I opened an account with Think Banking and was given a sort code within 20 minutes. My Id and address were verified online so I did not even need to send any documents to them. I was turned down by Cooperative and Halifax Banks after Barclays closed my account so I needed a saviour who would allow me to receive my salary and pay my DD's and Think Banking's unique services for £12.50 a month is what Banks should be doing-helping you to wisely manage your funds.It's an RBS account and I am happy to build up my credit profile once again after being turned down by other 'high stret ' banks..They are highly recommended if you have been rejected by the rest.

I sympathise with Kitty-gg if Think Banking was slow in opening the account but in this day and age security checks can be over enthusiastic. On the other side of the coin it seems the old account was in a useable state so why rush to close it, if for no other reason than what happened - namely a delay in opening the new account - or why close it at all? If Kitty-gg's fury is because she thought that once she had sent further proof of ID she could then use the account that was unwise.

I would welcome any clarification because I think Think Banking is such a valuable service in a pretty dreadful field that it would be unfortunate if someone was put off TB by reading Kitty-gg without having a clear picture of what went wrong and if she accepts any responsibility for jumping the gun by closing her own account and thinking the TB account was open after she sent ID again when it wasn't.

Agreed. I hope others are influenced by your comments.

In my 4th month now and the service remains the same - very good. Only complaint is on pay day, I receive a text to say that my salary has been received and how much money is held in each account which arrives around 7.30 am. Not good if you are having a bit of a lie in!!!!

I too hope that people will not be put off by Kitt-gg's experience.

I also agree that the service TB offer is invaluable in a dreadful market - I mean the banks not the customers. Lack of funds is not always mismanagement of personal money. I personally earn a really good salary and enjoy all the corporate benefits but if you have dependants (my husband is disabled) then the money has to go a long way each month.

We have brought up two children both of which have been through higher education which is extremely expensive even if they work full time as well! Doesn't leave much room for saving. We have always owned our own home and never - not even now my husband is very ill - claimed benefits. Sometimes lack of funds is unavoidable but the fat cat banks should not cash in on customers misfortune by making enormous charges on personal accounts without a care in the world for the customer.

Someone recently wrote in a newpaper (a broadsheet I may add) that if you are on benefits of say £80 per week and your bank returns a direct debit and charges you £35 what happens next? How do you survive? You can imagine the knock on effect.

The 1 thing I do have a problem with is the customer servive. Phoning them now, wait time is over 15 mins.

Oh absolutely. Although, recently it has been only 10 mins or so!! But I can understand the person who answers and they do know my account which is refreshing.

In fact I phoned yesterday and got the guy I spoke to last Friday who remembered our conversation verbatim! That takes me back to old fashioned banking when the bank staff and bank manager knew their customers.

My call last week was regarding my debit card not working on an online purchase. He explained the address should match exactly and sure enough it didn't. When I changed it the transaction completed no prob. He asked me how I got on and what I did to get the purchase through. I think he was actually interested!!!

For all of you who have a problem waiting for Think Banking to answer the call you've made via their 0845 number (or any other company that uses a 'non-geographical' 0845 / 0844 /0870 /0871 number), I suggest the following:

1. visit www.sayNotTo0870.com This is a site that lists the geographical numbers (eg beginning 0207, 0161, 01323, or any other area code) that 'sit behind' the non-geo numbers, and often offers 0800 numbers as an alternative. Simply type in either the non-geographical number, hit the button, and see what comes up. Alternatively, enter the name of the company, for the same result. I've just tried it with Think Banking, and alternative numbers, includeing an 0800 (freecall) number is offered.

If the results contain an 0800 number - you can call for free. If it gives a geographical number, THEN......

2. visit www.18866.com At this site, you can register as many phone numbers (ie your house or mobile phone numbers). When calling from a BT landline, you simply prefix your geographical number with 18866, pay a 5p connection charge, and 0p (yes, that's zero pence) per minute.

So, for however long you're kept waiting, you only pay a one-off 5p connection charge.

I've saved an absolute fortune in phone call charges since adopting this quick method.

Thank you LordJohn, i'm taking note of that because i'm planning on starting an account with them at the end of the week! Couldn't help but wonder though if banking with them affects your credit rating or not?

Hi,

I previously had a think banking account, which I have now closed within the last few months. I used to have debt problems and think banking appealed to me so I could manage my debt better. I used them for 19 months and never hasd any serious issues but I eventually left because its a nightmare trying to get through to the call centre, It takes them an age to do anything (5 working days notice to change anything / make payments etc...) as they have to submit the info to the RBS who the account is held with, if you pay cash into an RBS branch or if somebosy pays it in for you it wont show til the next day then you have to wait to ask them to put it on your card (not good if your away and lose your cash like I did). I didn't mind paying the fee as they were 'managing' my money for me I was just aggitated by the above and decided to leave.

**BUT** - there is one really good thing about think banking - I applied for 2 different bank accounts and only got offered very basic accounts with no debit card / overdraft etc... My wife is with RBS so I decided to apply for a RBS account to replace my think banking one. RBS use an internal credit scoring system to assess applications for bank accounts, so as I had my 19 month history with think banking and regular money coming in (and no charges on my account) they offered me a Royalties account and gave me a Maestro Card, cheque book and £500 overdraft straight away without an external credit scoring.

So if you have been with think banking for ages and want a new account go for RBS as even though your with Thinkbanking - its building your credit score with RBS.

Hope this is useful - you may be pleasently suprised like me!!!

Dave

Hi generalwoodmeister ,

Thanks for your information. I have not really had problems trying to access the Think Banking Call Centre except for the occasional one or two delays (which is no different from my experience with Barclays Bank).

When trying to pay in a cheque to my account I do have to travel all the way to City of London -the nearest RBS branch (thats not Think Bankings fault anyway) as NATWEST always ask for a RBS deposit teller before accepting my cheques.

I am enjoying my time with TB, not thinking about which DD will be returned or my a/c being overdrawn. However, my Maestro card can not be used at my local Post Office to withdraw funds (it just wouldnt go through the machine).

I'd like to ask if you first of all cancelled your Think Banking a/c before opening your new RBS a/c ? Did you go to RBS with 19 months bank statements or did you inform them you were previously banking with Think Banking which made them to carry out an Internal Credit check instead ?

Cheers!

no, i applied for the RBS account before closing the think banking one, I wanted to make sure I had an account before I closed the other. All I did was apply on line for the RBS account and it offered me the Royalties straight away. When the forms came through it didnt ask me for any ID so I went to the branch and they said to supply the ID just in case. I did this and 1 week later I had my card.

I have just read the reviews of Think Banking and can only say that I have found them excellent, they have solved all of my debt problems (which were very very bad) and I am now for the first time in many years working my way out of debt. It can take a while to get through to the call centre but isn't that the same with any call centre?!? And the text service where you can check your balance and transactions is great, and saves the need to call anyway. I have been charged a fortune in the past in bank charges and this is no longer something I have to think about. I would highly recommend them to anyone!!

Hi, just been reading all this about think banking thought I would let you know its owned and run by "royal Bank of Scotland",

I also have a think banking account as does my partner, and although there is a £12.50 monthly fee i agree whole heartedly with other posts that can see this is far superior to bank charges and fees for returned dd's. Anyone who is struggling with money ( or has in the past) will find this account ideal as there is no cheque or overdraft facililty. Those who speak of having no control over money need to think about why they need it so desperately as think banking only hold back the money that you are duty bound to pay out to regular bills, surely a responsible adult would want this money kept safe so that you dont have to worry about paying them even if they fall along time after pay day! The trade off is that you can never have dd's returned unpaid. There is a slight disadvantage with the account when it comes to paying in cheques which will take up to 10 days to clear even if you pay them in to RBS ( the banks counter provider) but thats it. Sometimes customer service lines are busy but staff in my experience are always helpful and polite and regularly check all the details the hold for you are correct. A great account for people ready to beat the credit crunch who may need a bit of direct support to not over spend!

Hi this is a question for all Think Banking users. I have just opened an accoun twith them now they advised me that my funds will be available from 7.00am on the day they go into my salary account they will just hold bank enough for my bills and the remainder will be availabe for use, can any body advise me if this is true as I take everything the account managers say with a pinch of salt..Thanks in advance