Hi, I'm new to all this, so please be gentle with me. [:I]
I'm on the verge of travelling down the IVA route and am considering which basic bank account I'd be best to change to. I realise similar questions have been asked in the past, but many of them were some time ago now and I imagine there may be different accounts to consider.
At the moment I've not started the IVA process, although I'm sure my credit rating is not good due to a few missed credit card payments, but I'm hoping I'll have more choice of accounts if I get in sooner rather than later.
One thing I'm confused about is who actually owns certain banks / building societies as there seems to be more 'umbrella' ownership. My creditors are RBS, HSBC, Barclays, Egg, Tesco and MBNA so I'd want to avoid getting an account with any that have links with the above.
Ideally what I'm looking for is a basic account but one that allows direct debit and standing orders, includes a visa debit card (or similar) and where I can bank online to check statements, etc. I've heard good things about the Co-op and Yorkshire banks but they don't have any branches near me which concerns me if I need to pay cash in, etc. Have others managed with not having a local branch, or am I best to go with a bank that's more accessible?
Any advice would be gratefully received.