Basic Bank Accounts for Prisoners
Prisoners - Basic Bank Account Information
Bank accounts, banking options and benefits on release from prison.
You'll need a national insurance (NI) number to claim benefits. Get advice about how to get a number if you haven't got one already. You'll need to prove your identity, so make sure you keep form B79 which the prison gives you when you're released.
You'll usually need a bank account so that your benefits can be paid into it. You may not be able to open an ordinary bank account but you should be able to open a basic bank account. If you can't get a bank account, ask for your benefits to be paid into a card account at the post office.
If you’re about to leave prison, you might be able to get a Community Care Grant or Crisis Loan to help with necessary costs. You may get a discharge grant from the prison to help you with living costs before your benefits come through.
Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to claim:
- Income Support, Pension Credit or Jobseeker's Allowance
- Any back payments of benefit which you are owed because the benefit wasn't paid whilst you were in prison
- Other benefits, such as Retirement Pension or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). It might be hard to get ESA and you should get specialist advice if you need to claim it
- Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit to help pay for housing costs.
If you’re going to apply for Jobseeker's Allowance, the Freshstart Team will arrange for you to have an interview at your local Jobcentre Plus office as soon as you leave prison.
Ask a member of the prison staff for the contact details of the Freshstart Team. If you're 16 or 17 when you’re released, contact your local Connexions Service office or Careers Wales office. You can register here for work or training before you go to the Jobcentre Plus office.
Listed below are some of the frequently asked questions on Banking & Credit
- Banking Information Centre - Introduction
- How Basic Bank Accounts work
- Advice on Basic Bank Accounts
- Basic Bank Account Information
- Keep Track of your Basic Bank Accounts
- Basic Bank Accounts with Direct Debit
- Basic Bank Accounts Help
- What proof is needed to open a Basic Bank Account?
- Basic Bank Accounts for International Students
- Basic Bank Accounts for Migrant Workers
- Basic Bank Accounts for Refugees
- Basic Bank Accounts for Asylum Seekers
- Basic Bank Accounts for Prisoners
- Ex-Offender Basic Bank Account Help
- Common Banking Terms
- Bankruptcy Bank Accounts
- Facilities on Bankruptcy Bank Accounts
- Guaranteed Bank Accounts
- Will your account be frozen upon bankruptcy?
- Bankruptcy Bank Account upgrades
- Basic Bank Accounts when you are bankrupt
- Open a new bank account after bankruptcy
- Bank Accounts Help after bankruptcy
- Pre-Paid debit cards for bankrupts
- Bank Accounts with no credit checks for Bankrupts
- How to get a bankruptcy bank account
- What features does a bankruptcy bank account offer?
- Can I stay with my bank account if I have just been made bankrupt?
IVA's
The IVA Guide
Money Advice Direct has put together an IVA Guide based on the enquiries and questions that we receive at our helpline offices.
In the guide we cover such subjects as IVA Approval, early settlment of your IVA, missed IVA payments, IVA failure, additional debt claims and much more.
[click here for IVA Guide]
What is an IVA?
The IVA is an extremely powerful tool enabling you to clear your debt and return to a clean financial bill of health. Visit Money Advice Direct's Guide to Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs).
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DANGER
Due to the tremendous demand for debt consolidation services the United Kingdom is now overloaded with debt management companies that contain misleading information. [more...]