Leeds BS Member Saver 6.25% (inc. bonus)

stphnstevey

Originally posted here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=391566&highlight=leeds

But that post was originally about something else, so thought would start a new post as I am interested in this account and would welcome other's views

Account link here : http://www.leedsbuildingsociety.co.uk/savings/member_loyalty_saver.html

QUESTIONS
- Is it 60 days loss of interest on money withdrawn or on total amount?
- Never had a Notice account before, how do you give notice? Does it have to be in the branch as the nearest one is miles away? Do you lose interest on the money during the 60 day notice period?
- How are the rates worked out AER 6.05% and 6.25% Gross, I know there is a 1.25% bonus, so guess the base rate is 5%?

LittleVoice

stphnstevey wrote:

QUESTIONS
- Is it 60 days loss of interest on money withdrawn or on total amount?
- Never had a Notice account before, how do you give notice? Does it have to be in the branch as the nearest one is miles away? Do you lose interest on the money during the 60 day notice period?
- How are the rates worked out AER 6.05% and 6.25% Gross, I know there is a 1.25% bonus, so guess the base rate is 5%?

Leeds normally operate on the basis that the the loss of interest will be on the amount withdrawn. But it is not clear on the website at the moment that this applies in this case - you would need to get them to confirm for this specific case.

They will tell you how to give notice. By post is quite likely to be the favoured method and they would provide a form for the purpose.

Because they are not paying 6.25% (the gross rate) for 12 months but only until 31st December, and then propose paying 5% for the next 3 months, this reduces the effective rate over a 12-month period. So the AER (Annual Equivalent Rate) for a year becomes 6.05%.

Question:
And were you a Member of the Leeds at the end of 2006?

Afahmaep

LittleVoice wrote:

Leeds normally operate on the basis that the the loss of interest will be on the amount withdrawn. But it is not clear on the website at the moment that this applies in this case - you would need to get them to confirm for this specific case.

They will tell you how to give notice. By post is quite likely to be the favoured method and they would provide a form for the purpose.

Because they are not paying 6.25% (the gross rate) for 12 months but only until 31st December, and then propose paying 5% for the next 3 months, this reduces the effective rate over a 12-month period. So the AER (Annual Equivalent Rate) for a year becomes 6.05%.

Question:
And were you a Member of the Leeds at the end of 2006?

You can withdraw EVERYTHING leaving just £100 on the 1st of January 2008 leaving the MINIMUM investment £100 until the 1st of March 2008.
You will then get the 6.25% rate on the WHOLE amount up to 31/12/07 and the 5.00% rate on £100 PAID ON 01/03/08.

LittleVoice

Afahmaep wrote:

You can withdraw EVERYTHING leaving just £100 on the 1st of January 2008 leaving the MINIMUM investment £100 until the 1st of March 2008.
You will then get the 6.25% rate on the WHOLE amount up to 31/12/07 and the 5.00% rate on £100 PAID ON 01/03/08.

Yes, remembering to give notice to arrive by Thursday, 2 November 2007, to give 60 clear days' notice for withdrawal on Tuesday, 2 January (the first bank working day of 2008).

Afahmaep

LittleVoice wrote:

Yes, remembering to give notice to arrive by Thursday, 2 November 2007, to give 60 clear days' notice for withdrawal on Tuesday, 2 January (the first bank working day of 2008).

It is a lot of effort to squeeze the extra out of these accounts (I have kept the minimum £100 in an online saver with the LEEDS just for this purpose) but this is not for me. I always look at the EXACT terms and conditions but this seems a bit too involved.
My extra cash at the moment is going into the Monmouthshire BS which pays 6.25% and allows £1000 per month indefinitely and with NO MAXIMUM limit.

stphnstevey

Afahmaep wrote:

It is a lot of effort to squeeze the extra out of these accounts (I have kept the minimum £100 in an online saver with the LEEDS just for this purpose) but this is not for me. I always look at the EXACT terms and conditions but this seems a bit too involved.
My extra cash at the moment is going into the Monmouthshire BS which pays 6.25% and allows £1000 per month indefinitely and with NO MAXIMUM limit.

Thats a different sort of account than this though. Monmouthshire one is a RS, while this is a notice account with bonus.

This one seems to give you 6.25% for 10 months with 60 days notice for withdrawals

However, I do agree that it is alot of hassle. My ICICI account pays 5.65%, so for an extra 0.6% a month, I don't think it's worth it.

hot_chick_2

Little Voice

You don't need to give notice to withdraw on 2nd January 2007, after 31st December 2006 it's instant access with no loss of interest.

hot_chick_2

I opened a joint one for £20000 with money I require again in 2 months so I gave the 60 days notice in branch when opening the account.
6.25% is the best short term savings rate you can get?

I don't think this is too much trouble to earn the extra interest.

stphnstevey

hot_chick wrote:

I opened a joint one for £20000 with money I require again in 2 months so I gave the 60 days notice in branch when opening the account.
6.25% is the best short term savings rate you can get?

I don't think this is too much trouble to earn the extra interest.

Its not quite as good as it first seems. The 6.25% applies for only 10 months, so if you compare it to 12 months account rates it's not a fair comparison. If you ran it for 12 months, you would need to compare the AER, which is only 6.05% (as two months are 5%).

LittleVoice

I think hot chick was right - it is an excellent rate for short-term money. In the example given of 2 months the full gross rate (6.25%) will be paid as it never reaches the drop.

The OP pointed out their advertised 6.05% AER.