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Comment by pja | Hacker News Reader

The Co-Op? (Although rumour has it that they're going to completely replace their computer systems either this year or early next year so that might be a case of jumping from one basket case to another!)

RBS appears to have fouled up the scheduling of their overnight batch run in a way that meant large tranches of transactions simply weren't going through the system. Fixing the problem has taken days (which may be down to poorly managed outsourcing) and it's then taking even more time to catch up with the backlog of unregistered transactions, because they can only fit so many extra into the overnight run.

If you've got a pay slip or something, then get yourself to an RBS branch and they'll give you cash to tide you over in the meantime. Don't starve yourself!

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I'm with the Co-op and as far as banks go, it's the best I've dealt with so far. Once you memorise the couple of keys to skip straight to a human they pick up straight away and have always been helpful.

On the web though they are horrible. The site is awful and little more than a truncated list of recent transactions with the odd money transfer bit thrown in. I don't know what other banks are like but statements don't go back very far (especially if you have lots of small transactions like I do). They wanted to charge me £395 for statements covering September 2010.

However, they have never cut off my student account without warning a month before I finished (Halifax) or threw my parents out of their house over some fucking clause in the PPI (Natwest).

I can't use the Co-op. They won't let me have an account because I apparently have a bad credit rating. (The real reason, I expect, is because I have no credit rating as I've never applied for a credit card or loan, or been late on a bill.) They're probably overdue a computer system overhaul as they've recently taken over several other banks and building societies, notably the Britannia where I had a few friends working.

My pay now seems to have appeared, and my second account doesn't have £0.00 in it any more, so I've got my fingers crossed that I'll be able to go to Tesco tonight. I might go to the branch and get cash though, just in case I get the dreaded 'card declined'.

It's worth having a credit card just for the cushion it gives you in exactly these kind of circumstances tbh.

It's also worth using a credit card for the added protection and other benefits (see http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/credit-card-tips).

Just make sure you pay off the balance in full each month so you never get stung by interest.

Or have a second bank account with a different bank and dont have all your rainty day savings acounts with the same bank.

It's really worth double checking. Identity theft is not always obvious...

The cost is minimal, and I've twice had debts associated with someone else who's shared an address with me (not at the same time) get attached to my name. In one of those cases it appears to have been a deliberate act by the debtor.

Also when I was sorting these out I was told that the "no credit card == bad credit rating" thing is pretty much a myth in the UK at least. It can help make a credit rating better, but its absence doesn't make a credit rating bad.

Credit rating has never worked that way in the UK afaik. I have never had a credit card, or a loan or an overdraft (or a mortgage, or savings account). I have been late on bills and had warnings sent out yet have a perfect credit score (had to be checked recently for pre-mortgage application checks).

The Co-Op run Smile, the internet bank. They've got a great premium current account.

However, I've applied six times online (the only way you can). I'd wade through all my details, previous addresses, employers details, passwords, pin numbers - the works. Took at least 20mins a time - then I'd go to the final page and get a generic "There has been an error with your request, please return to your previous page." And that's it - my entire application lost. So I have been unable to open an account for months. I've given up.

I phoned them, but with no reference number, the woman said they weren't aware of any IT issues and that was that.

I tried Co-op online a couple of times and was rejected. I finally went in to the branch on Leadenhall St in the City and applied 'manually' it went very smoothly and the staff are very helpful. They are very strict with checks for loans and mortgages as well. I wasn't able to get a mortgage with them despite being a customer and with them and having a completely clean credit record because they surmised from the location of my new house that I would be changing jobs and ended up putting me in a position where I had to admit that I was going self employed...game over. No other bank even asked. I would definitely trust them to be fiscally prudent, but if you need some credit you might need to look elsewhere.

Impressive checking there. I'm thinking of opening a second account with a bank independent of Lloyd's tentacles. Might try that one...

The co-op's online banking system is horrible. They used to have it designed so that entering your password multiple times would lock you out of your account, even if you were entering your password correctly but the system was having problems and couldn't verify it for some reason.

I had to call them to reset the password every time the account got locked because of system errors on their part. The current system isn't much better, with the password field at login not accepting backspaces.

I've had my main current account with the co-op for years and it's been fine. However I'm a bit pissed off that they've just withdrawn their low-cost phone line and replaced it with a pricier 0844 number.

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