Barclays 10% Regular Saver account

Dagobert

intalex wrote:

How do they know whether the payment is coming from a personal account or a business account?

Maybe just from the sender's name if they were to check? It's one of the details outwith the sender's control.

Milarky

As I see it:

The RS term is 12 months from opening...

First payment to be made within 21 days (3 weeks)...

All subsequent payments must be for a variable amount (£25 to £250)...

All subsequent payments must be by Standing Order from Barclays current a/c

Standing Order date cannot be changed once set up (although amount can)...

Only one payment per month allowed (by Standing Order only, therefore)...

12 payments 'must' be made during the the year....


What this does not make clear (and therefore leaves open to interpretation) in my view is whether you can make an opening payment (for £250) and another 12 Standing Order payments during the same year?

Eg: Open account 28th FEB and make one manual payment of £250 in. Set up a SO for 1st of each month thereafter (remember that SO continues after account matures - it just keeps on paying on the same dates into the 'Easysaver' option). Payments during year to anniversary now total 13 (final one on 1st February 2007) but nearly £500 was paid immeidately via two payments on consecutive dates - just by opening the account on the last day of a calendar month.

IF this is permitted (no reason to see why not) it maximizes interest

Here's a table showing how it would work:

Date:---- Payment---Interest
28/02/06--£250.00----£20.00
01/03/06--£250.00 ----£19.95
01/04/06--£250.00----£18.25
01/05/06--£250.00----£16.60
01/06/06--£250.00----£14.90
01/07/06--£250.00 ----£13.26
01/08/06--£250.00----£11.56
01/09/06--£250.00

---

£9.86
01/10/06--£250.00

---

£8.22
01/11/06--£250.00

---

£6.52
01/12/06--£250.00

---

£4.88
01/01/07--£250.00

---

£3.18
01/02/07--£250.00

---

£1.48
28/02/07 ---£0.00
01/03/07--£250.00

Total net interest (20%) £148.66

(Compare this to '4%' of £3000 - £120 - what you will earn if, say, you open the account on 16th Feb, paid the first Standing Order amount of £250 on the 1st March and on the 1st of each month thereafter and the account matures on 15th February 2007. Has anyone tried to start an account in this way, with two very close payments falling in different calendar months?)

spurious_2

As a part time member of staff for Barclays (please don't kill me) I do not earn more then £1000 a month, but still qualify for the RS account as staff do not have to meet this requirement.

Am I within my rights to ask for this to be confirmed in writing?

I opened my account today, and so far everyone has confirmed it to me over the phone or face to face in the branch, but knowing that the accounts are reviewed automatically, I'm a little concerned that in a year's time the only thing noted will be my credits, not my employment details, and I will not be granted the 10% rate. To pre-empt that from happening I'd like to be armed with written proof that as staff, I still qualify.

Paul_Herring

spurious wrote:

As a part time member of staff for Barclays (please don't kill me) I do not earn more then £1000 a month, but still qualify for the RS account as staff do not have to meet this requirement.

Am I within my rights to ask for this to be confirmed in writing?

I cannot see why you cannot have it in writing. Can you not just politely ask your line manager who to see about it?

intalex

spurious wrote:

As a part time member of staff for Barclays (please don't kill me) I do not earn more then £1000 a month, but still qualify for the RS account as staff do not have to meet this requirement.

Am I within my rights to ask for this to be confirmed in writing?

As long as you are on the Barclays payroll (and not through an agency), I think your pay-slip for the month in which you open the RS Account should in theory be sufficient evidence.

But as Paul_Herring suggests, a polite request to have it in writing from the appropriate person would certainly leave you free of all concerns.

Just out of curiosity, do you have a lower minimum amount requirement to be deposited into your current account, or do you have absolutely no restriction on how much to be deposited into your current account, i.e. could you transfer a mere £250 into your current account each month and move it all to the RS?

ReportInvestor

My graduate student offspring has a Barclays current account into which his first salary will be going in September.

Does anyone know if they will let him open the regular saver in advance on trust, before seeing the colour of his money?

Kazza242

ReportInvestor wrote:

My graduate student offspring has a Barclays current account into which his first salary will be going in September.

Does anyone know if they will let him open the regular saver in advance on trust, before seeing the colour of his money?

Unfortunately, I don't think Barclays will allow your son to do this. I've just had a look at the Barclays regular saver terms and conditions. They state that, in order to qualify for the 10% rate, payments of (or totaling) at least £1,000, and including a mandated salary and/or pension, must be made to your current account in every month during the 12 month term of the Regular Saver account.

According to the Barclays website, if qualifying payments are not made to the current account in any month during the 12 month term of the Regular Saver account:

"The Regular Saver account will receive interest, calculated for the whole 12 month term, at the same variable gross rate(s) applicable to the Barclays Easy Saver account". [Source: Barclays website regular saver t&c's.]

As he is starting his new job in September, and will be receiving his pay monthly (?), he would probably have to wait until October before opening the regular saver. Or I suppose, if his salary is scheduled to be paid on or before say 30th Sep, he could open the regular saver on the 1st Sep. If he has between £25-£250 available to pay in before the end of September, then there is nothing to stop him opening it next month.

On opening the regular saver, Barclays state that a payment must be made within three weeks of the account being opened.