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

atypical

Moneygrabber24 wrote: »

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%

I don't see why this should be the case. There was no 12 month bonus associated with the account.

freebeer

Moneygrabber24 wrote: »

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%!!

I think you are talking about a different account because the Home Saver doesn't have any maturity or anniversary (only a 50k limit) and the interest is variable and still at 5% now.

Unfortunately most of the Santander staff doesn't know about this account but instead of admitting it they seem to make things up...

Moneygrabber24

Yep I agree with you that santander staff generally don't know what theyre talking about but unfortunately on this occasion, the two ladies i spoke to seem to be correct. Just had a message on my mobile from one of the ladies at santander who apparantly has confirmed with head office that after your first year's interest is paid, the rate drops down to 0.5%. This is because they have discontinued the product and as such all products discontinued drop down to a basic rate. Originally they told me 0.1%, but head office has given the figure of 0.5%. No real difference, its still a crap rate.:(

atypical

Moneygrabber24 wrote: »

This is because they have discontinued the product and as such all products discontinued drop down to a basic rate.

Still doesn't sound right to me, but might be true.

donkingkong

@Moneygrabber24: Don't believe what these bank monkeys tell you! This thread will be updated as soon as the rate drops so just keep watching. When I opened my account a year or 2 back I was telling the (pleasant but clueless) lady the terms and conditions/how the account worked!

Ark_Welder

http://www.santander.co.uk/csgs/StaticBS?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1223416141435&cachecontrol=immediate&ssbinary=true&maxage=3600

First HomeSaver Special Issue 1
Gross: 5.00%
'A reduced rate of 0.10% gross p.a./AER will be paid on the full account balance for the month in which less than £100 or more than
£300 is paid into the account'

First HomeSaver
£1+, no withdrawals per year and £100 credited to account per month 0.60%
£1+, one withdrawal per year or £100 is not credited in a month 0.56%
A reduced rate of 0.10% gross p.a./AER will be paid on the full account balance for the month in which a withdrawal is made.

beefturnmail

Moneygrabber24 wrote: »

This is because they have discontinued the product and as such all products discontinued drop down to a basic rate.

This is nonsense - if anyone at Santander says this to you again, ask them to point out exactly where in the t&c it says this...

The rate is 5% until Santander publish that it has been dropped. Published rates are here:

http://www.santander.co.uk/csgs/StaticBS?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1223416141435&cachecontrol=immediate&ssbinary=true&maxage=3600

finder

Moneygrabber24 wrote: »

Yep I agree with you that santander staff generally don't know what theyre talking about but unfortunately on this occasion, the two ladies i spoke to seem to be correct. Just had a message on my mobile from one of the ladies at santander who apparantly has confirmed with head office that after your first year's interest is paid, the rate drops down to 0.5%. This is because they have discontinued the product and as such all products discontinued drop down to a basic rate. Originally they told me 0.1%, but head office has given the figure of 0.5%. No real difference, its still a crap rate.:(

Oh dear… yet another example of head office making up the rules along the way! It’s bad that normal bank staff doesn’t know what products they are selling but it’s pathetic that shameless head office staff, who come up with the products themselves, don’t even remember what they sold in the first place and lack the decency to back up their own claims! As many of us have already pointed out, the only thing that stands here are the t&c’s. Please, encourage your pleasant bank clerk to read them next time before they try to ill-advice the general public.

Moneygrabber24

Yes, I think im gonna ignore these bank 'monkey' staff as Donkingkong put it, lol. You guys are right in saying that the terms and conditions are the important thing, and i'm sure that if the rate did change after the first year, we would be notified in writing.
By the way, for all you guys who recently opened a first home saver before it became a discontinued product, you get interest on the WHOLE balance, no matter if you put in, say, 20k in one month. Thats exactly what i did last december, and altho i didnt get interest for that month (well, only 0.1% interest) i earned interest on that whole amount for the remainder of the year. Just got my first years interest paid into my first home saver account yesterday:j.

lb375

Moneygrabber24 wrote: »

Yes, I think im gonna ignore these bank 'monkey' staff as Donkingkong put it, lol. You guys are right in saying that the terms and conditions are the important thing, and i'm sure that if the rate did change after the first year, we would be notified in writing.
By the way, for all you guys who recently opened a first home saver before it became a discontinued product, you get interest on the WHOLE balance, no matter if you put in, say, 20k in one month. Thats exactly what i did last december, and altho i didnt get interest for that month (well, only 0.1% interest) i earned interest on that whole amount for the remainder of the year. Just got my first years interest paid into my first home saver account yesterday:j.

That's great to know. I opened my first homer saver in June 2010, paid in £5000 when the account was opened and kept putting in £300 (I thought I only get interest of 5% if I pay in no more that £300 a month). If you confirm that you put in £20 in one month (only get 0.1% interest), but you actually got your interest on the whole amount for the remainder of the year, I will give it a go as well.

Say, put in £16000 this month and £300 in October and onwards. I understand that I will only get 0.1% interest for this month. But I will get interest of 5% on £16000 plus £300 I put in each month? Is that correct?

Thanks.