Update! Santander First Home Saver Account: 5% on up to 50k savings (up to 35 only)

NikkyWikky

Does anyone knwo what the current interest rate is on this account. Is it still 5%?

donkingkong

5% at the moment. Account has now been closed so expect % to drop.

Moneygrabber24

Alrite guys,

I opened a first home saver account in sept 2010. Put in 5k initial deposit then £300 every month until december 2010 when i put £20k in at the end of december. Ever since then ive been putting £150 every month.
My account is due to mature and get interest this september 2011, so ill let you know whether i got the interest that im expecting after putting £20k in last december!!
Spoke to a santander guy in branch today. He said that the 5% is fixed for one year after account opening, and then reverts to variable rate, so that it most likely will come down into year 2. Will have to wait and see next month.
Then again, most of the guys i speak to at santander dont have a clue what theyre talking about......

will keep you posted....

atypical

Moneygrabber24 wrote: »

Spoke to a santander guy in branch today. He said that the 5% is fixed for one year after account opening, and then reverts to variable rate, so that it most likely will come down into year 2. Will have to wait and see next month.

I'm very sure it wasn't a fixed rate for 1 year. It is a variable rate that has been 5% since the account was launched.

Moneygrabber24

Well, it seems, yet again, that staff at santander are giving wrong information!!

cafbrooks

I emailed Santander and they told me that this rate is fixed till November 2012 (2 years after opening) so yet again another mystery!

atypical

Google still has a copy of the Santander account webpage in their cache here.

"a great variable interest rate of 5.00% gross/AER on your savings for your first home."

If I were you I'd take a screenshot or something of that page for any potential future disputes. But to be honest, it's in your favour to get evidence of them saying the rate is fixed until Nov 2012.

afmfifgh

Just done my usual monthly checks and the account is still paying 5%.

This was the link I used to check on 01/09/2011

http://www.santander.co.uk/csgs/StaticBS?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1223415711887&cachecontrol=immediate&ssbinary=true&maxage=3600

On page 11 of 15 about half way down you will see First Home Saver - Special Issue 1

lb375

Deleted_User wrote: »

Further to the discussions (here:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/27583661#Comment_27583661)

I have managed to squirrel away about £40k in my Santander First Home Saver account at 5%, despite the fact that you're supposed to be restricted to a £5k initial deposit plus £300/month.

I did this by opening the account with the minimum deposit of £100, and then towards the end of the month paying in a £40k deposit. For the rest of that month only you get 0.1% (hence paying late in the month) and then 5% interest going forwards.

This is within the rules, which say that you should save up to £300/month but that any month in which you pay in more than £300 will only get interest at 0.1% for that month only.

Go here for the account: http://www.santander.co.uk/csgs/Satellite?appID=abbey.internet.Abbeycom&canal=CABBEYCOM&cid=1210611105334&empr=Abbeycom&leng=en_GB&pagename=Abbeycom%2FPage%2FWC_ACOM_TemplateB2

Note that:
(i) you are supposed to be a first-time home buyer (but they don't check, other than making you sign a declaration that you don't own a home - but it would almost certainly be fraud to make a false declaration)
(ii) you can only get the account if you are under 35 at the date of opening (the account doesn't then close when you reach 35, of course)
(iii) you need to do a 'mortgage interview' before closing the account and withdrawing cash - this just means visiting a branch for a quick chat, no credit search required, and no need to take out a mortgage (just say you're not interested)
(iv) you cannot make partial withdrawals - to get money out you need to close the account completely and
(v) Santander say they "may" close the account if you pay in more than £300 in a month (but they haven't with my account!)
(vi) maximum account balance is £50k (although there is a chance this will not be enforced...)

*Further edit - 13 November 2010* I can confirm that this loophole still works and is definitely available. The loophole is not really 'in the spirit' of the savings account, but it's definitely within the letter of the rules and in practice it works so if you're under 35 I say go for it.

Hi, just wonder whether you have received your 5% interest? If this works, I will try it as well. Thanks.

Moneygrabber24

Just phoned two seperate santander branches and both ladies said that because the first home saver account is not available anymore, the rate after the first anniversary of opening the account drops down to 0.1% .
My first home saver is due to mature at its first anniversary very soon, when ill get the interest paid in. Looks like once that happens i'm going to have to close the account, since im not leaving all that money in at 0.1%!!