Halifax to relaunch regular saver @10%+

SiuLoong

amazamum wrote: »

Thanks KTF,I will go down town tomorrow to open one,do I need to take any details as I already have an account with them?.

Shouldn't need anything, I only have a credit card with them and opened a RS with websaver this morning. Paid initial deposit by cheque & setup SO from an A&L current account.. needed no more details than a few security check questions.

SiuLoong

darksider wrote: »

Hi everyone. long time lurker but this is my first post.
Ive just been reading this article about regular savings accounts and the "Drip Feed" method. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/best-regular-savings-accounts

I hope Im posting in the right place and that my questions haven't already been answered elsewhere

I've got quite a large sum sat doing nothing in my current account. I had abit of inheritance recently (not the nicest way of gaining money though) and had no other account to have it deposited into.

Ive done alot of research into how i can make this money work for me, im sure if i get it right, the interest could pay my mortgage each month (retrospectively of course, Id still have to work)

Anyway, my questions are these:

What is the maximum I could 'dripfeed' into a regular savings per month?
What would be the best savings account to 'dripfeed' from (opinions please)?
could i do this dripfeeding more than once, (ie, could I have 2 savings and 2 regular savings accounts) if so, would I get hammered with tax?
Could i use this method and spread it about using my kids and avoid the big tax bills?

the person who left me the money was an accountant, so i feel it's only right i try and squeeze as much out of his gift as possible. it's what he would have wanted!

Depends on how much work you want to put in ( & how much you are talking about)! I'd setup a top paying cash ISA and max it out. Then open a Birmingham Midshires online saver (issue 2) at 6.51%, and finally an A&L Premier direct current account 8.5% for 12 months on up to £2.5k (if funded with £500 or more per month). Then setup standing orders for £500 from BM to A&L and from A&L to Halifax. Keep the A&L account topped up to £2.5k and over the year you will move the maximum 6K to Halifax, earning average interest of over 8% (minus tax) with your maximum tax free amount in an ISA.

Obviously you could make significantly more with the right investments, but with some risk involved. If done correctly the above strategy is risk free.

pfpf

KeithEssex wrote: »

The Halifax have told me that they do not allow manual "Single Immediate Payments" to be received via the Faster Payments system for the remaining monthly deposits. Apparently these must be made by Standing Order !!

so what do we think?

is it another case of CS, T&C's and actual process not matching up?

i have read alot of this post and seen comments like "Halifax wont be able to tell the difference between a SO and a direct payment".

i have also seen many of you funding the 7% RS from a Halifax account when its quite clear from the T&C's that that isnt allowed. no one has been affected financially?

opinions please.

fpa_2

A quick question about the dates and speed of standing orders: I plan to fund the Halifax regular saver account from a Nationwide current account via SO and make my first (£500) payment on 23 June (as per Halifax's advice). In order then to have the subsequent payments reaching the saving account by the 1st of each month, do I need to set up the SO from my Nationwide current account a few days before (say the 27th of each month)?

Mikeyorks

pfpf wrote: »

opinions please.

That your inference is quite right. The Halifax staff are quoting the script .. which implies it must be via SO. In reality - once SOs are generally being issued via FP, they won't be able to tell the difference between an SO and a bill payment (from an external account).
And why should they care? So long as you fund by EFT and not cheque / cash .. it makes no difference to them as long as you adhere to the basic funding requirement of max £500 and payment by 28th of each month. If it's new money from outside Halifax ... that's what they're aiming for, so why introduce artificial blockages ... other than that they've failed to update the original script that applied to the 7% RS.

In similar vein they've long held you can't fund the 7% RS from a Halifax savings account ... but many of us have done so and for several years now.

Mikeyorks

fpa wrote: »

do I need to set up the SO from my Nationwide current account a few days before (say the 27th of each month)?

You can't do that. Otherwise in a 31 day month (and some others - depending where the weekend falls) you will finish hitting the RS account in the same month as you have made a previous payment ... and that's not allowed (one payment per month and on / before the 28th).

So you need to move it later. And then, when Nationwide are moving SOs via FP .... move the SO date to the 1st.

Mikeyorks

uk1 wrote: »

A possible trick that many might have missed by some is that a single joint "nominated account" can be shared by a couple. In other words a single deposit of £5000 in a qualified nominated account that is also a joint account could earn the extra 2% for two people.

I picked this up a couple of days ago and much earlier in the thread ... meant to remark upon it and then forgot.

Is this a personal observation ... or have you qualified it with Halifax, please? On the basis that the funds in a joint account are categorised as 50:50 for tax purposes - but otherwise are fully owned by both parties ...... it certainly appears to meet the T&Cs. But whether the code that generates the 10% or 12% at the year end - reads it similarly, is something I might decide to put to the test.

fpa_2

Mikeyorks wrote: »

So you need to move it later.

How much later?

KTF

Why not open an Halifax easycash current account then move the 250 to there a few days before and have the SO going out on the 1st for an instant transfer?

Mikeyorks

fpa wrote: »

How much later?

June - you will be OK with the 27th (weekend intervening). July - you would need to make it the 30th to be safe etc etc. In other words you either need to push it to around the 30th of each month - or adjust it every month depending on weekends / Bank Holidays etc. All of that assumes your Bank aren't using FP for SOs? As soon as they do you have to move to the 1st .... but accept it will sometimes be later than that arriving with Halifax as SOs don't move other than on Bank working days.

DD is so much easier! But unfortunately not possible in this case.