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Regular Savings Accounts: The Best Currently Available List!

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  • I am in same boat with the HSBC RS, just two payment windows left to run.

    Reduced SO to £25, starting 1 Sep, so just left £50 in HSBC current account to cover final two and forget about it until maturity 1 Dec 😁
  • SJMALBA
    SJMALBA Posts: 1,102 Forumite
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    SJMALBA said:
    Nick_C said:
    qsk said:
    Has any "new" customer who opened 7% one and then applied for the 8% one? Are you treated as an existing customer in this case?
    According to the T&C you are not but some people have been trying that sort of thing (opening an instant access saver followed by an exclusive RS, for example) anyway and MBS appear to have been lenient with these types of applications so far.
    What makes you think that?

    From the web site:-

    "To be a qualifying member you must :
    • Be an existing savings member (sole or joint) or mortgage customer.
    • Your savings account must have money in it.
    • Your account needs to have transactions within the last 24 months. "
    So once you have opened the 7% account and made a couple of deposits, you are an existing member.
    That was my reading of the Ts & Cs too; having opened the 7% last month, as a first time MBS member, and therefore having to wait for their snail mail processes, this morning, with the 7% now funded, I applied for the 8% RS - time will tell if it is successful...
    Update: Success! Passbook for Exclusive RS received today.  :)

  • janusd
    janusd Posts: 1,068 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I just received my Mon BS passbook too for the 7% account - I feel like i've gone back to my childhood having a passbook in my hands. :o
    I previously registered for Mon BS Online (27th August), but have yet to receive any login details in the post... nor have I funded the account (until I got the letter today I didn't know the FP details for sure).
    their first email did say "Please note: Your account will not be fully open until your account has been credited and we cannot process any registration requests until this is completed.".
    I did get a second email on the 31st stating...
    "Your registration reference number is xxx
    You have deposited £0.00 in your account while registration
    Your registration will be processed shortly and an activation code will be sent by post to your registered account address in the next few days."
    a question for those more familiar with MonBS "systems" - but does that first email mean I won't receive any login details until I make that first deposit? or does that second email mean the login details are supposedly already on the way??
    I know there has been discussion about their contradictory and confusing content, but i'm unsure if my question has been addressed previously.
  • Nick_C
    Nick_C Posts: 7,622 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Home Insurance Hacker!
    @janusdesign

    Think you just need to wait.  I'm also a new customer.  I funded the account on 29/8 by faster payment when I received the letter with the account number, and again on 1/9.  Passbook shows the credits but no access to online banking yet.
  • ...does that first email mean I won't receive any login details until I make that first deposit? or does that second email mean the login details are supposedly already on the way??...
    I'm only new to MONBS myself, but I do have their acknowledgement that my first deposit (£1) was made yet I am still waiting (2+ weeks and counting) for the code so I can access my a/c online. Hope this helps you in some way.
  • jd84 said:
    I've a few months left on a HSBC regular saver, and can now get better rates elsewhere.

    The minimum pay is supposed to be £25, but what if I just cancel the standing order and leave it to mature?

    Do you think they would even notice or care?

    I can't see anything in their terms about the rate dropping if failing to pay in, only for closing early, so not sure why they say this, given you can pay more in later months to make up the full amount.

    Has anybody else had experience of this before?

    Thanks
    AFAIK the deal is - you don't have to deposit, but if you do it has to be no less than £25.  I've canceled my SO starting from this month, but won't close the account and let it mature (6th Dec in my case).
    You DO have to make a deposit (via SO) each month, £25, I believe:

    "Regular Deposits:
    • regular deposits must be made by standing order each month
    • the minimum monthly deposit is £25 per month
    • the maximum monthly deposit is £250 per month
    • if you don't pay in the maximum allowed in any month, you can carry over the unused subscriptions and
    catch up in future months"


  • castle96
    castle96 Posts: 2,995 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    £300 isntit?
  • Stargunner
    Stargunner Posts: 1,008 Forumite
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    DJDools said:
    ...does that first email mean I won't receive any login details until I make that first deposit? or does that second email mean the login details are supposedly already on the way??...
    I'm only new to MONBS myself, but I do have their acknowledgement that my first deposit (£1) was made yet I am still waiting (2+ weeks and counting) for the code so I can access my a/c online. Hope this helps you in some way.
    I am also a new customer to MonBS and i opened 2 regular savers at the end of August. I called them today as I have still not received an activation code. They said that their system was saying one was posted on the 1st Sept, so they are posting another one today.
  • Middle_of_the_Road
    Middle_of_the_Road Posts: 1,178 Forumite
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    edited 11 September 2023 at 9:17PM
    jd84 said:
    I've a few months left on a HSBC regular saver, and can now get better rates elsewhere.

    The minimum pay is supposed to be £25, but what if I just cancel the standing order and leave it to mature?

    Do you think they would even notice or care?

    I can't see anything in their terms about the rate dropping if failing to pay in, only for closing early, so not sure why they say this, given you can pay more in later months to make up the full amount.

    Has anybody else had experience of this before?

    Thanks
    This discussion came up in June. I visited a branch and enquired about it and my findings were as follows:

    Regarding the HSBC regular saver. I've just returned from my HSBC branch visit and they said the following:

    • You must make at least 1 deposit of £25-£250 by SO per account month excluding the month in which you opened the account
    • You may however make further deposits by manual transfer into the regular saver so long as the total amount you pay in by any method does not exceed £250 per account month and that at least £25 is deposited by SO. So if you wished you could make a £25 deposit by SO followed by a £225 manual payment into the regular saver each month or vice versa, or make a weekly deposit of £25 into the account by SO if desired.
    • If you fail to make a deposit of between £25-£250 by SO each account month (excluding the month you opened the account) HSBC reserve the right to terminate their relationship with you in line with page 34 of the general terms and conditions. The person I spoke to in branch stressed that that does not mean they definitely will close your accounts for not depositing by SO each month but that they could do if they wished to since it would be a breach of their terms.
    Some on this forum have cancelled the SO and been fine but personally I wouldn't risk it myself. I've already been banned from 3 banking groups (LBG, Barclays and Metro) and do not wish to add HSBC group to that list too. I had my Barclays accounts closed in November 2022, the only thing I can possibly think of that could've caused it was that I held both a Barclays and TSB student account simultaneously for 30 mins on the day I opened the account (a breach of the Ts&Cs), which could be argued is about as severe a breach as failing to pay in £25 or more by SO into a regular saver when the terms state you have to. 
    I am stunned - whilst banks are at liberty to do business with whom they like, banning is surely a sanction to cut off the lifeblood of fraudsters and not for minor lapses?
    It seems people being banned from banking institutions is a somewhat new phenomenon, that's become more common in recent months.
    Along with widespread branch closure, it looks like a major effort is being made to eliminate all non profitable business. Perhaps it's that we just have to accept that this is how banks operate now, and make an effort to abide by their rules, or suffer account closures with no explanation.

    I can understand they take a bad view of opening an account, with the sole intention of instantly switching it to another bank. Do this too often and looks like a lifetime ban could be the result. I try to get as much out of a bank as possible without making it too obvious. Of the five switch payments I've received, each donor account was used for a period before switching. Three of them switched, only after opening a reward account, before switching the basic donor account. Later on if the reward account fails to be rewarding, downgrade to a free account.

    I've recently renewed the Lloyds monthly saver, to free up the funds for Santander. Whilst there is a loophole enabling the opening another before the 12 month period is up, this is against their Ts&Cs so will not risk the consequences of them picking it up. 






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