PrizeSaver anyone?

YellowStarling

dhokes said:

I contacted Clockwise and the person who replied to my query said their scheme ended in April.

I think they may be misinformed as I spoke to Clockwise back in April and they said they have extended their scheme until October (not sure if that means including an October draw, or to the end of September like other posts here).

This is further supported by the fact that there have been Clockwise winners announced since April haven’t there?

EDIT: Yes, there were Bonus Prize winner(s) from Clockwise in July (see page 9 of this thread).

gozaimasu

The person at Clockwise was clearly uninformed. They were one of the 14 credit unions who decided to extend the scheme until the end of September.

gozaimasu

gozaimasu said:

Can someone remind me how credit union dividends work? Do they pay the percentage based on the balance of your account at the date of dividend payment or is it calculated on the same way interest is - i.e. paid only on the length of time the money is in the account.

It appears that the dividend is paid on the average balance in the account over the year. I need to understand the maths behind this. If, for example, you have paid in £100 per month, your final balance will be £1200 over the year. Another example could be paying £100 in on month 1, then paying 1100 in on month 11. Would the average balance for each example be the same or different? Taking the final balance on the account and dividing by 12 months/365 days?

Eco_Miser

gozaimasu said:

gozaimasu said:

Can someone remind me how credit union dividends work? Do they pay the percentage based on the balance of your account at the date of dividend payment or is it calculated on the same way interest is - i.e. paid only on the length of time the money is in the account.

It appears that the dividend is paid on the average balance in the account over the year. I need to understand the maths behind this. If, for example, you have paid in £100 per month, your final balance will be £1200 over the year. Another example could be paying £100 in on month 1, then paying 1100 in on month 11. Would the average balance for each example be the same or different? Taking the final balance on the account and dividing by 12 months/365 days?

They would be different, as the average balance would be different: (100+200+300+ ...+1200)/12 and (11*100 +1200)/12.

I would calculate the average balance by adding the closing balance for each day and dividing by 365. Multiplying this by the dividend rate would give the same result as calculating the dividend daily, as interest normally is. How the credit unions actually calculate it, I don't know.

Daliah

I received a letter in today's post from the London Capital Credit Union, advising that "our highly popular Prize Saver Scheme has been extended for another year with a monthly top prize of £5,000". The letter is not dated but I assume they mean the scheme is now running until end of September 2022.

masonic

Not for me unfortunately. One draw to go and back to an interest-bearing account it goes (won't be staying for a 0.1% dividend)

YellowStarling

I've left a message with my CU (Clockwise) to see if this scheme is still being offered/extended by them, as I can't see any confirmation that they are planning to do so on news/media, their socials or indeed their website (which is outdated as it and the linked Ts&Cs still refer to the HMRC pilot with an end date of Apr '21 advised).

Will report back for any other CCU customers (note:  I see that they have merged with New Central CU this month, so they now also cover Coventry and Warwickshire for anybody this interests/impacts).

YellowStarling

Very quick reply from CCU:  apparently letters will be sent out shortly "once the future of the PrizeSaver scheme has been decided" (direct quote).

gizz_10

I got an email from London capital credit union saying that as i havent actively used my account for more than 12 months it has now become dormant, and reminding me about the prize draw.  Does anyone know if it will still be in the saver prize draw if dormant or do i need to reactivate it first?  Is it as simple as paying in some more cash to reactivate it?  i have just left it sitting with £200 in it since it opened.

masonic

gizz_10 said:

I got an email from London capital credit union saying that as i havent actively used my account for more than 12 months it has now become dormant, and reminding me about the prize draw.  Does anyone know if it will still be in the saver prize draw if dormant or do i need to reactivate it first?  Is it as simple as paying in some more cash to reactivate it?  i have just left it sitting with £200 in it since it opened.

They should warn you ahead of making it dormant. You should just be able to pay in a quid and withdraw it again, if it's about to become dormant, but you may need to reactivate it if it already is. Can you still see the account online?