Cahoot Current Account Reviews

normalserviceresumed's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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I've only ever written one review online but am so angry with cahoot I feel moved to do my second.

The cahoot website is easy enough to use - it's when you want them to behave like a normal bank that you run into problems.

cahoot declined a transaction of mine for "security reasons." The transaction was to deposit funds via my debit card into my share dealing account in order to buy a US company stock on the New York Stock Exchange immediately, so I was prevented from doing this. I received no phone call from cahoot to ask if this was me making this transaction and did I want it to go ahead. So I called the Call Centre in desperation, only to be left in the queue for 15 minutes and then cut off abruptly at 8.00pm so they could go home and stop dealing with customers.

Time was of the essence and what happened next is predictable - the stock price rose, the pound weakened against the dollar and the same trade the next day lost me hundreds of pounds.

Still no phone call from cahoot in the morning, so I called them. I was told to contact their Fraud department, but their one-man band was 'busy' and would call me back. Two hours later he did. Their Fraud department is in Lisbon and if you can understand anything they are saying in Portuguese English, then good luck. I've seen both Fawlty Towers series many times, but could barely understand a word. So I called the call centre again; they said there were "suspicious circumstances" over the transaction but refused to tell me what these were because it was "business sensitive information"! Yet this was my money, my account, my business! I'm the one who is sensitive to it. Naturally I was worried whether the share dealing company was in financial difficulty and therefore I should not deposit funds with them if they were at risk. I spent all day trying to get an answer out of cahoot, but nothing. And of course, I am hundreds of pounds worse off due to the missed trade caused by them declining my transaction and not checking with me.

Is this reasonable? I have two other bank accounts and both of them call me immediately if there is a transaction that they want to check with me before allowing through.

What's worse is that cahoot tell me that it is at their discretion whether they will allow a transaction to go through; that there is no guarantee at all that they will contact you; and that even if you call them beforehand to pre-authorise a transaction, they still won't allow it.

Why they think they can play God, Judge and Jury over what you can spend your money on and when, is beyond me. Cahoot is fine if you want basic banking online, but don't expect them to anything grown-up beyond that or help you when things go wrong (as they often do). They are not a serious bank. I will be closing my account.

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The good points are that you're in control as you carry out most your banking online. On the down side, Cahoot recently restricted their customer call centre service, so their only open Mondays to Saturdays. Its particularly frustrating if you find that on a Sunday your card has been declined, as can happen randomly for security reasons, as you'll have to wait until Monday morning when the call centre re-opens to find out what's going on, and have restrictions lifted. Most other banks operate an ...

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I've banked with Cahoot for years without any problems. A fraud problem was dealt with efficiently, and my other dealings with customer service have also been very good. I like the fact that you pay in cheques via the post (not that I have many to pay in). Website is easy to use, and availability is generally very good. I haven't had any charges levied to my account, and the £100 interest free overdraft can be useful.

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I have been banking with Cahoot for years. They are part of the Abbey Group. There used to be £250 fee-free overdraft at all time, but now it is only £100, which is no longer a significant helping hand. Deposit cheques must be mailed by post (not too bad, as they provide prepaid envelops), but they seem to be cleared quite quickly. You are in complete control of when and where to send funds to. Cahoot are not a bad choice if you bank online often.

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I opened Cahoot Current Account in summer of 2002 and I was very happy with it up until the end of 2003. Unfortunately, the only means of paying in cheques is by post - up to 7 working days delay before the money hits the account and then you've got to wait for the cheque to clear - or over the PO counter. PO counter more secure and you would think it was quicker - and up until Jan 2004 it was. Unfortunately I have experienced a number of delays recently which have rather spoiled Cahoot's previo ...