Santander 123 questions!

SantEmp

Scrounger wrote: »

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

Scrounger

That's not true I don't think. You pay the fee regardless of whether you meet the criteria.

Sorry to hear it may have been mis-sold to her, but it is a very good account she'll be very happy with.

SantEmp

innovate wrote: »

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).

There's no minimum balance on the 123 account.

SantEmp

MattLFC wrote: »

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.

The eSaver is good, but you get nothing back for direct debits or everyday spending which usually more than makes up for the difference. It's also a little more difficult to get the cash out. Only a little bit mind.

YorkshireBoy

SantEmp wrote: »

There's no minimum balance on the 123 account.

In the context of earning interest there is.

innovate was replying to my post, and we were both talking about the interest rate, specifically the 'minimum balance' required to earn the top rate of 3% AER...which is £3K. Indeed to earn any interest at all there's a £1K 'minimum balance' required.

SantEmp

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

In the context of earning interest there is.

innovate was replying to my post, and we were both talking about the interest rate, specifically the 'minimum balance' required to earn the top rate of 3% AER...which is £3K. Indeed to earn any interest at all there's a £1K 'minimum balance' required.

Apologies, you are right in that regard. Just to clarify though, you don't especially need to keep a balance in the account to keep it open.

Scrounger

SantEmp wrote: »

That's not true I don't think. You pay the fee regardless..

In that case I need to close down a few of my 'family' 123 accounts (especially now that Quidco has paid out).
Thanks for clarifying, (luckily, no fees incurred so far) :beer:.
Scrounger

SantEmp

Scrounger wrote: »

In that case I need to close down a few of my 'family' 123 accounts (especially now that Quidco has paid out).
Thanks for clarifying, (luckily, no fees incurred so far) :beer:.
Scrounger

To be fair, the advisor should have told you this. No real point in having more than one unless you've got more than £20k to put into it.

MattLFC

SantEmp wrote: »

The eSaver is good, but you get nothing back for direct debits or everyday spending which usually more than makes up for the difference. It's also a little more difficult to get the cash out. Only a little bit mind.

I think you are confused by the point I was trying to make, let me clarify. I think she could open up the 123 account (providing it makes sense from the monthly fee vs cashback point-of-view. But also open an eSaver for the credit balance interest.

This means she has the 123 account, and the extra from the eSaver (0.2% = ~£26 per year gross) would cover the cost of the 123 account (subject to the account holder tax status). The eSaver earns more interest, and it also interacts with the current account online (so if the money was required immediately, you can transfer any amount between the eSaver and CA at the click of a button (I do it backwards and forwards all the time, in fact the one time I was unable to do it for 2 hours due to an error, they gave me £50 for complaining about it lol).

Just my idea, but it depends how much control the OP wants over the finances of her mother, and whether the savings will be drawn on reguarly etc (ie. will it mean more workload for the OP).

ses6jwg

Just a quick note to the OP....

If you do go down the e-Saver route, it can be linked to the her current account debit card, meaning that she can withdraw cash directly from the e-Saver at Santander ATMs.

Any branch can link the e-saver to the card.

Bear in mind the £300 limit per day applies to the card not the accounts, and she won't have counter service with the e-saver.