High Interest Current Accounts

Pooh_Bear

Archi_Bald wrote: »

It doesn't really matter because

1. Santander do not require DDs to be paid monthly (or with any frequency - the DDs just need to be there)
2. you get 1% cashback on your council tax bill regardless of whether you pay in 1, 10 or 12 instalments, so you get the same amount regardless

That is a good point; I really wouldn't what to trust Santander with a critical monthly bill, like council tax or utilities but I have a few annual/quarterly DD subscriptions which wouldn't be a problem if Santander screwed up.

Reaper

Pooh_Bear wrote: »

Santander has a reputation for poor customer service

They certainly used to but it seems to have improved recently.

I also have probably 6 or 7 'dead' accounts with zero balance which don't cause me any problems or cost me anything so actually closing them is more trouble than its worth.

Be aware if they are credit cards and current accounts with overdraft facilities they will be factored into your credit score if you ever want to borrow money or apply for more current accounts and credit cards. It can count against you if the lender feels you already have access to a lot of debt facilities.

Concerned with the Santander account that as it potentially has a monthly charge, I fore see all sorts of issues with it going overdrawn because they charge me £2 per month even if it not being used ...

The answer is to close it if you no longer want it. Closing credit cards can be hard if you have allowed companies to take regular payments from them, but bank accounts and savings accounts are easier.

Archi_Bald

Pooh_Bear wrote: »

That is a good point; I really wouldn't what to trust Santander with a critical monthly bill, like council tax or utilities but I have a few annual/quarterly DD subscriptions which wouldn't be a problem if Santander screwed up.

There is no reason to think Santander would not pay your DDs just the way they are being requested, provided you have sufficient funds. This is bread and butter business for all banks, and there is no evidence to suggest that any bank is not processing them correctly.

Archi_Bald

Pooh_Bear wrote: »

Santander has a reputation for poor customer service and TSB has Lloyds systems, and Lloyds management, so I wouldn't consider either for a real and relatively complex current account.

There is nothing that suggests the Santander 123 is an account that people have problems with. There is also nothing that suggests that TSB or Lloyds cannot manage "a real and relatively complex current account". Tens of millions of current account holders are living proof that Santander, TSB and Lloyds provide perfectly good current accounts.

Pooh_Bear wrote: »

Concerned with the Santander account that as it potentially has a monthly charge, I fore see all sorts of issues with it going overdrawn because they charge me £2 per month even if it not being used ...

It is not a potential monthly charge, it is a definite one. No different in principle to any other monthly bill - you know exactly when the payment is due, and therefore it is up to you to have the appropriate amount available at the time if you do not want to go overdrawn.

Also, the 123 has a £12 overdraft buffer, so if you did mess up and didn't have more than £2 in the account at the time it is due, the £2 alone won't get you into an unauthorised overdraft.

Stompa

barak wrote: »

Would there be any point in doing that?

Well I suppose you could argue that you'd be parting with your money a bit later by paying in 12 instalments rather than 10, so could earn a bit of interest on it. It would be a tiny amount though.

iris

Pooh_Bear wrote: »

I also have probably 6 or 7 'dead' accounts with zero balance which don't cause me any problems or cost me anything so actually closing them is more trouble than its worth.

If these 'dead' accounts are current bank accounts, why not transfer to a current account with Marks & Spencer and get £100 after the switch. Lots more info on moneysavingexpert.

G_M

I bank with NatWest but have £20K in a Santander 123 account.

My council tax is set up to come from Santander for 10 months (which covers the £2 monthly fee) and I have a Standing Order for the same amount from NatWest to Santander which stops next January (when CT will be fully paid.

Other (smaller) DDs I've kept with my main NatWest account.

If you start using the Santander account as your 'main' current account, you will never maintain the full £20K balance so lose out on some interest.

Archi_Bald

G_M wrote: »

If you start using the Santander account as your 'main' current account, you will never maintain the full £20K balance so lose out on some interest.

I have all my DDs on my 123, and I manage quite easily to literally always maintain the full £20K balance. I also manage to skim off anything above £20K (interest etc), so I am not having dead money in the 123.

But I think I understand what you mean - unless people topped up any outgoing money, and took out surplus money, they might not always manage to keep no less or no more than £20K in their 123.

Herbalus

G_M wrote: »

If you start using the Santander account as your 'main' current account, you will never maintain the full £20K balance so lose out on some interest.

True, but on the other hand, all of my money is earning interest at a minimum of 3%. I choose Santander as my 'main' account because 3% is the lowest rate of my accounts, and therefore it's preferable for money to leave this as opposed to other accounts. It also has the biggest margin (£3k-£20k) which means less tinkering is required to keep it between the 3% barriers.

I could do as you do, and keep £20k in Santander with a 'main' current account elsewhere, but then I wouldn't be earning interest on that balance at another bank.

(In fact, for a time I did use Natwest as my main account with a full Santander 123, but I was a student then and used my 0% overdraft, so I wasn't losing out on interest as I wasn't spending my own money).

eskbanker

Pooh_Bear wrote: »

Concerned with the Santander account that as it potentially has a monthly charge, I fore see all sorts of issues with it going overdrawn because they charge me £2 per month even if it not being used ...

But you were looking to use it as a savings account to hold up to £20K?! If you were going to let the balance get down anywhere near zero and leave it untouched for a sustained period that would defeat the whole point of opening it in the first place if you're not interested in using it as a genuine current account....