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Troubleshooting Guide

Please read through the list below of our most common enquiries which should fix most problems you have accessing our website:

Page cannot be displayed

Try these steps to help you find the source of your problem:

  • Shut down your computer and turn off any router or modem you may have at the power supply (this is the box that connects your computer to the phone line). Wait for 60 seconds and then restart everything.
  • Clear the cache/ temporary files as an initial step. Find out how to do this.
  • Press control & F5 on the page you're having problems with to clear your transparent cache - (this forces the page to load).
  • Try accessing the Co-operative Bank service from another computer. If this is successful, it may show where your problem lies.
  • Upgrade your browser - if you are using an early version of Internet Explorer, you can upgrade to a later version by going to www.microsoft.com/ie.
  • Try using a different web browser - There are many web browsers available to download but it's worth trying Firefox first. Go to www.getfirefox.com and follow the free download instructions.
  • Get a critical updates package - Microsoft offers a Critical Updates Package, which solves many problems with Internet Explorer. This can be downloaded from windowsupdate.microsoft.com.

There is a problem with the websites security certificate

The message about the site's security certificate expiring can appear for one of three reasons:

  • The certificate for the site you've gone to has expired
  • The date on your computer clock is wrong
  • The browser needs upgrading

If you get this error message the first thing to do would be to check the date and time on your computer as the certificate for our site doesn't run out until April 2011.

On a Windows PC you can do this by double clicking on the time in the lower left hand corner of the screen to open the 'Date/Time Properties'.

If the date is correct then you may need to upgrade your browser as older versions of Internet Explorer, which are now no longer supported by Microsoft, can have problems. You can do this by going to www.microsoft.com/ie.

What is a cache and how do I clear it

Every time you open a browser to view a web page, that information is stored on your computer for later use. Windows operating systems store all this material in what are called temporary Internet files or cache.

Your web browser will store a list of websites you have visited in a history file on your computer. Whenever you log off the Co-operative Bank site we tell your browser to delete these, but just in case, it is worth regularly clearing the temporary Internet files from your PC to stop someone looking at where you have been.

Clearing the cache for Internet Explorer 6 & 7

Click 'Start' and select 'Control Panel'.
(Note: With Windows XP Classic View click the Windows 'Start' button and select 'Settings' and 'Control Panel').
Open the 'Internet Options' icon.
Click the 'General' tab if it is not selected already.
Under the heading 'Temporary Internet files', click 'Delete Files'.
Click 'OK' to exit.

Close down the Internet Properties and Control Panel windows and restart Internet Explorer.

Clearing cache in Internet Explorer 8

Click on the 'Safety' menu at the top of the page.
Tick the box next to: Temporary Internet Files and History Click the 'Delete' button.

Clearing the cache for Mozilla Firefox

Click on:
Tools
Select Clear Private Data/Clear Recent History
Make sure cache and cookies are ticked
Click 'Clear now'

Clearing the cache in Safari

From the Safari menu, click 'Empty Cache'.
When asked 'Are you sure you want to empty the cache?' click 'Empty'.
Click 'Done'.
Reload the page.

Clearing the cache in Google Chrome

Click the Tools menu (the spanner in the upper-right corner). Click Clear browsing data and tick the boxes for the types of information you wish to delete.

  • Clear browsing history
  • Clear download history
  • Empty the cache
  • Delete cookies
  • Clear saved passwords

You can also choose the period of time you wish to delete cached information using the Clear data from this period dropdown menu. Click Clear Browsing Data when ready.

Clearing the cache in Opera

Once your browser is open, select the Tools menu and click Delete Private Data.
Click the Details button.
If you do not wish to delete cookies, saved passwords, etc., remove checks from them in the list.
Press Delete.

Clearing the cache in AOL

Right click the AOL icon in the system tray
Select System Information
Under the Utilities tab click 'Clear browser cache'

Please note that you may also need to clear the cache for Internet Explorer too due to the way that AOL works.

A problem has occurred with your connection to internet banking

This message will be typically displayed if the cookies from our site are being blocked.

How do I enable my cookies?

The Co-operative Bank website uses permanent cookies to:

  • Identify the link you used to find our site
  • Check which browser you use
  • Monitor traffic on our website

The Co-operative Bank banking service also uses temporary cookies to:

  • Form part of our security process, by identifying your computer by our Co-operative Bank banking service
  • Temporary cookies are removed when you close down your browser

Our policy on cookies is that we do not pass on, or sell, personal details to any other company.

Also the cookies we use on our website will never contain any information that is personally identifiable to you.

You can enable cookies by following the instructions below :

Using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6,7,8 and AOL Explorer

Click on the following buttons in Internet Explorer:
Tools
Internet options
Privacy
Slide the 'settings' bar to medium
OK

If there is no 'settings' bar please click on the 'default' button.

Using Firefox 3

Click on:
Tools
Options
Privacy
In the cookies section, put a tick in the box 'Accept cookies from sites'

Using Safari

Go to the 'Safari' drop down menu
Select 'Preferences'
Select the 'Security' icon from the top panel
Under 'Accept Cookies' section select 'Only from sites you navigate to'

Using Opera 9.0 and above

Open the Tools menu
Select Preferences
Open the 'Advanced' tab
Select 'Cookies' item
Select 'Accept cookies' or 'Accept cookies only from the site I visit' option depending on your needs
Click OK

Using Google Chrome

Click on:
The tool symbol in the top right hand corner
Select 'Options'
Click the 'Under the Hood' tab and find the 'Security' section
Under Cookies settings, select to 'Allow all cookies'

Your sort code and account number are unable to be entered

If you are typing your sort code and account number into the boxes and it is not being displayed, you may need to press the number lock button on your keyboard or replace the batteries if you are using a wireless keyboard.

The information entered is being rejected

If you are confident the correct sort code, account number and security information is being entered correctly, please call our customer service team on 08457 212 212 and we will investigate this for you.

Statements are printing on two pages

Unfortunately sometimes there is simply too much information on your statements to fit everything on to one page. This is something that we are working on however you can adjust some settings on your computer to allow the statements to fit on to one page.

Firstly you can lower the sizes of margins that Internet Explorer uses when printing web pages. To do this:

  • Choose 'File' from your browser and then select 'Page Setup'
  • A window should appear and from here you will be able to adjust your print margins

You can also lower the text sizes that are used when showing web pages in Internet Explorer. If you do this, the text size will also be reduced for printed documents. Here is how you do this:

  • Select 'view' from your Internet Explorer and then select 'text size'
  • From the 'text size' menu select smaller or smallest
  • Re-start Internet Explorer

Now when you print a statement it should only print one page.

Visa account showing as N/A

Occasionally, when our system updates, it affects some customers' accounts by greying them out or changing their status to N/A.

You will find that if you log out and log back in again, everything should be OK.

What if my technical question isn't answered here?

If you still do not have an answer to your question, please send an email to ibis@co-operativebank.co.uk. Please do not e-mail your account details or any personal information.

If your question is banking related please call Customer Services on 08457 212 212. Our lines are open 24 hours a day 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Find out about our call charges.