Santander 123 questions!

Diane60

My 80 year old mother has had her account at Santander transferred to the new 123 account. A credit card arrived today ( she is adamant that she did not request one). I have destroyed that for her as I think I am correct in saying that it not essential that she validates it?
The balance of the account averages £13,000 and she must have been sold the account for its interest rate.
My research shows that the account fee Is £2 p.m but again she is adamant that no fee was mentioned to her. Are all in house transferes fee free for the the first year?
Also, cashback and interest, are they credited to the each month?
Thanks for your help. My mother was in the branch for two hours regarding this account and she really does not seem to have a clue what type of account she now has? She is very independent and would not allow me to accompany her to the bank!!

davethorp

The 123 credit card is a separate account so if one has been opened for her as well it doesn't matter if she doesn't use it. Saying that though there is a £24 annual fee for the credit card which may be waived for the first year but if she isn't using it she would be best closing it down. However the card would give her cashback on her shopping on petrol, in department stores and supermarkets so it may be worth switching spending in those areas onto the credit card and paying it off in full each month but its only going to be worth doing this if the cashback is more than the monthly fee. She'd need to re order the card if you have destroyed it and she wanted to use it to earn cashback. Otherwise she's best closing the credit card down

There is a monthly fee for the current account as well of £2 a month as you say. However based on the balance of £13k she would earn £385 in interest as well as cashback if she paid household bills out of the account by direct debit which more than eclipses the account fee. However if she has that amount of money spare she may be better saving/investing it elsewhere rather than holding a balance in her current account

There will be no charge for transferring money in and out of the account. Funding from another Santander account will not count towards the £500 monthly funding requirement though.

Cashback and Interest are credited monthly (least cashback is in my experience, I haven't actually earned any interest as yet but assume it would be credited at the same time as cashback). These are credited on the anniversary of the account with the account fee taken one day later

Diane60

BugsyBrowne wrote: »

And...........

Well.......to simplify
Q.1. Is the credit card a necessary part of the account. (we had destroyed it)
Q.2. Is the £2 p.m fee waived for the first year for existing customers?
Q.3. Cashback and interest. Are they credited monthly?





Thanks davetnorp. So, there is a £24 annual fee for the credit card and a £24 fee for the account? And thank you for the answer regarding cashback being credited.
Can anyone provide a helpful link to the terms and conditions that list the fees etc as I appear to be going around in circles!

ses6jwg

Diane60 wrote: »

Well.......to simplify
Q.1. Is the credit card a necessary part of the account. (we had destroyed it)
Q.2. Is the £2 p.m fee waived for the first year for existing customers?
Q.3. Cashback and interest. Are they credited monthly?





Thanks davetnorp. So, there is a £24 annual fee for the credit card and a £24 fee for the account? And thank you for the answer regarding cashback being credited.
Can anyone provide a helpful link to the terms and conditions that list the fees etc as I appear to be going around in circles!

1. No

2. No, the fee is waived on the card for the first year. The £2 a month fee on the bank account starts straight away.

3. Yes, credited monthly. Cashback is broken down into 1,2,3% and interest is credited as a seperate payment.

u704446

Diane60 wrote: »

...
Can anyone provide a helpful link to the terms and conditions that list the fees etc as I appear to be going around in circles!

Try the Santander website.;)

YorkshireBoy

Diane60 wrote: »

The balance of the account averages £13,000 and she must have been sold the account for its interest rate.

Did she have any direct debits set up on the old account? If not, she'll have to set up 2 on the 123 account in order to qualify for the 3% AER interest rate (on her £13K).

Scrounger

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Did she have any direct debits set up on the old account? If not, she'll have to set up 2 on the 123 account in order to qualify for the 3% AER interest rate (on her £13K).

And until she has (at least) 2 direct debits set up then there is no monthly fee to pay.

Scrounger

innovate

Scrounger wrote: »

And until she has (at least) 2 direct debits set up then there is no monthly fee to pay.

Scrounger

Where in the Santander T&Cs does it say that the monthly fee for the 123 account depends on the number of Direct Debits?

innovate

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Did she have any direct debits set up on the old account? If not, she'll have to set up 2 on the 123 account in order to qualify for the 3% AER interest rate (on her £13K).

And pay in a minimum amount (£500) each month, and have a minimum balance etc etc.

Best for the OP to actually refer to the Santander T&Cs (which are really easy to find on the Santander website).

Scrounger

innovate wrote: »

Where in the Santander T&Cs does it say that the monthly fee for the 123 account depends on the number of Direct Debits?

I don't know; but I do know from experience you don't pay the fee (I have multiple 123 CA accounts but only pay a fee on the one with all the DDs set up - see here for background info).
It works for me :beer:
Scrounger

MattLFC

Santander offer an eSaver paying 3.2% atm, for... free!! No monthly fee, and a better rate than the 123 account. She may as well bung the money into one of them and take an extra £26 gross every year (that would cover the annual fee of the 123 account). It sounds like you are managing the account for her/helping her with her financial affairs, so I'm sure you could assist her to manage an eSaver (the money is always sitting somewhere, an eSaver is just as safe as a regular current account).

Providing she has maxed out this years ISA, if she hasn't, they are offering 3.3% on their Direct ISA atm.

Every penny is a bonus imho.