Hi Islander, welcome to the forum. Good to hear you are being methodical and making preparations.
Problems with bank accounts can be surprisingly indiscriminate to be honest, so it's hard to give a clear answer. There's every chance that you will have no problems whatsoever with your classic account. Having said that, I think there would be less reason to worry if it was just a basic account you opened.

You will know soon enough - if there is going to be a problem then it is likely to happen straightaway, ie when the Trust Deed notice goes onto the Register of Insolvencies. If you get over that part smoothly then there should be no reason to worry further.

Have you identified which firm you would like to use for your trust Deed yet? It's always interesting to hear the methods as to how people choose between the different firms out there as it is such an important decision.

Thank you for replying. I have a credit card with the cooperative bank so can't use them and i actually phoned Barclays for an appointment to open an account and they had no appointments for over 2 weeks so I went with BOS but wasn't allowed the basic one. I'll need to think about whether i should just stay and take that risk. I was quite proud of myself for being proactive, now i'm so annoyed with myself!

I am just in the early stages of looking into this, basically decided I had to go down this road just this weekend. I haven't thought about a firm yet.

Welcome to the forum Islander.

You've got me really curious about the bank account application and not being "allowed the basic one".

Is there a monthly fee for the new account that you have?

How exactly did they phrase this to you?

I applied online, i thought i would probably have to make a branch appt to open the account but i was trying to get information about how to qualify. The website said - If you live in the UK you cannot apply for a Basic account directly. You will need to start by applying for one of our current accounts. We will try to get information about your credit history to decide which account is right for you - and then it said that i qualified for the classic account. I understood that you only get the basic account if you don't qualify for any other. There is no monthly fee.

Thanks Islander.

That's interesting and I haven't heard this before. I guess if there's no account fee then there's no harm in pushing people towards accounts with more features.

The potential issue is the small print. My guess would be that only the basic account will be available to people who have started a trust deed.

This does create a risk of disruption if and when you do decide to start a trust deed or a different type of debt solution. There again, as Kevin described, it's also perfectly possible that there will be no disruption at all.

Maybe you could contact Bank of Scotland and ask them to flip it to a basic account instead? Just to be on the safe side.

I would certainly recommend you seek proper advice tailored to your own individual circumstances before making any decisions as to your chosen solution. Best to know all of the options that could work for you and the pros and cons of each before you decide. Up to you of course, but happy to oblige if you wish - just click on the "contact me" button.

Thank you. I did contact BOS just now and ask to be put on one of the basic accounts but they would only do that if i was already bankrupt. I just told them i was worried about my future finances. They said if my account was downgraded to a basic account further down the line due to bankruptcy etc then my account details wouldn't change, just the type of account. This is what i was worried about so i wouldn't have to change direct debits and standing orders twice.

Thank you Kevin. I'm getting my account and direct debits sorted out before moving forward. I'll certainly keep you in mind when it comes to making further decisions.

Hi Islander.

I can see where the bank is coming from. I don't think that the type of account being provided to you changing would affect any standing orders or direct debits that have already been put in place

OK, well sounds like you shouldn't have anything to worry about in that case.

Are you switching over direct debits for your debt repayments too just now? Most people just cancel them at this stage - if they are unaffordable and you are probably entering into a Trust Deed anyway then there isn't any need to keep paying.

I suppose the only downside of this is that you might get a bit of creditor hassle once you start missing payments, but as long as you don't mind some letters with a bit of red ink for a short time then I always think it is best just to cancel them and be able to use your full wage for one month to start off on an even keel in your chosen solution. Does that make sense?

Hi,

Upon entering a TD I switched banks from Barclays (who I had an overdraft with) to Halifax, purely because a colleague recommended them. Like yourself I also was not able to get a basic account because I qualified for a 'better' one, and as well as having no fees they actually pay me £3 a month as a reward for having direct debits coming out! It was never frozen as my TD was published and I've never had any problems with it.

Hopefully yours is equally straightforward!

Thanks for sharing that LouiseG.

A slightly different approach to other banks where you would usually choose a product and then apply for it, rather than applying for an account and the product then being chosen for you.

LouiseG- this is really good to know. I hope I have the same experience!

Kevin- yes, i understand. I am only setting up my direct debits for my priority bills etc. And setting up BACS for my employer. I am not setting up direct debits with anyone i owe debt too.