Abbey First Home Saver Account

The_Fat_el_Hombre

I'm interested in applying for an Abbey First home saver account. The interest rate is 5% which is decent and it also allows me to deposit up to £5k initially and then with a regular monthly saving of up to £300. Just reading the information on their website though and it states this:

Further Information


Interest is calculated on the daily balance of the account, and is paid annually on the anniversary of account opening. For example, if you saved £100 per month for the whole 12 month term of the account, you will get back your deposits totaling £1,200 (12 x £100), and will have received in total approximately £32.50 gross interest during the year (provided no withdrawals are made during the year).



AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and shows what the interest rate would be if we paid interest and added it to your account each year. The gross rate is the interest rate we pay before income tax is taken off.

Rates effective from 1st March 2009.

Does this mean that my account has to stay open for at least a year to get any interest, or can I close the account after a few months and collect the interest that my moneys earned for those few months?

OneADay

Just briefly reading the Abbey page - it looks like a minimum 12 month term.
So would suspect you are tied in for 12 months?

You can make withdrawals probably in a month but lose interest for that month only? Worth checking first with them.

PS It says in terms and conditions

"Instant access to your First Home Saver via branch. Please note there are no partial withdrawals allowed on this account. You can access your funds at any time but will need to close your account. To close your account you will need to bring in two forms of ID plus the validation checklist that you were given on account opening."

Still not clear how much interest you would get if you close before 12 months are up.

The_Fat_el_Hombre

OneADay wrote: »

Just briefly reading the Abbey page - it looks like a minimum 12 month term.
So would suspect you are tied in for 12 months?

You can make withdrawals probably in a month but lose interest for that month only? Worth checking first with them.

PS It says in terms and conditions

"Instant access to your First Home Saver via branch. Please note there are no partial withdrawals allowed on this account. You can access your funds at any time but will need to close your account. To close your account you will need to bring in two forms of ID plus the validation checklist that you were given on account opening."

Still not clear how much interest you would get if you close before 12 months are up.

Thanks for taking the time to have a look. And yea that's exactly the problem (the website not clarifying the itnerest). Just that I might see a house I want to buy within a year of opening the account and might need to withdraw all my money from the account. If I can't collect any interest if I need to close within the 1st year, the account isn't worth opening. otherwise it would be perfect

OneADay

Probably worth checking it out fully with them - too many strings attached.

And another thing I noted today

"Reward – Get a great rate for saving regularly towards a deposit for your first home and in return all we ask you to do is have a mortgage interview up to 90 days before you come to close the account."

You get the reward interest if you actually go ahead and do a mortgage interview with them - now thats too much to ask a consumer.

The_Fat_el_Hombre

Nah I'm fine with that. Don't mind having an interview, I'll just say no if what they're offering isn't good enough

poorgirl-54

i opened this account just for the interest rate.

abbey are such a pain to bank with, their customer service is pathetic, and the worst i have experienced with any bank or building society.

abbey took over 10 days to cash in my cheque, thus i lost interest in those days and i incurred a penalty fee with my bank.

the account is operated by a book, which i should have received immediately, but haven't yet and its been nearly a month.

wen i went into the branch to open it they didnt know it even existed.
the branch manager who was doing my paperwork for the account to open it, didnt even know the interest rate on the account.

scott_lithgows

poorgirl-54 wrote: »

i opened this account just for the interest rate.

abbey are such a pain to bank with, their customer service is pathetic, and the worst i have experienced with any bank or building society.

abbey took over 10 days to cash in my cheque, thus i lost interest in those days and i incurred a penalty fee with my bank.

the account is operated by a book, which i should have received immediately, but haven't yet and its been nearly a month.

wen i went into the branch to open it they didnt know it even existed.
the branch manager who was doing my paperwork for the account to open it, didnt even know the interest rate on the account.

and you are still with them why ?

poorgirl-54

for the high interest rate on the account....better than most around

scott_lithgows

Fair enough,I,m not one for accepting constantly poor service myself.

The_Fat_el_Hombre

Poorgirl, can you answer my question then? If I close my account within a year of opening will I still get paid the interest for the time that the account has been open?

poorgirl-54

scott_lithgows wrote: »

Fair enough,I,m not one for accepting constantly poor service myself.

i agree with you.

but from my experience all of the Banks/BS give bad service from my experience, or am i just jinxed?