Best Young Persons Account

Stoopid

My son is due to return to school in september, and will probably be entitled to the £30 a week EMA.
He does not have a current account, so I thought Great, I can sign him up for an A&L a/c ( I already have one) and both get £25 by the refer a friend scheme. But, the way I read it, he has to be paying a salary in - so his EMA will presumbly not count.
He doesn't need moneyboxes, or a calculator, and although the money will be his to use/spend, I will be encouraging him to leave £10 a week in, to try and help him to learn about saving etc. So, can anyone recommend the best account, which may hopefully get him a nice bonus for joining, or some vouchers etc, and/or good interest rate ?
I was reading Martins bit about the Halifax Childrens regular saver, but I don't know if the way EMA is paid would fall within their definition of regular - esp given the holiday periods.

I would be very grateful for any advice.....and apologies if I have missed a thread about the best way to use your EMA - I did a search but couldn't find anything.

popularfurball

The A&L 16-21 account you don't have to put regular money into it - they just suggest that you do - and the EMA is paid directly into a bank account anyway so surely it would go into the account? Its the Adult version you have to pay into - I asked the guy in the branch last week as I have set up one and am going to set my younger brother up one to put some savings in (that we aren't allowed to touch) from when we were born but the bonds/trust funds etc have run out.

JPizzle

You do need to pay a certain amount per month for the account, but you set how much this is. I know the adult one is like £500 per month, but mine is set at £10, and my friends, as I've said before, have theirs set at £1 per month.

So obviously, 4 weeks of EMA at £30 is £120, but I wouldn't set the minimum funding that high, just incase he didn't get paid some weeks, or in half terms/ holidays.

I've never not put £10 a month in, so I don't know what they do if you don't.

popularfurball

If this is the case then the guy in A&L was rubbishing me - My brother isn't using his as a current account - merely to deposit a lump sum in which he isn't allowed to spend. But the guy said that he didn't have to pay into it like a regular savings - the T&C say you must pay in your wages or any other regular money, however the FAQ's say that there is no minimum amount of funding - to me thats ambiguous.

I'm going back tomorrow, so i'll quiz them then ... if it does turn out to have to have a certain amount, can you do a standing order from one to another and back to yours? I know thats hassle, but for the interest for the year it might be worth it??

I'll double check tomorrow.

TheEffect

There is no funding requirements for the Under 21's Premier Account, though there will be a minimum funding requirement to receive the free £25 each. Your son care get £50 free for opening an A&L account by going to https://www.quidco.com, registering and then opening an account via the link on the Quidco website.

If I were your son, I'd open an account with Lloyds TSB. They have an under 19's account which gives a Visa Debit Card, Cheque Book, Internet Banking, Linked Savings Account, Phone Bank (24/7 and in the UK) and Weekly Text Messages with your ballance (Always found this helpful, as I could tell when my EMA had been paid in, as EMA are very unreliable and pay the money into your bank when they like.

Barclays also offer a bank account with a full Visa Debit Card, Cheque Book and Internet Banking. They do not have the weekly text messages though and you need a PinSentry (Card Reader) to login to Internet Banking. Their Phone Banking is also located in India.

JPizzle

Even though I have all 3 of those accounts The Effect mentioned, I can't understand why you say Lloyds TSB are more preferable. Premier 21 gives a full Visa debit, cheque book, linked savings and a telephone bank as well. You might not get a weekly text for balance, but a cashpoint or internet banking is just as easy to use.

The linked savings account isn't automatically done from Lloyds TSB, whereas from Alliance and Leicester it is. You get a PlusSaver with Alliance Leicester which is around 5%, and most Lloyds TSB ones will only give around 3% unless you have quite a bit of money in.

You don't even need a linked savings account, because 10% from the Premier 21 beats any savings account.

The £50 or £25 cashback is a big enough advantage in itself.

popularfurball

TheEffect wrote: »

Their Phone Banking is also located in India.

Not entirely... There is a centre in Manchseter/Liverpool...and some others. Although more are becoming off shore. Barclaycard on the other hand....


And A&L - Sorry I forgot to ask today :-( - However I changed mymind about setting up my account in branch, and decided to wait until I could open the adult account as the interest for the two months wouldnt match the £100 for opening the account - I'm just hoping it isnt withdrawn by then!! They gave me back my cheque (the account couldn't be set up last week due to having to have the account for a week before the referral can be done) no quibble, and shredded the application - didn't try and sell or anything :rolleyes:

TheEffect

JPizzle wrote: »

Even though I have all 3 of those accounts The Effect mentioned, I can't understand why you say Lloyds TSB are more preferable. Premier 21 gives a full Visa debit, cheque book, linked savings and a telephone bank as well. You might not get a weekly text for balance, but a cashpoint or internet banking is just as easy to use.

The linked savings account isn't automatically done from Lloyds TSB, whereas from Alliance and Leicester it is. You get a PlusSaver with Alliance Leicester which is around 5%, and most Lloyds TSB ones will only give around 3% unless you have quite a bit of money in.

You don't even need a linked savings account, because 10% from the Premier 21 beats any savings account.

The £50 or £25 cashback is a big enough advantage in itself.

I also have (had rather) an account with A&L, Barclays and Lloyds. While A&L offer 10% interest, that was not enough to keep me with them. I found their customer service to be appalling and their internet banking is also terrible. Nothing shows up until a few days later. Also, they don't have that many branches (compared to TSB/Barclays/Natwest etc) in the UK.

It's just my personal opinion and experience with them. I would never go near them again.