The Top Regular Savers Discussion Thread

masonic

MisterMotivated said:

masonic said:

MisterMotivated said:

nottsphil said:

MisterMotivated said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

HedgehogRulez said:

How come when my first direct RS matured I only got half the expected interest? Smells like a scam!

Did you put £300 in a month and get £ 136.50 interest.
If so it’s correct.
I bet you are working it out at 7% on £3600.
Not 7% on £300, The month 2 £600, etc,etc.
Only month 12 had £3600 @ 7%.

Maybe it's time we had a pinned thread explaining how Regular Savers actually work, since so many people seem to get caught out by this misunderstanding.

I disagree to an extent.
These people don't understand interest at all. If they did, they would realize that the interest gained paying in amounts each month would be no different than doing likewise with a standard savings account of the same interest rate.
By all means suggest a thread explaining daily calculated interest and per annum percentage rates, but this should not be regarded as regular saver-specific.

Perhaps I need to read more threads but, while there are countless threads/posts from people talking about how they only received half the interest they expected from their regular saver (based on their final balance x 7% for example), I can't say I've seen anyone complaining of the same issue when they've been making deposits into an easy access savings account.

Tends to be quite rare these days, often months go by between posts. But those making such claims are unlikely to have the diligence to look for an answer first, and correcting them can almost be considered a sport.

True they are not quite as common as they once were, but surely pasting a link to a pinned thread or the Regular Savers page on the main site would be more efficient than 17 different members explaining how they work in 17 different ways, which is what usually happens

What and spoil their fun? I doubt it would deter people from weighing in. Because you won't get those 17 people agreeing on the best way to explain it.

Pinned threads are unnecessary clutter for regular forum users. But those who wish to have a pre-prepared response could start a thread, add it to their browser bookmarks and post it in response to comments as they see fit.

Quite often a link to the calculator on the main site is posted by someone in the course of debunking the claims made. As well as the illustration provided for the account in question.

nottsphil

GetRichOrDieSaving said:

West Brom RS 

I picked up a EA to later receive a RS through eligibility. Jumped all the hoops to set up, then had to ring a number to set up online banking. Spoke to a lovely member of staff and confirmed all security questions, and was passed on to an automated call to set up a security number which was never picked up. 

Went through this process twice with West Brom and now given up completely. I will let me EA go unfunded and close due to lack of funding. 

Beware! 

I took out an ISA with them in order to become a member to qualify me for the regular saver. It didn't.
West Brom are now stuck with the administrative expense of a £1 ISA which I will not touch until they recognise me as a member

ForumUser7

nottsphil said:

GetRichOrDieSaving said:

West Brom RS 

I picked up a EA to later receive a RS through eligibility. Jumped all the hoops to set up, then had to ring a number to set up online banking. Spoke to a lovely member of staff and confirmed all security questions, and was passed on to an automated call to set up a security number which was never picked up. 

Went through this process twice with West Brom and now given up completely. I will let me EA go unfunded and close due to lack of funding. 

Beware! 

I took out an ISA with them in order to become a member to qualify me for the regular saver. It didn't.
West Brom are now stuck with the administrative expense of a £1 ISA which I will not touch until they recognise me as a member

What do you mean 'it didn't'? Is the account number not working when you put it on the form? Is it a WebSave ISA? If so, you should still be eligible, but you may need to call and speak to them to get it sorted.

Dizzycap

MisterMotivated said:

nottsphil said:

MisterMotivated said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

HedgehogRulez said:

How come when my first direct RS matured I only got half the expected interest? Smells like a scam!

Did you put £300 in a month and get £ 136.50 interest.
If so it’s correct.
I bet you are working it out at 7% on £3600.
Not 7% on £300, The month 2 £600, etc,etc.
Only month 12 had £3600 @ 7%.

Maybe it's time we had a pinned thread explaining how Regular Savers actually work, since so many people seem to get caught out by this misunderstanding.

I disagree to an extent.
These people don't understand interest at all. If they did, they would realize that the interest gained paying in amounts each month would be no different than doing likewise with a standard savings account of the same interest rate.
By all means suggest a thread explaining daily calculated interest and per annum percentage rates, but this should not be regarded as regular saver-specific.

Perhaps I need to read more threads but, while there are countless threads/posts from people talking about how they only received half the interest they expected from their regular saver (based on their final balance x 7% for example), I can't say I've seen anyone complaining of the same issue when they've been making deposits into an easy access savings account.

Obviously people haven't used the MSE interest calulating tool, if needed, to check what their actual return will be.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/regular-savings-calculator/

nottsphil

ForumUser7 said:

nottsphil said:

GetRichOrDieSaving said:

West Brom RS 

I picked up a EA to later receive a RS through eligibility. Jumped all the hoops to set up, then had to ring a number to set up online banking. Spoke to a lovely member of staff and confirmed all security questions, and was passed on to an automated call to set up a security number which was never picked up. 

Went through this process twice with West Brom and now given up completely. I will let me EA go unfunded and close due to lack of funding. 

Beware! 

I took out an ISA with them in order to become a member to qualify me for the regular saver. It didn't.
West Brom are now stuck with the administrative expense of a £1 ISA which I will not touch until they recognise me as a member

What do you mean 'it didn't'? Is the account number not working when you put it on the form? Is it a WebSave ISA? If so, you should still be eligible, but you may need to call and speak to them to get it sorted.

It didn't qualify me for the regular saver.
This was months ago but now you mention it, their 'reason' did have something to do with them designating it as not a 'Websave', a difference they completely failed to explain when I applied for the ISA.

nottsphil

wmb194 said:

nottsphil said:

OneUser1 said:

Progressive Building Society have made their on-line Regular Saver Issue 3 (still Issue 2 on page 1 of this thread) paying 6%.

Progressive are based in Northern Ireland but the account is open to everyone over 18 in the UK with photo ID (although the staff are friendly on the phone and previously - Issue 1 - could accommodate those without photo ID.)

Are you suggesting that new customers might be able to open this new issue without photo ID? (My only photo ID is a bus pass, which I would not be willing to post to them). Why do they insist on this anyway? It's not as if mainlanders are going to travel to Northern Ireland and turn up at a branch in person! What alternatives would the Progressive accept?

Progressive BS

 When I opened my account in July 2024 I didn't have to supply any ID, it was opened with electronic checks.

Looking at its website this still appears to be the case, "We undertake a search with a Credit Reference Agency or Data Reference Agency. They supply us with information, including from the Electoral Register, for the purpose of verifying your identity. ... If we’re unable to verify your identity from the information provided you will be required to produce two items of documentation as proof of your identification."

https://theprogressive.com/support-information/savings-support/savings-faqs

Did they show this page before you applied?

anna42hmr

savethepandas said:

anna42hmr said:

sorry if this has been asked before but I couldn't find the answer, I have already got the principal Christmas saver open and running and have just opened the 8% 6 month one today.  Principality use the same sort code and account number to send the standing orders to, but just vary the reference number.  

Will this cause any problems with Santander if I set the 2nd standing order from there? so will be two standing orders on 1st of each month going to the same sort code and account number but to different reference numbers.  reason I am asking is I recall a number of years back Natwest/RBS had an issue with this and wondering if any one knows if Santander work the way that Natwest/RBS does in that regard. 

Definitely not a problem, I send multiple payments from Santander to different Principality accounts at the beginning of each month.

thanks that is great I appreciate you confirming it has worked no problem for you, I was probably just overthinking it a bit; 

pecunianonolet

Zopa Reg Saver

Quick q, if I open the Zopa Reg saver on the 6th March, will the first interest payment be on the 6th April (new tax year and a Sunday)?

Dizzycap

pecunianonolet said:

Zopa Reg Saver

Quick q, if I open the Zopa Reg saver on the 6th March, will the first interest payment be on the 6th April (new tax year and a Sunday)?

From my experience of Zopa, no. Interest is paid monthly on the day before your primary pot was opened.

Example: My primary pot was opened on the 14th of the month. All interest payments arrive in my Zopa accounts on the 13th of the month regardless of when they were opened and / or funded.

Bridlington1

For those of you with a Furness BS Christmas Regular Saver due to mature on Friday 10/1/25.

In my experience of withdrawals from Furness BS by faster payment funds are debited from the account the day the request is made but arrive the next working day, thus if the account is due to mature on Friday and you choose to have the account closed upon maturity I would suspect the funds would be debited from your account on Friday but not arrive in your nominated account till Monday, not earning interest in that time, which is noteworthy given the final balance could be potentially over £6k .

One option worth considering could be to empty the account today (can be done in online banking) in order to reduce the amount of time you've got a large sum ``in transit" earning no interest.