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Cahoot |
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I took out a flexible loan with Cahoot in 2002 for £6000 and to this date still owe just this amount. I am now trying to get Santander to lower the interest rate as I have worked out that it will take me 24 years to pay it off and would have given them another £37,000. I am in the process of moving my account from Santander (been with Abbey for 40 years). I would not recommend them to anyone.
| Posted by Dee on the 26th July 2010 |  |
I've been trying to reduce the capital on this loan for over 3 months to reduce the ridiculous monthly payments. I was told that the only way they could do this was to amend my monthly direct debit which in itself is fundamentally wrong as this is a one off capital repayment. Having failed to do this I raised a complaint which went to their Top Level and was told that not only did they try and fail to do this but that my monthly DD had also failed in the months subsequent, which I know to be complete rubbish as I have more than enough in the account to cover the capital repayment and also I can see the monthly amount going out on my statement. This was further clarified by ringing their normal loan helpline who told me that I was not in arrears.... Abbey/Santander have made a complete mess of the Cahoot integration and it is costing me about £130 a month in interest I should not be paying.
| Posted by NHK295M on the 26th July 2010 | |
STAY CLEAR OF CAHOOT/SANTANDER!
I've had a Cahoot online flexible loan since 2005 with a £4000 limit. It started off at a reasonable APR (about 6% I think) but got hiked up to 21% in 2 years. Since the account moved to Santander at the end of January I haven't been able to access any details of my account.
The last time I checked the balance was back in January just before they withdrew online access and I had a remaining balance just under my limit (it was something like £3,990). When I phoned Santander at the end of May I was told my remaining balance was £3,910. My monthly payments were roughly £100 so in the space of four months I paid £400 to them but only £80 was taken off my remaining balance - surely something is wrong there?! When I was told over the phone what my balance was I asked them to send statements from the very start of my loan, including payments made, charges, interest rates etc - I was then told they couldn't do this as they had the wrong address for me on their system (it was an online loan so I never updated my address).
I then sent them a letter informing them of my change of address - with proof. In the same letter I also asked them to send me all my statements as requested before in my telephone call. I received a letter from them confirming my change of address but no mention of my request for statements. I have tried to phone several times but every time I do, after going through their menu system, I just get an engaged tone - not even put in a queue or phone ringing, just an engaged tone.
So, I can't access my account online as they have taken that option away and now I can't even phone them as they are constantly engaged! I have no idea how much I owe, what the APR is, what charges (if any) they have added to my account - they only thing I know about my account is the number!
I know lots of other people are having similar problems too
*1 star because I can't give a 0!
I've had a Cahoot online flexible loan since 2005 with a £4000 limit. It started off at a reasonable APR (about 6% I think) but got hiked up to 21% in 2 years. Since the account moved to Santander at the end of January I haven't been able to access any details of my account.
The last time I checked the balance was back in January just before they withdrew online access and I had a remaining balance just under my limit (it was something like £3,990). When I phoned Santander at the end of May I was told my remaining balance was £3,910. My monthly payments were roughly £100 so in the space of four months I paid £400 to them but only £80 was taken off my remaining balance - surely something is wrong there?! When I was told over the phone what my balance was I asked them to send statements from the very start of my loan, including payments made, charges, interest rates etc - I was then told they couldn't do this as they had the wrong address for me on their system (it was an online loan so I never updated my address).
I then sent them a letter informing them of my change of address - with proof. In the same letter I also asked them to send me all my statements as requested before in my telephone call. I received a letter from them confirming my change of address but no mention of my request for statements. I have tried to phone several times but every time I do, after going through their menu system, I just get an engaged tone - not even put in a queue or phone ringing, just an engaged tone.
So, I can't access my account online as they have taken that option away and now I can't even phone them as they are constantly engaged! I have no idea how much I owe, what the APR is, what charges (if any) they have added to my account - they only thing I know about my account is the number!
I know lots of other people are having similar problems too
*1 star because I can't give a 0!
| Posted by phil on the 10th July 2010 | |
DO NOT USE CAHOOT AT ANY COST, READ THIS!
I took out a loan with Cahoot (£8500 over 5 years at £177.64 per month for 60 months on 26/7/06), my loan is due to end 26/7/11, so I telephoned today and they informed me that my settlement figure was £4616.77, I asked how can this be when I only have 13 x payments of 177.64 per month (totaling - £2309.32), they said they do not understand why this has happened and as far as they were concerned I owed the settlement balance of £4616 (over £2000 more!)! I was extremely annoyed indeed, though not worried as I have the original loan agreement and statements to prove otherwise and the ombudsmen has offered to represent me also, so up yours Cahoot! Watch out, watch out, Cahoot's about!
I took out a loan with Cahoot (£8500 over 5 years at £177.64 per month for 60 months on 26/7/06), my loan is due to end 26/7/11, so I telephoned today and they informed me that my settlement figure was £4616.77, I asked how can this be when I only have 13 x payments of 177.64 per month (totaling - £2309.32), they said they do not understand why this has happened and as far as they were concerned I owed the settlement balance of £4616 (over £2000 more!)! I was extremely annoyed indeed, though not worried as I have the original loan agreement and statements to prove otherwise and the ombudsmen has offered to represent me also, so up yours Cahoot! Watch out, watch out, Cahoot's about!
| Posted by Paul on the 18th May 2010 | |
I have mixed experience with this bank. I have current and savings accounts. The latter is currently paying 0.5% and the former 1%, so now I don't bother with the savings account. Interest rates could be better.
Admin is generally good. I accidentally tried to draw on a direct debit from my Cahoot account rather than from another bank (due to a poorly designed website at yet another savings bank). When I contacted them asking for a refund of the refused payment charge, pointing out my previously good record, they did so without question.
My one serious gripe is that they have not yet joined the Faster Payments Scheme, so payments still take days to clear.
Admin is generally good. I accidentally tried to draw on a direct debit from my Cahoot account rather than from another bank (due to a poorly designed website at yet another savings bank). When I contacted them asking for a refund of the refused payment charge, pointing out my previously good record, they did so without question.
My one serious gripe is that they have not yet joined the Faster Payments Scheme, so payments still take days to clear.
| Posted by Paul Carlier on the 8th March 2010 |  |
I am also in the process of closing all my accounts with cahoot.com after 10 years of no hassle banking, but now Bank Santander are in charge they seem to have new ideas! I am currently in dispute with them over the withdrawal of my flexible loan account on the 12th January 2010. To date I have had been unable to resolve the matter with them, they don't seem to know what to do themselves! and my complaint seems to be going round in circles.....
| Posted by karl McLean on the 21st February 2010 | |
Was until yesterday a Cahoot customer, in so far as I've had a flexible loan account with them for nearly a decade. Email came yesterday informing me that they were changing my loan limit and telling me to go online and see what limit I now have, then the usual drivel about this doesn't reflect on my credit worthiness etc. My limit had been reduced from £7000 to £94. This isn't really a problem for me as my loan at the time was £84. I use(d) the account as a source of funds if I needed to get cash quickly for projects, without having to go through the rigmarole of applying for a new loan. Just disgusted at the attitude of the bank to its customer. I've closed the account, and am currently moving my holdings from any Santander company, I've decided they'll not earn another penny from me. One star - only cos I can't give zero - so consider it to be minus one!
| Posted by Mike Doyle on the 13th January 2010 | |
I have been with Cahoot since 2001. No issues at all. Their website is responsive, functional and really intuitive. I have deposited cheques by post using their supplied envelopes and they're normally credited in around 3 days. Setting up additional accounts (such as savings) is a doddle. My only gripe with Cahoot is their continued lack of support for Faster Payments. Cahoot neither support the sending or receiving of FPs, meaning transfers to other accounts usually take a full 3 working days. In the world of electronic banking, this is crazy. Abbey (their parent bank) appear to be very slow on the uptake where Faster Payments are concerned, even though they were one of the original backers of the FP scheme. Cahoot used to offer an excellent Flexible Loan account, but increased interest rates dramatically across the board for all customers, effectively rendering the product useless. It's no longer offered to new customers. Cahoot also used to offer a Credit Card. This is also no longer available either.
| Posted by Paul on the 23rd September 2009 | |
Went through a period of very bad service but now very responsive. One issue they continue doing is to notify customers within a couple of days or after they make a change to their terms and conditions. Their latest change arrived 3 weeks after the effective date of the change. Not very clever. If one uses their deposit facility via post offices expect it to take 2 weeks before the credit appears on your account.
| Posted by John Messingham on the 22nd December 2007 |  |
My favourite for personal banking. They are 'no nonsense' and easy to use, the charges are not as bad as many current accounts. Not great for cash deposits, as they don't have branches so you have to use post offices or Abbey National.
| Posted by Jude Rawlins on the 3rd June 2007 | |
