Loop Hole in HSBC 8% Regular Saver ?

Macce

Hi have opened an 8% Regular saver with HSBC, this allows you to save a min of £25 and max £250 a month.

Does this imply per calendar month or per month from the date you opened the account ?

I intially opened the account with £25 on the 28th Feb. I then deposited £225 on 9th March, and then an extra £1. My balance now stands at £251.

Does this mean I am still entitled to deposit a further £249 into it ?? due to the fact its now a new calendar month ? or are they crafty enough to only give 8% on the first £250 and any surplus will be deemed at a lower interest rate ?

Would like to hear of other peoples experiences.

flea72

i think it is every calender month, so the £25 you opened with was classed as febs payment, and the £226 you paid in was the march amount, so you still have £24 you can pay in this month for the maximum - as i think interest is calculated on the first or last day of the month, not 1m from the date of the first deposit

does that make sense?

Macce

thanks that makes sense ! but I've just deposited another £125 into it now !! So my balance now is: £376

Whats going on ? can anyone explain ?

Walletwatch

Chances are, you are flouting some of the terms and conditions - given this, they just might convert it into a normal savings acct, which earns an unattractive 2.something % interest.

I did something similar with my Abbey Regular saver, and they asked me to withdraw the excess, else they'd treat it as a normal savings acct, instead of a reg saver (5% instead of 7%) I'd suggest you go to your branch and ask them the way forward.

ED

HSBC's .pdf file of Terms + Conditions for the account states : "The first standing order payment must be at least one calendar month after account opening."

It also indicates if more than £250 is deposited in a month the excess will earn a lower rate.

Walletwatch

ED wrote:

HSBC's .pdf file of Terms + Conditions for the account states : "The first standing order payment must be at least one calendar month after account opening."

It also indicates if more than £250 is deposited in a month the excess will earn a lower rate.

Are you sure there's nothing else in there? That is hardly a penalty for someone trying to act smart and depositing surplus in the hope that it'll go unnoticed.

lipidicman

Halifax let you do what you have done. ie first payment on the last day of the month and first SO on the first day of the next month. From the above HSBC do not