Linked Banks and Creditors
When you’re dealing with your debts, it’s very important to ensure you have a ‘safe’ bank account – i.e. a bank account that isn’t linked to any of your unsecured creditors. If you don’t and owe your bank money they have the right to offset – meaning they can transfer cash from your account to pay off their other debts.
Below is a list of the most common linked banks and building societies in the UK – if your bank account and any of your unsecured debts are with linked institutions, you should consider opening a new basic bank account to keep your money safe. Find out more about ‘safe’ bank accounts here.
Allied Irish Bank
First Trust Bank (NI)
Bank of Ireland
Post Office
AA Financial Services
Bank of Scotland
Birmingham Midshires
Capital Bank
Halifax
Intelligent Finance
Saga
St James’s Place Bank
Aviva
BM Savings
Axis Bank UK Ltd
Barclays Bank
Barclaycard
Standard Life
Barclays Direct
ING Direct
Co-Operative Bank
Britannia
Smile
Family Building Society
National Counties Building Society
HSBC
First Direct
John Lewis / Waitrose
Marks & Spencer
Nationwide Building Society
Cheshire Building Society
Derbyshire Building Society
Dunfermline Building Society
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)
Child & Co
Direct Line
Drummonds Bank
Holt’s
Santander
Cahoot
Bradford & Bingley
Alliance & Leicester
Skipton Building Society
Castle Money
Chesham Building Society
Scarborough Building Society
Stroud & Swindon Building Society
Coventry Building Society
Yorkshire Bank
Clydesdale Bank
Virgin Money
Yorkshire Building Society
Barnsley Building Society
Chelsea Building Society
Egg
Norwich & Peterborough Building Society
Yorkshire Shareplan
Lloyds
MBNA
Cheltenham & Gloucester
Coventry Building Society
Coventry BS
Stroud and Swindon BS
NatWest
RBS
Ulster Bank
What is a basic bank account?
When you’ve missed debt repayments, or if you’ve just got a bad credit rating, it can be difficult to get a bank account. We recommend opening a new account with a bank unlinked to your current account. A basic bank account is a plain current account without an overdraft. Use the list above to find a safe account.
Get advice now
If you have any questions, please contact a PayPlan debt adviser on 0800 316 1833, or for further online information see the pages below. Or simply click the “Get Advice Now” button and we’ll call you back.