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Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 5:49 pm
by mummy2elliekate
Hi all, hopefully someone can help.
I am looking to open a second bank account (already have a Natwest Basic account) to put my half of my bonus/overtime into and any spare pennies I have/gifts I receive.
The debit card I got with my Natwest account does not work at the 24/7 petrol pumps and I have read in some threads that it isn't likely to work for online grocery shopping at Asda too.
I am considering a Co-Op Cashminder account and would like to know if anybody can confirm that the card you get with this will work at unmanned petrol pumps, as we almost got stuck the other week late at night with no petrol and would hate for this to happen again, plus I often need to do my big shop online. So if anyone has any experience with the above please let me know :)
The only thing I'm bothered about with the Co-Op is that there isn't a branch anywhere near me, but I rarely have to go into the bank so hopefully this won't be too much of a pain. I just hope they don't want me to go in with paperwork and ID as I wanted to apply over the phone for this reason.

Another question - sorry - me and my partner who are in a joint IVA (I possibly mean interlocking?) have a joint account with Lloyds who was my partners main creditor. The balance on it is currently £0 with no overdraft facility as we only used it to pay bills with. They have closed his old bank account and credit card account and removed it from online banking but our joint account still shows up and I am able to transfer money in and out of it.
What is likely to happen with this account if I wanted to use this for savings instead of opening another one? We have quite a few Lloyds branches nearby to our home and work and we both already have a full debit card for the account so it would be so much easier if I could carry on using this, but obviously I'm worried that Lloyds will try and off set any money from this account to pay towards my partners debts (I personally do not owe Lloyds any money).
So here come the questions... can they legally do an off set as we are now in an IVA? If yes, then how about if I got them to remove him from the account and just have it in my name, would they still be able to do this as it would no longer be his account and I owe them no money? Or, because we are in an interlocking/joint IVA does that mean I technically owe them money too? This is very confusing!
Hopefully someone can answer at least one of my many questions :)
Sarah x

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:12 pm
by herbekj
This is exactly why I went with thinkmoney in the end as I needed confidence that the card I was provided with worked everywhere (online/petrol stations/abroad etc) as the natwest solo card at the time did't and I was nearly stranded on a Sunday in Belgium. Not funny. I think that the co-op card could also have issues.

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:27 pm
by josu
You can open a savings account alongside your natwest basic account and funnily enough the card you get with that can be used at any machine!

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:30 pm
by Shining
oh is that right josu?? I'm with Natwest, love the account and the service but can't use pay at the pump always have to go to kiosk. Worth looking at that, thank you.

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:31 pm
by josu
Yes ive just done it, after having the account for 4 years. I didnt realise but its handy!

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:33 pm
by Shining
It really is handy to know is that an e-savings account?

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:42 pm
by mummy2elliekate
Thanks for the reply Herbekj, and regarding your signature... wow! I can only dream we'll be in that position come the end of our IVA! Lots of talk of delayed completions at the moment :(
I was looking at the Think Money account pre IVA but now we are in one and our I&E is quite tight I don't really fancy paying the account fee just to have a debit card as the account won't be used for bills. It probably wouldn't be justifiable to our IP either, so early on. I have read a few posts that say certain cards work at the unmanned petrol stations but then someone else always comments and says they don't, plus a lot of the threads are years old and possibly not applicable anymore. I'm not sure i'll get a definitive answer over the phone so I thought I'd ask on here first - and if anyone went with the Co-op Cashminder account and applied over the phone, did you end up having to go into a branch with ID? I'd rather not make a long phone call to an 0845 number from a mobile to find out the answers to these question if possible ;)
Thanks
Sarah x

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:46 pm
by recovering
My cashminder debit card works at Tesco pay at pump and Morrisons

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:58 pm
by mummy2elliekate
I just tried the application for an E-Saver as an existing customer and it accepted me and gave me an account number and sort code immediately, however I've just noticed that the E-Saver doesn't appear to come with a debit card and there is another account called the Instant Saver account that does. Doh! I got excited!

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 7:01 pm
by Shining
I'm going to have a look at this too as it would help me

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 7:09 pm
by mummy2elliekate
Lesley - it took seconds to do BUT you don't get a card with the E-Saver so make sure you select the Instant Saver one. When you're logged into online banking click savings accounts on the right, then underneath e-Savings Instant Access it says "View our full range..." Click on that and you get both options but the top one is online only so no card. You will get your account details right away with the top option (I know because I just picked the wrong one by accident!) but with the Instant Saver it said they will send me the details by post in 3-5 working days and you get a debit card which is, I think, the one that Josu mentioned.
I now have 3 accounts with Natwest (whoops) but no bother, I can use the online only one as a savings account for my little girl when family give me money for her etc.
Hope this helps x

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 7:16 pm
by Shining
Thank you that helps a lot. x

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 7:19 pm
by mummy2elliekate
Let me know if it goes through ok :) x

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 9:08 pm
by footiemad
Can I just check that I'm understanding this correctly. If I apply for a NatWest savings account (instant saver), the card that comes with the account can be used at the 24hr petrol pumps? This could be very handy!!

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 9:32 pm
by smiler1946
Hi we have the nationwide basic account, applied on line, instant decision and you can use the card at the pumps.