Regular Savings Accounts: The Best Currently Available List!

bristolleedsfan

[quote=sav4it;6080424Thanks,_bristolleedsfan.[/quote]

your welcome :beer:

Old_Slaphead

keren29 wrote: »

does anyone have a Leek Utd 7.5% savings account? Any feedback on them as somewhere to move money?

Not sure I understand you question.

I have a matured Leek RS. At end of term they offer you a cheque for accumualted balance and option of continuing for a further year. As regards what to do with proceeds, well that depends on your personal requirements ie instant access, fixed rate bond etc.

Burlesque_Babe

Hi O_S - I'm thinking of using them for their 7.5% fixed rate regular savings account and just wondered what experience anyone else had of them.

Special_Saver2

keren29 wrote: »

Hi O_S - I'm thinking of using them for their 7.5% fixed rate regular savings account and just wondered what experience anyone else had of them.

Sorry, I do not have experience of them myself.

Just a quick note to say that I have updated the first post of this thread to include links to two threads which I think are quite good:
Transfers from Barclays to regular savings accounts
Interest on BACS credits

steady__eddie

"I'm thinking of using them for their 7.5% fixed rate regular savings account and just wondered what experience anyone else had of them."

I've got a bond with them and I'm just approaching the anniversary of my first reg save with them. They wrote and told me that the cash must be withdrawn and that I had different options to pursue. Being a follower of the great Swiss god Titus (Titus a ducks *rs*), I decided not to waste my pennies on a stamp or 'phone call so I emailed them instead with a query. Two weeks later and I still await a response. I recall nearly 12 months ago when I opened my regsave, my bankers threw a wobbly and several standing orders were ambushed nanoseconds after the cash had left my a/c. After 4 days, I emailed each regsave provider enquiring if payment had reached them. Leek was the only one which did not respond. In every other respect they have been faultless but if you require email communication, then it may be one-sided.

Special_Saver2

Now that I think of it, I think that Leek United also ignored an e-mail that I sent them.

I have updated the first post of this thread to include the Norwich and Peterborough BS regular savings account. See the last of the "Matures After 12 Months, Requires Another Product" section. In brief, it pays 8% p.a. on £20-250 per month but requires you to open a current account and fund that with at least £500 per month. Thanks to Dagobert for pointing this one out to me.

butterfly72

I'm also considering the Leek RS for the rate. The website is a bit vague about how to open the account. I've down loaded the forms but am not sure if they want the original ID or copies. Also would I need to open the account with an amount or do i just fill in the SO form? They don't seem very customer friendly but as far as I can see the rate is not bad.

I'm not sure about opening a low interest current account with anyone to get a better RS rate. I see the A&L have a 12% RS if you have their C/A which doesn't pay much interest. How can you get round this? i guess it would be a matter of transferring in the minimum £500 (from regular high interest C/A) and then transferring out to RSaver accounts? Would this be worth it after loss of interest on transfer times?

Special_Saver2

butterfly72 wrote: »

I'm also considering the Leek RS for the rate. The website is a bit vague about how to open the account. I've down loaded the forms but am not sure if they want the original ID or copies. Also would I need to open the account with an amount or do i just fill in the SO form? They don't seem very customer friendly but as far as I can see the rate is not bad.

I'm not sure about opening a low interest current account with anyone to get a better RS rate. I see the A&L have a 12% RS if you have their C/A which doesn't pay much interest. How can you get round this? i guess it would be a matter of transferring in the minimum £500 (from regular high interest C/A) and then transferring out to RSaver accounts? Would this be worth it after loss of interest on transfer times?

Sorry, I don't have a Leek RS account.

As for the A&L question above, you would transfer £500 into the A&L current account each month (lose a few days interest on that transfer), £250 of which would go into the regular saver (also with A&L so no loss of interest for that transfer) and then £250 into a regular saver with another provider (lose a few days interest on that transfer). You will probably want to do the transfers manually in order to minimize the amount of lost interest and to avoid a £20-30 fee per bounced standing order if you set up standing orders and the money does not arrive in the A&L current account in time. (To reduce lost interest in transfers, ensure the money leaves your account on a Monday.)

Is it worth it? It all depends on whether you have the time and effort to do all of this (opening up new accounts and then doing manual transfers every month) for a few extra quid in interest. Some people do, some people don't.

Special_Saver2

Have updated the first post on this list to show that Bath BS has increased their regular saver interest rate to 7% as we had expected (now confirmed on their website, as of 2nd September) and the BMW Car Saver account has increased its interest rate from 7.5% to 8% (which is only of use to you if you are going to buy a BMW!).

I will also point out Kazza's thread (see here) warning users of Bath BS' regular saver that the account details for their payments have changed.

Now that 1 year fixed interest bonds are getting up to 6.9% (see here), those regular saver accounts that mature within 12 months are looking even less attractive for people with a lump sum who want to drip feed it in.

bristolleedsfan

Special_Saver2 wrote: »

.

Now that 1 year fixed interest bonds are getting up to 6.9% (see here),

all ongoing regular savers are now less attractive to start drip feeding in as well.