Santander's 123 account

sevenonine

I have been a customer of Abbey before it merged with Santander - so a total of 40 plus years. I also hold shares and have all my debits with Santander. But, as I only receive the state pension of £464.60 (rising by a princely sum of 0.20p on reaching 80), I do not qualify for their 123 minimum of £500. I also have dividends paid into my savings account with Santander and can easily fund a 123 account with £3,000 plus. When I ask through their secure messages why I do not qualify, given the above, I get all sorts of formulaic responses saying they cannot advise me on investments and refer me to their other savings accounts (as if I haven't already looked at these) and which have dire interest rates - my present esaver pays 1%. I can't switch (given my low monthly income) and really don't want to. Any advice would be helpful.

ceredigion

Have you actually tried an application

Archi_Bald

You could get yourself another current account, e.g. a TSB Classic Plus account which pays 5% AER on up to £2,000 provided you deposit at least £500 a month into it.

You can then upgrade your existing Santander current account to a 123 current account, and shuttle £500 between your TSB and your Santander account, thereby satisfying the minimum monthly payment requirements at both.

sevenonine

As I explained, I don't get the minimum amount of £500 per month - my state pension is only £464.80 per month, so I don't qualify for the 123 account nor would I with TSB. I just feel the minimum (with Santander) should not apply as I have been their customer for well over 40 years and can easily fund the account with £3,000+from other savings.

sevenonine

ceredigion wrote: »

Have you actually tried an application

Thanks - no, I haven't applied because I have been told the minimum is £500!

grumbler

sevenonine wrote: »

Thanks - no, I haven't applied because I have been told the minimum is £500!

http://www.santander.co.uk/uk/current-accounts/123-current-account

You can apply for a new 1|2|3 Current Account online in just 10 minutes if you:

• are 18 years of age or over
• live in the UK permanently

Well, you certainly are over 18, aren't you?

£500 is the minimum monthly total amount credited to your account required for for the cashback on DDs.

sevenonine wrote: »

...nor would I with TSB.

http://www.tsb.co.uk/current-accounts/classic-plus-account/

You must be 18 or over and Uk resident to apply

£500 is the required monthly credit to qualify for 5% interest rate.

Mojisola

sevenonine wrote: »

As I explained, I don't get the minimum amount of £500 per month - my state pension is only £464.80 per month, so I don't qualify for the 123 account nor would I with TSB. I just feel the minimum (with Santander) should not apply as I have been their customer for well over 40 years and can easily fund the account with £3,000+from other savings.

Why don't you do this? Just recycle the extra money from another account into the 123 account and back out again.

YorkshireBoy

sevenonine wrote: »

As I explained, I don't get the minimum amount of £500 per month - my state pension is only £464.80 per month, so I don't qualify for the 123 account nor would I with TSB.

You're making far too many assumptions about funding requirements for current accounts. The requirement for both Santander and TSB is to "credit £500 per month", not "be earning salary/receiving benefits/receiving pension* of more than £500 per month".


My advice, either call into branch to upgrade or do it online.



* Delete as appropriate.

Archi_Bald

grumbler wrote: »

£500 is the minimum monthly total amount credited to your account required for for the cashback on DDs.

£500 monthly payment is also one of the pre-reqs for receiving any interest

Should be easy to achieve for the OP, based on what they posted.

shortcrust

Move £36 out of the account and back in again once a month and you've got your £500.

grumbler

Archi_Bald wrote: »

£500 monthly payment is also one of the pre-reqs for receiving any interest

Are you sure?
I CBA to check the full T&C, but at http://www.santander.co.uk/uk/current-accounts/123-current-account I see:

What you get

• Monthly cashback on selected household bills.
• Monthly interest of 3% AER (variable) payable on your entire balance up to £20,000, when you have at least £3,000 in your account.
• Access to 1|2|3 World offers, including preferential rates and special deals on other Santander products.

To get cashback on your household bills and interest on your balance, just follow these steps:

• Pay a monthly account fee of £2.
• Fund the account with £500 a month (excludes internal transfers). A minimum balance of £1,000 is needed to receive interest.
• Have at least 2 active Direct Debits. You'll get monthly cashback on selected household bills you pay by Direct Debit

That said, I do recall that you don't get the interest without DDs...:huh: