Bad Credit Option, No Fees

What is a basic bank account, There's a tragic problem in the UK with banking exclusion. If you're one of the 1.7 million people who don't have a regular bank account, it can be a nightmare. Yet there is a solution called a 'basic bank account'. Basic bank accounts are products designed for those with poor credit scores.

As the name suggests, a basic bank account offers a place for you to store your money and pay your money from, without overdraft facilities. Are they completely free of charges, Mostly, yes. Since 1 January 2016, new basic bank accounts have been free of charges for bounced payments for the first time. You should also be aware that basic accounts can still charge you for things like using your debit card abroad, and for certain types of special payments from the account like same-day CHAPS payments.

If you need help managing your money, the Budgeting guide has hints, tips and tricks to see where you're spending and help you cut down. Why don't banks publicise these accounts, Although few bank accounts in the UK charge you to use them, most accounts have overdrafts, which you pay for.

These tend to make banks enough money, meaning they can offer 'free' banking to those not in their overdraft (the banks call it a 'cross-subsidy'). But with basic bank accounts there's no chance for the bank to make money from you as a customer. Instead, it makes a loss, because of the administration costs of setting up your account, for example, and producing and sending your debit card and statements.

So banks don't tell you about these accounts as they don't really want people to have them. Unless you specifically ask for them by name, bank staff may not mention the option. Instead you'll be given the normal account application forms, fail the credit check, and be rejected. A simple rule change would instantly solve this situation. When you apply for a normal account, if you're rejected due to the credit check, the bank should be forced to offer you its basic account there and then.

Concerns have been raised that delays in moving claimants over to Universal Credit or administration problems may be causing some people to use food banks. The Trussell Trust is the UK’s largest network of food banks. The Trust said it added up data from individual food banks in areas of the UK where Universal Credit had been rolled out and compared the change in usage after a year.

Meanwhile using a random sample of 247 food banks in areas without Universal Credit, or those where the rollout had only just started (for at most three months) the average increase was 13% over equivalent periods. We don’t know how these averages vary across different food banks. The National Audit Office has observed separately steeper increases in food bank use in three of the four areas it looked at where Universal Credit is being introduced. As we’ve looked into before, it’s as important to know what food bank figures don’t tell us as what they do.

The Trussell Trust doesn’t run all food banks in the UK, for instance, so these findings are specific to the cases they’ve been able to measure. This is also still early days. We know that—by definition—the rollout areas covered in the study are among the earliest to receive Universal Credit.

The benefit is currently claimed by an estimated 920,000 claimants and is expected to reach over eight million in total. The research showing a 52% increase can’t on its own prove that Universal Credit is the main driver of increased food bank use, though it’s still likely to be a major factor. The Trussell Trust has done wider work asking some of its users about their experience of Universal Credit and why it led them to use a food bank.

This gives an insight into the problems some people are facing, and why they went to a food bank. But it isn’t necessarily a representative sample of Trussell Trust food bank users as a whole, which the Department for Work and Pensions has drawn attention to. The evidence from its referral agencies suggests in 2017/18 a growing proportion of referrals to food banks are because benefit payments aren’t seen to be covering the costs of essentials. As the Trussell Trust also points out: “Universal Credit is not the only benefit people at food banks are experiencing issues with”.

Research has also suggested people on disability benefits are more likely to visit food banks. The Department for Work and Pensions told us: “The reasons why people use food banks are complex, so it’s wrong to link a rise to any one cause”. It went on to say “Universal Credit is working for the vast majority who claim it”. This factcheck is part of a roundup of BBC Question Time. Isn't it nice to have the whole picture, We rely on your donations to continue and grow our factchecking efforts - to help us maintain our independence we need 1000 donors to give £10 a month. We are currently at 502 - please help Full Fact grow.

Capitol police are asking the public to help identify two theft suspects. Officers believe the individuals stole credit and debit cards from vehicles they broke into in downtown Indianapolis. The cards were then used at various retail establishments, according to police. Those establishments have provided photos of the suspects utilizing the cards.