Regular Savings Accounts: The Best Currently Available List!

AmityNeon

dlevene said:

My FD regular saver matured today. As suggested on this forum, rather than wait, I sent them a secure message asking for the funds to be transferred immediately, and for a new RS to be opened.

They complied with the first request but claim the latter isn't possible for a few days. I insisted but they didn't budge.

How does that square with others experiences? Any advice?

Do you still see the matured RS in your account listing? When mine matured (also on a Saturday) the account was no longer visible, so I applied for a new RS immediately in-app. Before Sunday morning, the matured balance was automatically transferred to my pre-existing standard FD savings account, which I then manually transferred to my current account, and by the afternoon, the new RS was already open with £300 automatically transferred from my current account. No human interaction required at all, and not a single working day had elapsed.

dlevene

I'm not quite sure what people are objecting to - ultimately, it's just about trying to get as much value from these accounts as possible, which is the entire point of this website.

I gave them a call, and I was firm but very polite. The first person I spoke to knew it could be closed manually but said that the lead times had grown to the point it took longer than the automatic maturing. I wasn't happy with this and it was escalated to the next person, who then agreed to action the closure immediately. She advised it might be overnight before the old account disappeared and I could apply for a new one - this ultimately happened a few hours later.

All sorted now,  but I do think they'd be better off avoiding the delay (which they are clearly able to do).

subjecttocontract

Yes I can see that every day saved is important to some. Not having to wait 3 days to pay £300 into your new FD account is worth about £0.057 pence in interest per day.

Section62

(Removed by Forum Team)

....ultimately, it's just about trying to get as much value from these accounts as possible, which is the entire point of this website.

I think the contrary points of view expressed on this thread (and others) is intended to act as a reminder that squeezing every fraction of a penny out of accounts is not always MSE, or sensible, or wise.

It is a valid point.

For example, your "firm but very polite" may be interpreted by the CSA as being "rude and aggressive" and could in theory result in your relationship with FD/HSBC being terminated.  Banks need little excuse to offload customers they don't want and being perceived as treating their staff badly is more than enough excuse for them.

The point being that sometimes it is important to take a step back and see the bigger picture.  The fraction of a penny gained by (say) opening an account earlier has to be weighed against the potential risks.

When I started out in this game it seemed we could do almost anything (lawful) and it wasn't an issue.  However it seems clear to me that things have now changed and the banks tolerance of people who push the boundaries is significantly less than it previously was.

In that context, posts like subjecttocontract's serve as a reminder to us all that this is about more than generating the odd penny here and there.  Therefore I feel your "just mind your own business" comment is uncalled for and inappropriate.  This affects us all - where the boundaries are pushed too far the result is often new restrictions that make it harder for the rest of us to benefit, so it is everyone's business, and worth people commenting on.

(Edit: adding second quote for clarity)

AmityNeon

(Removed by Forum Team)

It’s £0.0164 per day over a 5% easy access account. If a quick turnaround is important to you, I recommend opening their standard savings account, so maturity/renewal can occur over a single weekend without needing to contact support.

gwapenut

The only time I found slow turnaorund time from one year's RS to the next was personally worth worrying about, was when I made the mistake of opening a few on the 4th or 5th April one year, trying to ensure I paid tax in a particular tax year when I knew I'd have more tax allowance to use up. 

Santander didn't abie by their own terms and conditions and paid the interest the next day, in the following tax year. 

And then I realised that the few days' drift n the HSBC stable mean that my subsequent RS skipped an entire tax year, pushing the interest into an even more taxable situation. 

My solution was to avoid such late-in-the-year openings, rather than need to spend extra effort trying to coerce customer services and hitting a dead end in the case of Santander.

BillTee

Stargunner said:

subjecttocontract said:

AmityNeon said:

A Regular Saver term that lasts for 9.5 months? How peculiar, though based on its name/purpose I can understand it needing to mature comfortably before Christmas 2024. It’s still worth opening for me. It may be variable, but given the marketing context, the optics would look terrible if they announced a rate reduction.

(AER is 6.04% for YBS Christmas 2024 Regular Saver)

It's difficult for me to get very excited about this......approx £37 in interest is hardly worth getting out of bed for !

It would be a lot less than £37, because I would imagine that you would hsve the money in an easy access account instead, earning at least 5%. 

I will be giving this RS a miss.

You're correct. I worked it out and would be less than 30p difference compared to my Cynergy EA 5.15%

AmityNeon

BillTee said:

Stargunner said:

subjecttocontract said:

AmityNeon said:

A Regular Saver term that lasts for 9.5 months? How peculiar, though based on its name/purpose I can understand it needing to mature comfortably before Christmas 2024. It’s still worth opening for me. It may be variable, but given the marketing context, the optics would look terrible if they announced a rate reduction.

(AER is 6.04% for YBS Christmas 2024 Regular Saver)

It's difficult for me to get very excited about this......approx £37 in interest is hardly worth getting out of bed for !

It would be a lot less than £37, because I would imagine that you would hsve the money in an easy access account instead, earning at least 5%.
I will be giving this RS a miss.

You're correct. I worked it out and would be less than 30p difference compared to my Cynergy EA 5.15%

Only 30p? That's equivalent to a monthly contribution of ~£8. Assuming the full monthly contribution of £150 per month starting today and the first of every subsequent month, the difference compared to a 5.15% gross account would be £5.75.

Dizzycap

I finally managed to get the YBS Christmas Saver Opened. what a mess up with all the verification rubbish. It's been going on for 10 days . Anyway, loaded up £150 for this month and another £150 at the beginning of February.

Coventry has launched another RS issue @ 5% but not opened as I've got others on the go at higher interest rates. Plus, I've already got 2 Coventry RS @ 5.5% with one about to mature.

Middle_of_the_Road

Dizzycap said:

I finally managed to get the YBS Christmas Saver Opened. what a mess up with all the verification rubbish. It's been going on for 10 days . Anyway, loaded up £150 for this month and another £150 at the beginning of February.

Coventry has launched another RS issue @ 5% but not opened as I've got others on the go at higher interest rates. Plus, I've already got 2 Coventry RS @ 5.5% with one about to mature.

How did you manage to have two 5.5% regular savers with Coventry?