Regular Savings Accounts: The Best Currently Available List!

thor

I haven't consulted this thread for a while so did not realise when Leeds BS sent a letter saying that they were going to close and transfer my issue 2 RS account to a standard(and lower paying) savings account that they still had a similar issue 3 RS one available.
Perhaps they did not automatically switch from issue 2 to issue 3 hoping that people would not find it worth the effort doing so themselves.
As for how for the lifetime of issue 3, I'm going to be charitable and consider their 'simplifying' excuse to be genuine and is why they have cleared out the earlier issues.
Let's hope they have had their rate cuts and accounts closing fill for a while and keep a decent RS account going.

GreenBitterfly

I'm not going to be charitable about it, as I overheard a staff member telling a customer it's because there's a lot of money in these accounts, and that's why they're being closed.

IanManc

I'm not feeling charitable either. I don't trust Leeds Building Society any more. I had an Issue 3 account as well as an Issue 2. I closed the Issue 3 because after what they've done to the Issue 2 there's no point in starting to build up a lump sum in an Issue 3 at £250 a month, as they're the sort of outfit that shuts regular savings accounts whenever they feel like it and dump you in an account with a pathetic rate instead. I've kept one account with the Leeds with £100 in it so that I can vote against the directors each year - something that I thoroughly enjoyed doing earlier this week. I've been a member of the Leeds for many years, and had most of my cash savings there until they ruined their Albion Cheque Account recently.

Steve_xx

IanManc wrote: »

I'm not feeling charitable either. I don't trust Leeds Building Society any more. I had an Issue 3 account as well as an Issue 2. I closed the Issue 3 because after what they've done to the Issue 2 there's no point in starting to build up a lump sum in an Issue 3 at £250 a month, as they're the sort of outfit that shuts regular savings accounts whenever they feel like it and dump you in an account with a pathetic rate instead.

So you closed Issue 3, and in the process you cut your nose off to spite your face. Not the brightest of moves really, since you will be lucky to attain half of what it pays in an easy access account.

IanManc

Steve_xx wrote: »

So you closed Issue 3, and in the process you cut your nose off to spite your face. Not the brightest of moves really, since you will be lucky to attain half of what it pays in an easy access account.

Really?


£2k in TSB @ 5%
£5k in Lloyds @ 4%
£20k in Santander @ 3%
£5K x 3 in Bank of Scotland @ 3%
£3k in Tesco @ 3%


All instant access with no withdrawal restrictions. And apparently "lucky" with the interest rates too. So perhaps I'm brighter than you think.

redux

Leeds haven't actually sent me the letter yet.

The AGM notice etc says these letters went out in December. Is that correct? It seems unlikely to me as a staff member didn't know anything about it by 29th December, and he persuaded me to keep my series 1 going.

Steve_xx

IanManc wrote: »

Really?


£2k in TSB @ 5%
£5k in Lloyds @ 4%
£20k in Santander @ 3%
£5K x 3 in Bank of Scotland @ 3%
£3k in Tesco @ 3%


All instant access with no withdrawal restrictions. And apparently "lucky" with the interest rates too. So perhaps I'm brighter than you think.

Yes, but the assumption is that the Regular Saver accounts would come after you filled the instant access accounts that you've mentioned.

Oh, and by the way, you can have two Tesco current accounts!

IanManc

Steve_xx wrote: »

Yes, but the assumption is that the Regular Saver accounts would come after you filled the instant access accounts that you've mentioned.

I understand that, but with a contribution of £250 a month into the Leeds Issue 3, which gives the equivalent of 3% interest on £1500 in year 1 if you make the maximum contributions, you need to be able to build up a decent lump sum in a regular saver to make it worth doing at all. What Leeds have done, by closing down the Issue 1 and Issue 2 accounts, is undermine customers expectation that the accounts will be allowed to run long enough for a decent sum to be accrued and make the exercise worthwhile.


Many other providers of no-fixed-end-date regular savings accounts have issues of their accounts which are no longer on sale. Some maintain their high interest rates, while others might whittle them down over time, but I can't remember any institution before that has closed down no-fixed-end-date regular savers and transferred the balances to different type of account paying a much lower interest rate. I think that's why the actions of the Leeds are attracting such criticism.


In the end the Bank of England's "funding for lending" scheme means that institutions like the Leeds just don't need savers' money, as they can get it for next to nothing from the Treasury.

Steve_xx

IanManc wrote: »

I understand that, but with a contribution of £250 a month into the Leeds Issue 3, which gives the equivalent of 3% interest on £1500 in year 1 if you make the maximum contributions, you need to be able to build up a decent lump sum in a regular saver to make it worth doing at all. What Leeds have done, by closing down the Issue 1 and Issue 2 accounts, is undermine customers expectation that the accounts will be allowed to run long enough for a decent sum to be accrued and make the exercise worthwhile.


Many other providers of no-fixed-end-date regular savings accounts have issues of their accounts which are no longer on sale. Some maintain their high interest rates, while others might whittle them down over time, but I can't remember any institution before that has closed down no-fixed-end-date regular savers and transferred the balances to different type of account paying a much lower interest rate. I think that's why the actions of the Leeds are attracting such criticism.


In the end the Bank of England's "funding for lending" scheme means that institutions like the Leeds just don't need savers' money, as they can get it for next to nothing from the Treasury.

Well no not strictly. Once your money goes in it earns interest on a daily basis. And, once it is there it seems a pointless thing to do to remove it. However, if you have adequate spare capacity in those accounts that you mentioned then yes, it matters not if you withdraw it from the Leeds.

A lot of Regular Savers run for just 12 months anyway. Interestingly, I have/had a couple of Regular Saver accounts with Cheshire Building Socity who have been swallowed up by Nationwide. Generally these were 12 month Reg Savers with Cheshire, but by accident I've learned that there is no end date on them now that they've become Nationwide accounts.

Though I do take your point of annoyance with Leeds for doing what they've done here. Especially given the fact that they termed doing it as a streamlining exercise. If they wanted to streamline their account they could have renamed them all Issue 3 and the job would have been done. Instead they've alienated their customers, much like most of the remaining banks have.

bristolleedsfan

IanManc wrote: »

In the end the Bank of England's "funding for lending" scheme means that institutions like the Leeds just don't need savers' money, as they can get it for next to nothing from the Treasury.

During last couple of Months Leeds B.S have launched these :

http://www.leedsbuildingsociety.co.uk/savings/bonds/18-month-fixed-rate-bond

http://www.leedsbuildingsociety.co.uk/savings/isa-tax-free-accounts/18-month-fixed-rate-isa

In with 1.65% and 1.70% deposits in preparation for out with 3.05% deposits