12.5% Barclays Regular Saver

Kazza242

Innys wrote:

Kazza, you mention that your saver closes on the 17th of February. Is that the date of the last payment or the 30 days after the date of the last payment?

I thought regular savers could not be closed until 30 days after the date of last payment. If this is so, did you really open your account on 18th January 2006? I'm only asking because I thought I was prompt in opening my account and the last deposit is not scheduled to go in until 2nd February which means I can't close it until March.

I opened my Barclays regular saver, the day the account was launched (16th February 2006). It matures on 16th Feb 2007 when the account will be converted into an Easy Saver. After my account has been converted I don't envisage there being any problem in me opening a new Barclays regular saver at the new 12.5% rate. Afterall, I will be an Easy Saver account holder then, not an existing regular savings account customer.

There is no need to close the account, because it will be converted into an Easy Saver paying a lower rate of interest. As soon as it matures I intend to transfer the funds out to my high interest account held elsewhere.

When the account launched many MSE's assumed that the account matured on the anniversary of the first payment, but this is not the case. It matures on the anniversary of account opening, so for me that should be 16th Feb '07.

empfun

12.5% is juicy but the current account in which will provide the funding has a dismal interest rate.

Milarky

As far as I recall, I opened the Regular Saver on the same date as I made an opening deposit - in branch - on 28th April 06 (and I'm sure they confirmed the maturity date as 27th April '07. I had delayed a while (having gone in on 24th March to open both a current account and RS account) on the advice of the manager since I required at least a few weeks for my salary mandate to switch over. This mean't a month in practice - to allow for the next fixed pay date to pass, confirm the receipt of the salary and then open a regular saver with a deposit on 28th. I was then able to bring the standing order date forward, to 1st of the month, and have the first two deposits in nearly together. That was allowed at the time, but the rules were reworded so that all SOs have to be on the same day of the month as the opening deposit.

- Salary can be topped up to £1000 as required

- 'Months' mean calendar months for this purpose

Also, there was a deadline of 'May' for the availabilty of the RS at 10% (but they have never withdrawn it in practice) Following Kazza's logic, even if the rate drops in March to 10% again, it would appear that the RS account itself account may then be available. (Who know? but I'm certainly up for it if it is. My Barclay's account isn't my main account but it would have to continue to account my salary. That would be tolerable - and I have since got a £250 overdraft - not originally offered - so that I can drop the payment in on the last day if necessary.)

Milarky

Here's something interesting (From YouTube)

'The Leeds bank advert' (great stuff!)

It's from 1988, advertising 'Afur' Daley's 'Liquid Gold' account paying 10%! - the voiceover (actor's name anyone?) even says it had gone up to 10.75% in the meantime.

This is the same 'Liquid Gold' that still exists, and now pays (da da!)

0.75% pa !

Couple of points

It's a LEEDS account rather than the 'Halifax Liquid Gold'

The 'Leeds' mentioned is NOT the same building society as uses that title today

Leeds Permanent Building Society - not a 'bank' - merged with Halifax (just before the joint organisation floated) in 1995

(All is explained here, at Wikipedia: Leeds Building Society )

System

KTF wrote:

It says you have to pay in a min of 1k plus any salary or pension.

I've just looked over the site. They dont find it very easy to find what interest they pay for your £1,000 a month.

Thanks to Empfun for this quote:

12.5% is juicy but the current account in which will provide the funding has a dismal interest rate.

So they expect me to lose the money i would be gaining 5% on in my Websaver to put into a bank account gaining an abysmal interest rate? My gain only would be 3% over my Halifax account Regular Saving rate and thats when its been transfered into the Regular Saving account. Me thinks they are asking rather a lot. A lot of these Regular Savings accounts fall down at the first hurdle.

Milarky

Judi wrote:

I've just looked over the site. They dont find it very easy to find what interest they pay for your £1,000 a month.

So they expect me to lose the money i would be gaining 5% on in my Websaver to put into a bank account gaining an abysmal interest rate? My gain only would be 3% over my Halifax account Regular Saving rate and thats when its been transfered into the Regular Saving account. Me thinks they are asking rather a lot. A lot of these Regular Savings accounts fall down at the first hurdle.

The interest rate is only 0.1%, but you can manage the current account as 'a proxy' and keep no money in there except for a few days each month. What you'd need to do is:

Have salary credited

Withdraw immediately*

Make secondary top up of current account where salary is below £1K for the month**

Use the Barclays current account overdraft (if you can get one) to actually fund the account on the fixed date each month - and transfer or deposit in at least £250 by the same date to cover.

*You can withdraw up to £300 per day at a link machine. I use Egg Savings to instantly withdraw the rest of my salary on pay day and just leave pennies behind.

**You can work out the correct amount each month once you see the salary credit appear (and only if this applies where your salary is too low) and send by BACS or pay cash accross a Barclay's branch counter (your Debit Card is sufficient or a paying in slip) You have to get all these 'funding' amounts in by the end of the calendar month, but one of them can be for the SO amount of course - which you won't be looking to withdraw.

To be fair, once you get used to the 'in-out' approach it won't seem that much of a fuss - and the thought of 12.5% (that's 10% net on your very first payment!) ought to keep you going. You can expect (as a basic ratetaxpayer) to get 5.4% Net! just on the amount you deposit - but as already noted - that doesn't include what you will get (net) on the amounts prior to paying in throughout the 12 months. That adds about 2% (using an account like ICESAVE paying 5.45 gross)

So that's equivalent to 7% net (8.4% gross) on the FULL amount..

System

...... Now Milarky, we just need to get round my 'lack of employment' issue (unless they class housekeeping, tax credits and family allowance:rolleyes: ).
I feel the beginnings of a rant coming on.:mad:

oscarhugo

Kazza242 wrote: »

I opened my Barclays regular saver, the day the account was launched (16th February 2006). It matures on 16th Feb 2007 when the account will be converted into an Easy Saver. After my account has been converted I don't envisage there being any problem in me opening a new Barclays regular saver at the new 12.5% rate. Afterall, I will be an Easy Saver account holder then, not an existing regular savings account customer.

There is no need to close the account, because it will be converted into an Easy Saver paying a lower rate of interest. As soon as it matures I intend to transfer the funds out to my high interest account held elsewhere.

When the account launched many MSE's assumed that the account matured on the anniversary of the first payment, but this is not the case. It matures on the anniversary of account opening, so for me that should be 16th Feb '07.

Anybody know offhand [Kazza? Anybody?] when exactly Barclays pay the interest at the end of the 12 month regular saver term? My original [10 percenter] regular saver is now finished at £3k & I'm just wondering when it will metamorphose into an Easy Saver a/c with interest added so I can withdraw it toot sweet. Barclays website has no info that I can find. I did send them an e-mail but they replied that they couldn't answer that sort of question on-line & I would have to go into a branch [or some such !!!!!!]. Good eh? Thanks in advance for any "intelligence". I'm also thinking that the follow-up 12-and-a-half percenter Reg.Saver has now been withdrawn.

Kazza242

oscarhugo wrote: »

Anybody know offhand [Kazza? Anybody?] when exactly Barclays pay the interest at the end of the 12 month regular saver term?

It will mature on the 1 year anniversary of account opening. E.g. if an account was opened on the 28th February 2007 it would mature on 28th February 2008.

oscarhugo

Wow! Quick reply! Tks, Kazza.

But my Reg.Saver stands at £3,000 so it's obviously finished it's term as regards payments in - but they haven't added any interest yet, evidently.