The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

Bridlington1

I've submitted the account closure request at 1:58pm. It appears I've done so just in the nick of time as account closures requested after 2pm aren't processed until the next working day. Hopefully £25K plus interest will be landing in my nominated account by Monday.

happybagger

Bridlington1 said:

happybagger said:

Bridlington1 said:

Back to Monmouthshire's Premium Instant account. I have just checked in the online banking and they have sent me a secure message saying that they have refused to let me make any withdrawal that will take the balance to below £25k, but will let me close the account to access the funds.

I have replied by saying that the Ts&Cs state that there is a £25k minimum balance to open the account but that the Ts&Cs also state:

• If a withdrawal reduces the account balance to less than £25,000, you will receive a variable interest rate of 0.05% AER/Gross, from the date of the withdrawal until the account is returned to the minimum balance.

So if I'm not mistaken my withdrawal of £25000 should be permitted but the interest rate on the remaining funds would reduce from 3% to 0.05%.

Maybe, but it also says until you return it to the "minimum balance". So if they allow the withdrawal, they could tell you to return it to the "minimum balance" as it is a "minimum balance", and if you don't then they could close it.

That's how I read it but happy to be corrected. Careful reading of the terms would be needed (anyone got a link?)

https://www.monbs.com/products/premium-instant-account/ 

Brilliant, thanks.

It's as I suspected. In the General Savings Terms document, section 4.12:

4.12 The minimum balance for an account is set out in its Product Terms and Conditions. It is a condition of the account that the balance does not fall below the stated minimum. If the balance falls below the minimum, then you will have 30 days from the date we issue you with a notification to bring the balance up to the minimum. If after the notice period has lapsed the balance remains below the minimum, we may close your account without further notice.

Pompeydave1967

SeriousHoax said:

Marcus has been quiet for a while.
It's about time he pushed the boat out and gave us a little boost.

My 1p is looking very lonely.😏

My other accounts are doing OK tho and nice to get the Coventry intrest boost today.

Agree come on Marcus , saga , atom and Shawbrook ! All gone quiet .

Bridlington1

happybagger said:

Bridlington1 said:

happybagger said:

Bridlington1 said:

Back to Monmouthshire's Premium Instant account. I have just checked in the online banking and they have sent me a secure message saying that they have refused to let me make any withdrawal that will take the balance to below £25k, but will let me close the account to access the funds.

I have replied by saying that the Ts&Cs state that there is a £25k minimum balance to open the account but that the Ts&Cs also state:

• If a withdrawal reduces the account balance to less than £25,000, you will receive a variable interest rate of 0.05% AER/Gross, from the date of the withdrawal until the account is returned to the minimum balance.

So if I'm not mistaken my withdrawal of £25000 should be permitted but the interest rate on the remaining funds would reduce from 3% to 0.05%.

Maybe, but it also says until you return it to the "minimum balance". So if they allow the withdrawal, they could tell you to return it to the "minimum balance" as it is a "minimum balance", and if you don't then they could close it.

That's how I read it but happy to be corrected. Careful reading of the terms would be needed (anyone got a link?)

https://www.monbs.com/products/premium-instant-account/ 

Brilliant, thanks.

It's as I suspected. In the General Savings Terms document, section 4.12:

4.12 The minimum balance for an account is set out in its Product Terms and Conditions. It is a condition of the account that the balance does not fall below the stated minimum. If the balance falls below the minimum, then you will have 30 days from the date we issue you with a notification to bring the balance up to the minimum. If after the notice period has lapsed the balance remains below the minimum, we may close your account without further notice.

It also says in section 2.7:

Where there is any inconsistency between the General Terms and Conditions and the Product Terms and Conditions, the Product Terms and Conditions will apply

The product Ts&Cs state:

• The minimum amount required to open this account is £25,000.

[...]

• If a withdrawal reduces the account balance to less than £25,000, you will receive a variable interest rate of 0.05% AER/Gross, from the date of the withdrawal until the account is returned to the minimum balance.

Whereas other accounts (in this case the easy saver) in which a minimum balance state something along the lines of:

• A minimum balance of £1 must be maintained.

I would argue that there is inconsistency between the product terms and the general terms, thus the product terms hold.

Moreover even in the general terms there is nothing to stop you withdrawing money to below the minimum balance, provided you restore the minimum balance within 30 days of them issuing a notification to bring the balance up to the minimum.

Bridlington1

Bridlington1 said:

Bridlington1 said:

happybagger said:

Bridlington1 said:

Back to Monmouthshire's Premium Instant account. I have just checked in the online banking and they have sent me a secure message saying that they have refused to let me make any withdrawal that will take the balance to below £25k, but will let me close the account to access the funds.

I have replied by saying that the Ts&Cs state that there is a £25k minimum balance to open the account but that the Ts&Cs also state:

• If a withdrawal reduces the account balance to less than £25,000, you will receive a variable interest rate of 0.05% AER/Gross, from the date of the withdrawal until the account is returned to the minimum balance.

So if I'm not mistaken my withdrawal of £25000 should be permitted but the interest rate on the remaining funds would reduce from 3% to 0.05%.

Maybe, but it also says until you return it to the "minimum balance". So if they allow the withdrawal, they could tell you to return it to the "minimum balance" as it is a "minimum balance", and if you don't then they could close it.

That's how I read it but happy to be corrected. Careful reading of the terms would be needed (anyone got a link?)

https://www.monbs.com/products/premium-instant-account/ 

I think I might as well throw the towel in regarding Monmothshire Premium Instant account and close the wretched thing. By next month my collection of 24 regular savers will take my remaining easy access savings to well below £25k and I can now get over 3% elsewhere anyway. This is not worth the hassle for me and that takes some doing. 

The account has now been closed and the full balance plus £34.94 in interest is winging its way to me by BACS.

AmityNeon

It's funny seeing notices of rate increases for a future effective date, only to have those accounts withdrawn (just) before the date comes around. It's like being too big for your britches, biting off more than you can chew, which makes me start to wonder whether standard Easy Access accounts will even go above 3% any time soon. I'm glad I kept my Zopa treadmill going for 3.26%

ForumUser7

Nationwide has announced their mortgage increases, but I can't see a savings header on there anymore, either with new rates, or saying they are still thinking it through. Does this mean they aren't increasing our savings rates this time round? Seems surprising but I was wondering if anyone knew please? Thank you

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/news-and-stories/bank-of-england-increases-base-rate/

phillw

AmityNeon said:

It's funny seeing notices of rate increases for a future effective date, only to have those accounts withdrawn (just) before the date comes around. It's like being too big for your britches, biting off more than you can chew, which makes me start to wonder whether standard Easy Access accounts will even go above 3% any time soon. I'm glad I kept my Zopa treadmill going for 3.26%

It sounds about right, announce ahead of time that you're going to increase interest rates to prevent an outflow of cash but pull the account shortly before the rate rise to avoid the meltdown of a sudden inflow of cash.

What I'm surprised about is that we got to hear that the accounts were going to be pulled.

Bridlington1

AmityNeon said:

It's funny seeing notices of rate increases for a future effective date, only to have those accounts withdrawn (just) before the date comes around. It's like being too big for your britches, biting off more than you can chew, which makes me start to wonder whether standard Easy Access accounts will even go above 3% any time soon. I'm glad I kept my Zopa treadmill going for 3.26%

It just leaves me glad I keep opening mediocre savings accounts with £1 in them. I've had this happen quite a lot recently, where  I open an account then a few weeks later the interest rate jumps and the account gets pulled. Cambridge, Paragon and now Coventry have done this to me in the last few months.

AmityNeon

phillw said:

AmityNeon said:

It's funny seeing notices of rate increases for a future effective date, only to have those accounts withdrawn (just) before the date comes around. It's like being too big for your britches, biting off more than you can chew, which makes me start to wonder whether standard Easy Access accounts will even go above 3% any time soon. I'm glad I kept my Zopa treadmill going for 3.26%

It sounds about right, announce ahead of time that you're going to increase interest rates to prevent an outflow of cash but pull the account shortly before the rate rise to avoid the meltdown of a sudden inflow of cash.

What I'm surprised about is that we got to hear that the accounts were going to be pulled.

A rate increase implies the current rate is suboptimal, so for me, announcements of rate increases do nothing to prevent outflows of cash (because my cash was never there to begin with). It's also likely that notice of a significant rate increase attracts a sudden influx of deposits so the accounts are withdrawn earlier than anticipated, like the First Home Saver (whose withdrawal we were also notified of just prior to it being pulled).

It's more impressive to me, and a sign of true increase, when a provider just releases a top rate unannounced and holds steady, even more so when it's an Easy Access account available to all. A big bank like Santander had to retreat after its rate-leading 2.75% eSaver was only available for eight days, selling out 12 days sooner than its initially forecast withdrawal date. Cynergy's 2.75% also didn't last very long. Gatehouse then quickly took the lead with 2.8% followed hours later by Al Rayan with 2.85%; Gatehouse withdrew soon after, but Al Rayan stayed at the top for two months. Zopa then quietly bumped up their instant access rate to 2.86% and has held steady for three weeks.

These publicised notices of future rate increases for Limited Access accounts, coinciding with news of BoE base rate rises... they're just a bunch of hot air. Understandable, with purpose, but still funny.