Co-op Bank
I just wanted to post a separate note with regards to Co-op bank.
The day before I went bankrupt I popped into my local branch to withdraw all my money, and I spoke to one of the advisors. She was very knowledgable about bankruptcy and while the info she told me I knew already, it would have been a quite reassuring if I was in the dark. She also said that it was not the end of the World going bankrupt and that they would do all they can to help us on the road to ‘recovery’ (so to speak). She even said to go back in after the bankruptcy was granted and they would arrange a savings account so we can earn interest on any spare cash, as the cashminder account does not accrue interest.
The advisor said I should withdraw all my cash to ensure the OR does not take any money, and although the bank does the freezing/unfreezing, it was down to the OR to make the decision to release the interest back to us. Although she could not guarantee it, she thought the account would be left alone. However she did say that if the account was frozen to come in straight away and they would open a new account. When I asked about the fact we were going to be bankrupt and opening a new account, she said that the Co-op is run by ethical policies and they have a policy not to exclude anyone, regardless of their social standing (ie. bankrupt).
After the call with the OR about keeping the Co-op account, I went back in to the branch and spoke to a different advisor who made a note on my account to say to leave it alone as the OR was writing to say he had no interest in the account. Again he was understanding and knowledgable, respectful of our situation and in both situations I was VERY impressed with the customer service I received - many thanks to them for being very ‘reachable’ and for treating us as individuals rather than numbers on a computer system.
Mr. Wen
