Regular Savings Accounts: The Best Currently Available List!

Special_Saver2

Hi Folks,

There is only thing that has changed following this weekend's update - the Halifax 5% regular savings account has been extended until 16th October. Nothing else has changed.

All the best,
SS2

Zebra

I've got Regular Savings accounts maturing shortly from:
Halifax
Barclays
Abbey National
Skipton (formerly Scarborough)
Principality.

Halifax will transfer the money automatically to my Web Saver account, and I can go into a Skipton branch to close that one.

But what about the others?

From Special Saver's OP, I understand that both Barclays and Abbey National will open new savings accounts for the money, and to access it online (the preferred option) I need to open a Barclays e-saver account. What about Abbey National - do I need to wait until they send me details of the Flexible Saver account, or can I access it online also?

Will Principality send the funds automatically, or do I need to write to them and close the account?

Finally, do I need to cancel the standing orders to Barclays and Abbey National, or will that be done automatically, and will Halifax continue the account at the new interest rate (fingers crossed its 5%), or do I need to specifically open a new one?

YorkshireBoy

Zebra wrote: »

...will Halifax continue the account at the new interest rate (fingers crossed its 5%), or do I need to specifically open a new one?

Maturity of term - after 12 months your savings and interest are simply transferred into your nominated savings account (which you'll be asked to open at the same time as opening your Regular Saver). Your Regular Saver account remains open and you can continue to save - the interest rate applicable at the time is then fixed for another year.

http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/ImportantInfo/ImpInfo_RegularSaver.asp

..........

mary

Zebra wrote: »

Will Principality send the funds automatically, or do I need to write to them and close the account?

You need to write to them. Ask them to send you a cheque made out to you and then close the account. They do not do payments by BACS.
I've had several RS mature with them and this is their way.

LittleVoice

Zebra wrote: »

. . . do I need to cancel the standing orders to Barclays and Abbey National, or will that be done automatically,

When you set up the standing orders, you could have given an end date or left it open to continue indefinitely until further notice. Check which you did.

If you left it open, you would be wise to change it and specify the end date if it is not yet happened or future date if appropriate. This will avoid sending money to a rubbish-rate account.

Obviously if you gave an end-date that will be effective automatically.

As these were standing orders and not direct debits it is for you to cancel - the recipients wouldn't be able to operate your standing order for you and, in any case, I would expect them to be perfectly happy to continue receiving your monthy subscription.

Special_Saver2

Zebra wrote: »

From Special Saver's OP, I understand that both Barclays and Abbey National will open new savings accounts for the money, and to access it online (the preferred option) I need to open a Barclays e-saver account. What about Abbey National - do I need to wait until they send me details of the Flexible Saver account, or can I access it online also?

For the Barlcays regular saver account, I know from other posters on this forum that you can check your balance if you open an eSaver Reward account but I do not think you can operate the regular saver account online. I suspect you will have to go into a branch to close that account down.

As for the Abbey account, I used to have these in the past and I had to go into a branch to close down their regular saver accounts. The counter staff would often try and tell me they could not close down the account, e.g. they tried telling me that I would need to make an appointment to see a salesman before they could close the account or that they could only close the account with their manager's permission and the manager had gone out for lunch. Most of the time they will relent and let you close the account immediately but if they are too resilient then just empty the account and leave a zero balance.

As the others have already advised, make sure that the standing orders are set to stop sending money to the regular saver accounts after they have matured.

SS2

psychic_teabag

The natwest regular saver might be going or changing soon. I went into a branch the other day, and the staff at first thought it had already been withdrawn, then decided it was still around. I got the impression that they were trying to remember a date that had been on an internal memo, or something.

Speculator

Apparently according to emoneyfacts, the Chorley Santa Saver rate has been increased from 3.5% to 5%.

https://www.emoneyfacts.co.uk/news/savings-news.aspx?newsarticleid=189886

Milarky

Speculator wrote: »

Apparently according to emoneyfacts, the Chorley Santa Saver rate has been increased from 3.5% to 5%.

https://www.emoneyfacts.co.uk/news/savings-news.aspx?newsarticleid=189886

Confirmed. If, like me, you stopped paying in after they let rates slid you can top the balance back up to what it would have been @£150 per month.

Terms of Investment

• Only one Santa Saver allowed per investor (minimum age of investor 18 years)
• The account deposit period commences on the 1st December and finishes on the 25th November each year
• Minimum opening balance £1
• Maximum total deposit allowed per month £150
• Multiple deposits transactions allowed subject to the above maximum monthly allowance
• Prior months missed deposits or shortfalls can be made up (advance deposits not allowed)
• NO withdrawals allowed
• The balance plus interest to date will transfer automatically each year on the 26th November to a nominated account of your choice within the Society
• The nominated account must be current at the time of the Santa Saver application and remain open until this account is closed

anna42hmr

thanks for that, fingers crossed that means it wont be long before skipton announces theirs for xmas 2010 as well as they have been extremely consistent with their intrest rates over the year and still 3.2% will prob go with skipton as i like their terms, and can save from opening (november last year) as opposed to waiting till 1st december.