Thanks - will do

Rusboy

TB took about a week to credit the transfer of funds from abroad. It's only happen when I call them confirming that I received a letter from RBS confirming the Telegraphic Transfers. Just keeping phone them and the ombudsman.

I will close my account soon.

Good luck

DONT TOUCH THEM WITH A BARGEPOLE!

Here's my story which is still ongoing:

On 21/12/11 I requested a faster payment to go to a third party to whom I owed money. I was guaranteed that it would be there by 11am on 22/12/11.

I received a call at about 2pm on 22/12/11 saying that the funds had not been transferred due to a technical problem and they could not say when the funds would be transferred even though they had been debited from my account.

Over the last two weeks I have phoned every day ( excluding bank holidays) to be given the same response. They additionally claim they are not able to put the funds back into my account so that I can withdraw the cash to give to the third party. In order to remedy the matter with the third party I have cleared my savings to pay them the money I owed which has meant that I have had £30 to live on over Christmas and new year!

I am banging my head against a brick wall. I have spoken to the FSA and they have pointed me to http://fsahandbook.info/FSA/html/handbook/BCOBS/5/1 Section 5.1.16 which clearly states TB are breaching FSA regs - when I pointed this out to TB they ignored it. I have also raised a complaint direct with the ombudsman which has also fallen on deaf ears.

I have today also contacted Ian Williams (whose details I found on this site) who is head of PR at TB. He has passed my details on but still no response.

So to date, two weeks later they have not re-credited the money to my account, have not transferred it elsewhere and are not able to tell me why or give me a timescale when it will be resolved. Anyone have any ideas what to do next??

On top of this I can confirm that they are jobsworths when irregular payments either debit/credit the account. They want to know everything and when I question why they claim it is because of banking regulations. I raised a complaint on this basis because they could not point me to the regulation in question.

Max1978

I have a same problem..money from abroad transfer to my account and they ask me a lot of question :

Same question as what the ask you..

I think I will go for legal action against them as well.

The worst ever bank

Can you please give anyone advice about think banking.?

I open think bank account 3 month ago no problem at all .But i got a call from think bank today but i missed the call.After few hours i call them.I was waiting arounf 17 mins.

Than a lady answer my call,i told her some one try to contact me but i missed the call,than she told me ok i can find out for you about the call,

1) She ask me you have some large amount credit in your account ?

i said yes it was a £1000 some one owe me them payed me back.than she ask me where them deposite the money,i said it was in that town name.Than she asked me what they deposit cash or cheque or online transfer transfer/ i said cash deposite.Than she asked me how they got the money? they can get any where how do i know? i said i dont know.than she ask me who is them for you? Whoever why they want to know that? I said my friends.Than she ask me what you going to do with that money? I can do any think with my money how can they ask me this? than i said i am going to spend for christmas shopping for gifts other thinks?than she asked me where you going to spend the money?i can spend anywhere who can ask me that? than she ask me the which place you going to spend money and will you use cash or card and how much you going to spend? I can go for shopping anywhere i can use card or cash i can spend whatever i got. who is this people ask like this?

would you please anyone give me advice i think go for legail action againts this people?

Thank you.

I have a Think Banking account, it is the best move I ever made.

With Natwest, I was constantly going overdrawn with things going out that I forgot about, cheques being written that I forgot about, etc etc. Natwest now Charge £6 PER DAY that you are overdrawn. They used to charge £38 per bounced direct debit and £38 every time you go overdrawn (even if THEIR CHARGES make you go overdrawn). I ended up owing £100's to Natwest because I just could NOT get out of the cycle of being overdrawn, more charges making me MORE overdrawn. A £38 charge for a £3.99 bounced Direct Debit, etc. etc. The list goes on. I set up a repayment system with Natwest (based on them giving me an overdraft on my Current Account, to be paid back monthly), I went behind by ONE repayment (because my money had to go to the rent). I subsequently started getting charged £20 for EVERY repayment for the next 11 months because it was ONE behind. The original money I owed was £220 purely from Charges from Natwest. I was paying them so much a month and they were charging me another £20 every month because I could not afford to pay the behind repayment, so all repayments became "behind". In the end I had to increase the money I was paying them by a massive amount a month to get out of the debt. It took me over 2 years to get out of the mess that I got into PURELY FROM CHARGES.

The PRO's of Think Banking.

1. They have all my direct debits and standing orders covered every month (as long as I notify them of changes) without fail.

2. I only have access to money that is TRULY MINE (not needed for bills) so I KNOW I can spend it.

3. If something goes wrong and a Direct Debit gets bounced, they do not charge me an extortionate fee. (the only way a Direct Debit CAN bounce is if you set it up and don't tell Think Banking about it and there is not enough money in the salaries account to pay the Direct Debit - which obviously is NOT THEIR FAULT. (if there IS money in the bank to pay that new Direct Debit, they will pay it and THEN phone you to discuss the shortfall for OTHER Direct Debits and Standing Orders, caused by that NEW Direct Debit going out unexpected))

4. They have an excellent text service which is free (Three mobile customers have to ask for the long version of the number, instead of 81122 because Three Customers get charged for sending AND RECEIVING texts to/from short numbers (classed as premium mobile numbers) You can text for a balance, last 5 transactions of either your card or salaries account. You can text the word CHANGE and text about new Direct Debits, a Direct Debit going up, or down, or being Cancelled, they text you back to confirm that the change has been made. IF the change affects the money being held back for bills, they will immediately call you and discuss your options to review the amount of money being held back.

5. I can speak to a Money Manager, in a call centre that is UK based, so they understand what I am saying. 100% of the times I have called a Money Manager, the reason why I called is sorted out swiftly and if there are any problems I am notified of them straight away.

6. I never forget a Direct Debit or Standing Order because I pay Think Banking to keep an eye on all that for me. (obviously if I do not tell them about changes, or new payments, then they cannot be expected to cover for these)

7. The £14.95 (?) monthly fee over 12 months is FAR less than I ended up owing to Natwest in 6 months due to un-organised overdraft charges!

8. I have three different lots of money going into my account. one four weekly and 2 weekly, YOU can decide how you want your account set up, so YOU decide what money your bills are coming from. For instance, they keep back MOST of my four weekly money and one lot of my weekly money and then I get the other lot of my weekly money onto my card. I could change this so that I end up getting the money on my card 4weekly instead, but I have found it easier to have weekly money to buy groceries etc.

9. The call centre is in the UK, which means you actually get to speak to someone that understands you. Personally I have never had a problem getting through to the call centre, obviously if I need them on a Monday morning, or a Saturday morning or during "after work hours" it IS going to be busier (because of those customers that cannot call in when they are at work) so I just try to make the call during the day between 10am and 4pm, then I usually only have to wait a couple of minutes, sometimes I get put straight through. Even when they have had systems down so EVERYONE and his dog are calling in, the maximum I have had to wait is 15 minutes. Which is not a problem, because I am a patient person, and appreciate that the better Think Banking are, the more customers they are going to have, therefore the more customers will be calling in!

I would love to make a PRO 10, but I cannot directly think of one right now (I could also pipe on about how good Gregory & Pennington is (which are part of the Think Group) and how amazingly cheap their Think Protect Insurance is, or how cheap their other insurance is....)

Ooooh, I can think of one!...

10. Think Banking do not initiate a credit check for you to join them. I believe they aim their services primarily at Customers who have lost their normal Bank Account, due to debts and credit problems. However, it states that they are available to ANYONE in the UK aged 18+.

If I had to state which was the best Banking Facility in the UK, I would say Think Banking, mainly because I have saved an absolute fortune in Banking Fees since I have been with them. If only I had joined them much sooner, I wouldn't have gotten into the mess with Natwest.

PS. They DO NOT belong to Royal Bank Of Scotland, this is just the bank that Think Banking have their Customer Accounts with. Think Banking belong to the Think Group Plc (or something like that - possibly Think Money?)

That's me all out of breath now, if you want further information, then please give me a shout.

I will also state for legal reasons that my opinions are based on my own experiences. I am not an employee of the Think Money Group, I am a very happy customer. :-)

Lexi:

Has anyone tried Think Banking? I'm thinking of using them for a basic bank account.

Thanks, Lex

one word "DONT"

Same problem here like turbo but i was windrow funds from my pay pal account. I have been asked like 4 times on the phone from where are the money. I explain from where + additional answers. Now my think banking on-line is not working and every time i call that "marvellous" money manager is telling me is everything ok ..the money will be available at the end of the working hours and that the internet banking is not working is something temporary and i should try later. And thats a lie.

Last year like in the same mounth i was go and pay by cash like 2000 £. I have been asked the same question like now. From where for what x,y,z,.. now i need to go again in holidays like last year and i was do this stupid thing to choose thinkbanking account for windrow the money. I wonder in the future if they will ask me what is my favourite sex position. Excuse me but that is the reality. They don't do nothing just take your 14.50 £ per month and they keep your money same way if you give to somebody you know to keep it. Thats mean no secure , no control over your money...no nothing.

Update
1. 3rd May 2011, after a further conversation with a Think Banking Money Manager, the multiple cheques (Totalling over £5000) were finally credited to my card account. I was told I could withdraw from any RBS ATM machine a maximum total of £450 a day.

2. I withdrew £450 each day from the 3rd May 2011 to 7th May 2011.

3. 7th May 2011, I received a letter from Think Banking stating that unfortunately we are unable to continue to provide a service and subject to their Terms and Conditions of use and hereby given 7 days’ notice that the account will be closed on the 12th May 2011. This letter was dated the 4th May 2011.

4. 8th May 2011 the ATM refused to process any withdrawal request.

5. 9th May 2011 I contacted a Think Banking Money Manager for an explanation. They stated that ATM refusal was a security check prohibiting the misuse of a stolen card. I stated that the card was not stolen and please could I withdraw the allocated daily amount. They apologised, but said that unfortunately the card will be blocked for 24 hours.

They also said that my Account will be closed and that I should make alternative banking arrangements and any balance remaining in the account on the closure date will be refunded (Note: Initially Think Banking said this was a directive that came directly from the RBS, in another phone conversation they retracted the statement and said they were not affiliated with the RBS).

“Think Banking Limited which is not part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group”

They said they were not at liberty to disclose any reason for closing the account. I said that my account was functional on the 3rd May 2011 and now a letter dated 4th May 2011 will close the account on the 12th May 2011; and after all the inconveniences of April, I should pay £25 setup fee and £14.50 monthly operational fee.

The account was terminated on the 12th May 2011 and subject to the outcome of a complaint I lodged concerning the service I received, will I hear whether I shall receive a refund of £25 setup fee and £14.50 monthly operational fee.

The most annoying aspect of dealing with Think Banking is that they constantly text/phone for your identification, salary and direct debit details, but as soon as they have these details they appear to offer any excuse for not providing a transparent banking service.

Think Banking are not a Bank, all they do is provide a questionable banking service.

Hello,

I am sorry to hear about the situation with your Thinbanking Current Account.

If you could email me with your name and telephone number I will contact my Think Banking conatct for them to look in to this for you direclt.

Regards

andrew.woodcock@moneysupermarket.com

In March 2011 I set up a bank account with Think Banking. At the beginning of April 2011, I paid multiple cheques into my account. The cheques had cleared and debited from the cheque payer’s account. I was told that the cheques will be credited into my account by the 15 April 2011.

However, this has not happened, I have repeatedly contacted Thinking Banking and asked why? The response on each occasion is that they are experiencing an IT problem and that they will get back to me when they have something positive to tell me. I asked for a guarantee that my money was safe, to which their “Money Manager” representative reluctantly replied yes after my fifth time of asking.

Think Banking have no idea what the IT problem is or the earliest/latest date that the problem will be fixed.

I am seriously anxious and concerned about their lack lustre and laid back approach to money that is a vital part of my every day living life.

The T&Cs are correct (my explanation was sloppy - sorry!) As I said, thinkbanking is designed to give people peace of mind that their bills are paid - so let me give a couple of examples:

* If the salaries account doesn't contain enough money to pay your bills and a credit comes in, then we will retain it in the salaries account and use it to pay bills as they come due.

* However the first time each month that we get a credit where all or part of it is not needed to pay bills (ie we have enough money held to cover the bills that are due) then we will take our fee from the excess. We will then transfer the balance to the card account for the customer to spend or withdraw via the cashpoint.

Hope that helps.

IWill41:

(Head of PR and communications at thinkbanking)

... Just to be clear, we now take the account fee from the first credit to the card account each month.

Just to be clear... online T&C 3.2 says "Fees - we will charge these fees to the Salaries Account..."

Is "now" so recent that you haven't got round to updating the online T&Cs?

Bonzai,

Sorry that you've had a problem. Just to be clear, we now take the account fee from the first credit to the card account each month. What customers tell us that they love about thinkbanking is that they have peace of mind that their bills should be paid each month, so taking the credit in this way maxmises the chances that customers bills will be paid.

Contact me on ian.williams at thinkbanking.com and I'll see what we can do.

Ian

i signed up for think banking due to debt problems through gregory pennington after speaking to national debtline (thank god) i am not persuing this route, contacted think banking to cancel account to be told a money manager would conatct me to close the account still waiting 7 days later???????