How to close a child savings account

JBMouse

Can anyone help advise please: As a grandparent I opened a TSB Young Savers account some years ago for each of my 3 grandchildren, naming them on the account, but with all correspondence coming to me. Now, with interest rates on the floor I want to close all 3 accounts and take the money out (about £800 in each), possibly to buy Premium Bonds, but add the bonds to my own fairly substantial holdings, but not in excess of the maximum, in the view the odds of wins increases, even if it really doesn't. The problem is that TSB will only issue a cheque for each account in the name of the child, a crossed cheque, A/c Payee only, so I cannot pay it into my own account. It appears I would need to open a bank account for each of them, which I don't want to do, and of course is even harder in these Covid-19 days of restrictions. I can see the original paperwork does state clearly that the accounts are for the benefit of the children, and I should always run the accounts in their best interest, just as it should be for any Trustee, so I may be up against a legal brick wall, but I do believe their best interest is served by moving the money from very nearly 0% interest accounts to somewhere better, even if it's under the mattress!
Any thoughts as to a workaround that doesn't require new bank accounts, or face to face fact finds, or jumping through hoops to prove I.D.?

magritte

You can buy Premium Bonds for the children, but you need to let the parents know. That way the kids' money and any prizes they might win are kept separately from your money. You also avoid tax implications (or complications) like that. 

nsandi.com/gift

eskbanker

JBMouse said:

The problem is that TSB will only issue a cheque for each account in the name of the child, a crossed cheque, A/c Payee only, so I cannot pay it into my own account.

The money belongs to them so can't be moved into one or more accounts in your name and must be kept in theirs.  Of course you can look for better accounts for them if the interest rate on the existing ones is poor, but any move must be to another account in their names, whether that's a bank, building society or premium bonds....

xylophone

Do the children already have CTF/JISA? Perhaps move the money there?