would relish a pregnancy which lasted for that length of time!

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

Delay? My post was nearly nine months ago. I could have had a baby in that time

ahem, sorry - that is rather bad isn't it

* I mean the delay not you having a baby

[PlanB]

Re: Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

Sorry for the delay (missed your post) - They do not report to CRA's, no.

Delay? My post was nearly nine months ago. I could have had a baby in that time

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

Do you know whether they report or file customer performance to Exquifax, Experian and Call Credit? Savings accounts are not normally on the CRAs.

Sorry for the delay (missed your post) - They do not report to CRA's, no.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

I am writing this post on my cell phone, sitting on a bench in St James's Park, having spent the morning in Whitechapel attempting to open this bank account. So far, everything appears to have gone to plan. I will make a more detailed post when l am back on the PC tonight.

Obviously, l will only know for sure what has happened when (and if) the documents start arriving.

SH

Weird - I just posted and so did you at the same time

Can't wait to see what happens matey

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

Just seen this - well done SH - looking forward to your update

[ScabHunter]

Re: Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

I am writing this post on my cell phone, sitting on a bench in St James's Park, having spent the morning in Whitechapel attempting to open this bank account. So far, everything appears to have gone to plan. I will make a more detailed post when l am back on the PC tonight.

Obviously, l will only know for sure what has happened when (and if) the documents start arriving.

SH

[ScabHunter]

Re: Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

A further update on this situation -

Yesterday, I received a reply to my email, from the manager of one of the branches of the Bank of Baroda. Even though his command of English obviously isn't great, he still took the trouble to reply to every question I asked, and the reply was received within one business day. I find that highly impressive.

Here are some important points I have managed to clarify -

1) Pensioners, the unemployed, and other people without an actual employer are not unable to open the account. It will be more difficult to fill out the form, but it is still possible. The option 'Other' will need to be chosen at the start, but the biggest problem will be filling in the part which says 'Employers details'. The reply simply said “Details about their status i.e. unemployed or pensioner should be mentioned in the employers details”, so presumably there is a way to override the need for the details of an actual business.

2) The “correspondence address” which is asked for is not a problem. In the vast majority of cases, it will be the same as the applicant's own address.

3) It is preferred that customers open the account in branch, and bring in documents to support the application at the time. This won't be great news to people who live in Scotland or remote areas of England or Wales, but there are ten branches which you can use. The London branches are in the City Road just south of Old Street station (I know the area well), Aldgate East (well, it is Whitechapel really, but as Aldgate is in the City I suppose it sounds better), Southall, Wembley, Kenton and Tooting. The others are in Ilford, Birmingham, Leicester and Manchester. The Manchester branch at least makes the project realistic for those in the north of England.

Niddy stated above that you could submit the form by post, and then they would telephone you within 48 hours. I didn't enquire further into that possibility, but it may be something to consider if you do live in an extremely remote area.

4) This one is important – Niddy stated above that he believed you would be charged for depositing money into the account if you used NatWest branches. According to the manager who replied to my email, you would not be charged any extra for this. This would mean that you would only have to travel to a branch once to get the account open, and from that moment on you could pay money in through NatWest branches in your own local area.

5) Finally, and somewhat irrelevantly to most on here I am sure, you are able to open this account in GBP, USD or EUR, and, you are allowed to have more than one account. This is, however, only after “proper justification”. This would be exceptionally useful to affiliate marketers who are members of networks such as Market Health or Clickbank, which pay out in US dollar cheques (“checks”). The transaction charges at the regular banks to have cheques converted to local currency are severe, and there are also significant time delays. This would allow people to sidestep this difficulty, by paying US dollar cheques directly into an account denominated in that currency.

Having an EUR account may also be useful to people who have connections within the EU, or who travel extensively. I am not in that category, so I have not carried out any extensive research into it. I couldn't tell you, for example, whether the debit card which comes with the account could be used in other EU countries, although I see no reason why it couldn't be.

So, everything seems to be in order, and I will now attempt to open this account. It may not be until the end of the month, because I want to schedule it in for when I am in London on other business. I still have to go through the actual opening process before I can provide any meaningful feedback, but so far it all seems viable.

SH

[ScabHunter]

Re: Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

I've now sent an email to someone at the Bank of Baroda, just asking for clarification on a few points.

I'll wait to see what, if anything, comes back, and then I'll take it from there.

SH

[ScabHunter]

Re: Savings Account with ChequeBook & Debit Card

It is now eighteen months since anyone posted to this thread – has anyone attempted to open this account, and, if so, what happened?

To answer MattyA's question – it does say on the Savings Account page that “Your deposits are guaranteed under FSCS”.

If no-one has had any problems with it, then I might just volunteer to be the site guinea pig. The only problem I see is the part where it wants an employer name – as we all know, banks hate the self-employed more than they hate Bonnie and Clyde. From the point of view of helping other people on the site, there is also the issue that many who would need these facilities have either lost jobs or had a business fail, and there is no place on the form for those claiming benefits. It looks as though the unemployed are ineligible.

If I do try to get this opened, I'll be back to post with a full breakdown of what happened.

SH