Halifax reg saver query

Sillychuckie

I have had a halifax reg saver for past 12 months and it is shortly due to pay its first batch of interest.
I understand that on the anniversary date, halifax move the £3k (assuming 12 x £250 deposits) into your linked account (as well as add the interest owed).

I have been making regular saver payments on 1st of each month.
They usually reach halifax on 6th of each month (but have once or twice arrived on 5th - depending on which day of week the 1st falls).

I let the payments continue and have found that my statement is showing that the 13th payment was credited today (5th jan), even though the 1st was a bank holiday and the money only left my other bank on 2nd (cant explain that. Any ideas why a BACS transfer was quicker over the new year period? lol).
This also means that on 6th Jan (or more likely, next working day... so monday) when my anniversary date falls, my total balance will in fact be £3250.

Questions:

Will they move the full £3250 over to linked account? (This is a bit of a bummer as, unless I change my standing order date, the account will be empty for a full month).

OR

Will they move £3000 over to linked account leaving the £250 that went in today as part of the next regular saver batch?

OR

Will they be a bunch of bankers (where b = w) and try to pay a lower interest rate because total balance has gone above £3000 before anniversary date?

Anyone else been in this situation? I suppose I'll know all come monday... just impatient :rotfl:
Thanks.

Kazza242

Sillychuckie wrote:

Questions:

Will they move the full £3250 over to linked account? (This is a bit of a bummer as, unless I change my standing order date, the account will be empty for a full month).

They will do the above. The £3250 capital and accrued interest will be swept out into the nominated account. Halifax will not permit you to make another payment this month.

The scenario you've described has happened to a couple of other MSE's. I avoid it happening by doing the following:

- Once my last (internal) Halifax SO payment goes out, I change my SO date to the day after my maturity date. E.g. account matures 3rd April, therefore the last payment goes out on March 1st. I then change SO to the 4th April so the new £250 is moved into the regular saver the day after the balance + interest is swept into the nominated account.

Sillychuckie

Kazza242 wrote:

The scenario you've described has happened to a couple of other MSE's. I avoid it happening by doing the following

Ah...
NOW you tell me...

I pay into the regular saver from a NON Halifax account, so thought I had it sorted.
With the 1st of Jan being a bank holiday, and my money only leaving the account on 2nd, I didn't think it would be in there prior to 6th.
Usually it leaves on 1st, and gets there on 6th... so I wasn't expecting it to be so quick.
The one time BACS is fast for me is the time I don't want it to be.
Typical!

I'll take note for next year and not worry too much about the missed month.

:rotfl:
Thanks.

Sillychuckie

Actually... this is a problem isn't it.
It is going to mess things up for years to come.
Next year, my final payment of £250 will only be in there for a single day!


I think I'll close it and open a new one.
The fact is, for the new term (which will start from 6th Jan 07), I wont be able to put any money in until 01/02. This will mean it matures with £2750, rather than £3k.. and its that final month when you get the most out of it.
Grr... Clever people.

I'll close and re-open, unless anyone has any better suggestions.
Thanks.

worcester1

Hi I do save with halifax bank (regular saver 10%) paid £1750 so far, got 5 months to go for the full £3000.

My question is how much will i make after tax and will this be moved to a normal savings account/

Kazza242

Sillychuckie wrote:

Ah...
NOW you tell me...

If I'd seen a post regarding what to do when your regular saver matures, I would have posted the info as was written in my above post. I was away for a few days around Christmas and possibly missed it.

Sillychuckie wrote:

Actually... this is a problem isn't it.
It is going to mess things up for years to come.
Next year, my final payment of £250 will only be in there for a single day!


I think I'll close it and open a new one.
The fact is, for the new term (which will start from 6th Jan 07), I wont be able to put any money in until 01/02. This will mean it matures with £2750, rather than £3k.. and its that final month when you get the most out of it.
Grr... Clever people.

I'll close and re-open, unless anyone has any better suggestions.
Thanks.

Yes, unfortunately it will mess things up. However, you are correct in thinking that the situation can be resolved by closing the account and opening a new one. This is definitely the best course of action to take.

If you try to make another payment into your existing RS this month, Halifax will accept it initially and then it will be rejected. As you've pointed out, your existing regular saver balance will remain at £0.00 until 1/2/07. Halifax can easily close the account for you and open you a new one next month.

Sillychuckie

Kazaa. Thanks again for all your help.

When I said "AH, NOW you tell me"... perhaps it should have been followed with a: :rotfl:

I was being sarcastic, as if to suggest you should have told me before I had asked the question. It is poor english wit, and I didn't mean to come across as being rude or unappreciative.

Thanks for confirming my thoughts.
I will close the regular saver and get a new one opened to run from Feb to Feb.

I hope all other HFax reg savers take note, this is an easy thing to miss.

Kazza242

Sillychuckie wrote:

Kazaa. Thanks again for all your help.

When I said "AH, NOW you tell me"... perhaps it should have been followed with a: :rotfl:

I was being sarcastic, as if to suggest you should have told me before I had asked the question. It is poor english wit, and I didn't mean to come across as being rude or unappreciative.

I know you weren't being rude.:p;)

Sillychuckie wrote:

I hope all other HFax reg savers take note, this is an easy thing to miss.

Indeed. MSE's can check out this thread for more info on this.

Sillychuckie

Can someone also please confirm:
- HFax saver payments must go in from 1st of month to 28th...
- It is opened with £0, and first payment in is by S.O.

So.. the best way to do things would be to:
Open account on 23rd Jan. Pay in immediately for SO to arrive on 28th Jan.
Then continue so they arrive on (or as close to, after) 1st Feb, and then 1st of each month following.

Gets £500 in there pretty quick then.

Alternative is to just open on 01/02 and pay SO on same day to arrive on 6th (as I did last year).
Ta.

EDIT: I see the other post pretty much confirms this. Thanks again Kazza. Just wish I had found that post before
Not to worry. Closing and opening shouldnt be too difficult, I hope.
Must remember for next year

Kazza242

Sillychuckie wrote:

Can someone also please confirm:
- HFax saver payments must go in from 1st of month to 28th...

That's correct. See here

Sillychuckie wrote:

- It is opened with £0, and first payment in is by SO

No, the first payment doesn't have to be by SO.

When I opened my RS account in 2004, my first payment (in cash) was paid directly into the regular saver over the counter by the personal banker who had opened my account. I've just logged into online banking to confirm this. I can see that my first payment is credited as the 'Opening Transaction' not by 'Standing Order' on the day I went into my local branch.

Sillychuckie wrote:

SO.. the best way to do things would be to:
Open account on 23rd Jan. Pay in immediately for SO to arrive on 28th Jan.
Then continue so they arrive on (or as close to, after) 1st Feb, and then 1st of each month following.

Be careful opening your account too late in the month. Don't forget about next year when it starts all over again. After your last SO has arrived in your account you will have to move the SO date back so that it hits your RS no earlier than the day after it matures, but before the 29th.

You could open it on the 23rd and make your initial payment by cash and then set up the SO to arrive on the 1st Feb and the 1st each month thereafter.

Mikeyorks

worcester1 wrote:

Hi I do save with halifax bank (regular saver 10%) paid £1750 so far, got 5 months to go for the full £3000.

My question is how much will i make after tax and will this be moved to a normal savings account/

Sorry - but there's a problem somewhere. The 10% Reg Saver is a Children's account .... and limited to £100 per month.

Suspect, therefore, you've got the 7% Regular Saver? :-

http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/regular.shtml

....in which case your average balance will be £1500 over the year and that will attract £105 interest at 7% (the precise amount will depend on the dates each payment went in). If you're a taxpayer and haven't registered for gross interest (R85) - then 20% tax will be deducted (£21) - leaving net interest of £84.

The £3084 will be swept (on the anniversary) into the account you nominated when you opened the Regular Saver (follow link above for choices you had - their Web Saver is the normal choice, as you can then use this to feed the Reg Saver the following year and it's an instant transfer therefore no interest 'lag') :-

From Halifax site :- Once the twelve months is up, your money, and the interest earned, will be swept into another Halifax savings account. This is nominated by you when you open your Halifax Regular Saver