So here's a brief rundown of my situation.

I have a large loan with RBS, and was paying it off fine until about 8 months ago when I got into serious financial difficulty.

RBS helped for a short time reducing my payments to just £1 per month for three months but of course still adding interest at £200 per month...which by the way they said they would not do but that's another story.

My circumstances didn't improve and I have spent the last 5 months trying to reach an agreement with them.

Eventually they agreed to accept a token payment of £1 per month and stop all interest and charges.

However they also said in order to do that they would make my accounts "non-operational" and that I should return my debit card and see other banking facilities elsewhere.

Fair enough but of course I need at least a basic account for money to go in and out of.

I looked at Nationwide as their basic account seems to do everything I need however it seems that it is only available to bankrupts and/or people who do not already have another UK account.

This leaves me with a problem because "technically" I no longer have a functioning UK account but it still "exists" if you see what I mean?

I can't proceed with the online application if I answer yes to the question "do you have another UK account". If I answer no..would I be lying?

I can't apply for the normal account because my credit rating is as low as it can possibly be right now so not only would it be an extra search on my file but I would be refused.

Maybe I should just answer "no" to that question about other accounts. Just wanted to see what others experiences are.

co-op - post office

lots of online ones available

Plenty of other banks out there who do basic accounts.

Most banks do a basic account

Lloyds Group - Halifax

NAtionwide are good too - You can have one with them

Just go ahead and apply... But dont apply too much...

Alternatively, some credit unions offer basic current accounts. But do make sure to read the terms & conditions as the ones I looked at charge a monthly fee and charges for certain types of transactions.

Might sound like a strange one but have you considered Monzo / Monese etc?

Thanks for the replies everyone.

The reason I looked at Nationwide for their 'FexBasic' account is because apart from no overdraft and no monthly fee it gives you pretty much the same facilities as their standard account.

I went ahead and applied and was accepted.

I didn't actually need to worry about saying I had no other UK account because during the application process it asks you to confirm that you either do not have another uk account or that your existing bank have informed you they will be closing your account.

So all good. Might be useful info for anyone else thinking of applying

any account with no credit should be acceptable regardless if all the id checks etc are ok.

coop, barclays, nationwide, etc

some banks may check credit first to see if applicable and then offer more, but if insist on just a basic then all shld be ok. banks are required to offer at least a basic.

I understand that there is generally an obligation for a bank to provide a basic account to any potential customer in the absence of certain reasons such as fraud.

If a bank refused to provide you with a basic account then I would be thinking about making a complaint to the ombudsman. I will do this especially in the case of RBS who apparently have frozen your accounts and refuse to give you any other banking facilities. Even though you now have an account with the Nationwide, I would be tempted to make the RBS complaint just for the exercise. It wouldn't cost you anything.

You might find this link useful. It is a different type of account, but you still get issued a sortcode, account number and debit card to access your money. There is no credit check.

https://www.thechangeaccount.com/community/

All banks are required to offer a basic account but they don't usually advertise the fact. They make no money off these accounts because there is no monthly charge and no overdraft facility. However much like car insurance a bank account these days is almost a necessity. How would you get your salary paid without a bank account for example? So if they are a necessity for modern life then we should not have to go hunting around for these accounts and they should be advertised up front the same as any other account.

thanks for the help and suggestions. Will post back if there are any problems with Nationwide but looking good so far.