Topic: pre- paid cards

[celine41]

 
Hi guys
 I am a newbie and have been advised by my trustdeed ( Scotland ) to enter into bankruptcy  due to my hours being cut back to 16 and being a single mother    it will cost me £200 and I am now planning the right time to do it. I have been reading all the horror stories about people having their bank accounts frozen and people not being able to pay bills and buy food, the only two banks that I have been advised to approach are the co-operative and Barkclays but I do not have a branch nr me and do not have a car  any views on the pre paid cards I have a friend who has his wages loaded onto one and he manages fine without a bank account!! could the OR freeze my card ?
thanks in advance

[Steven Jackson]

Hi Celine41
The advantage of opening a account with Co-Op or Barclays are there are no monthly fees of charges. A pre-paid card account will charge you. You do not need to be close to a Co-Op branch to open an account with them. You simply need to give them a call and ask to open their Cashminder account. I would suggest you do this before you are sequestrated. Dont tell them that you are going into sequestration, just mention that your credit rating is bad and you need a new account. They should open a new account for you and you will be able to use this once you are bankrupt. Recently the Co-Op said that they will no longer open accounts for people who are already bankrupt. However I think if you do it before you go bankrupt you should still be OK.
If you have any problems with Co-Op and you cannot get to a local barclays branch then you should have a look at the different prepaid cards or managemend bank accounts. There is nothing wrong with these and you will be able to keep them after sequestration. Its just that you will have to pay a monthly fee to keep them open.

[celine41]

 
Thanks for your reply
I am just worried about a bank account as if it was frozen I would not be able to pay my bills, what about a post office account? would that be frozen if the OR knew about it? I am going to take a couple of months thinking about how to do this as I have no family to help me out and a little girl to look after. the good news is that we do not have Baliffs in Scotland so I have a bit of time to think it through and do my homework.
thanks again

[celine41]

 
I just looked at the co-operative bank website and found this
 
The most basic of all our current accounts...  Our Cashminder account is designed to provide basic banking facilities and is normally most suitable for customers who are not eligible for one of our other accounts or who may have had financial difficulties.
Please note, we do not accept applications from undischarged bankrupts.    oh bugger!!

[Steven Jackson]

Yes that it right Celine41. But remember you are not currently an undischarged bankrupt As such you should be able to open an account with the Co-Op now no problem before you go through the sequestration process. Once the account is open they are unlikely to then close it after you have gone bankrupt. That is why you need to open the account first and then go bankrupt second.
The only accounts that are frozen by the OR are standard current accounts that you have been using for a long time before you went bankrupt.

[celine41]

 
Hi Steve
thanks so much for your help!! so a month before I apply for bankrupcy I should apply for an account? and perhaps I should get my benefits paid into the post office, that way I wont be stranded if the worse happens. I looked into the pre-pay cards and they only allow a max of £1600 a year to be loaded on to them so they would be no good for my wages, plus the royal bank of Scotland hold your money in trust and as I owe money to them I am afraid that they might snatch my wage    oh dear it really is not easy .
thanks

[James Falla]

Hi there Celine41
Sorry to hear that your Trust Deed is failing. It does sound as though Sequestration is the right thing for you. As Steve has said you should open a new account before you go bankrupt. It is true that Co-Op have recently changed their rules regarding opening accounts however as Steve has said this should still be fine of you open the account a few weeks before you go benkrupt. You could also use a post office account for your benefits. That certainly would not hurt. If you have more questions please do not hesitate to ask.