Halifax to relaunch regular saver @10%+

debbie42

spaceraiders wrote: »

it's tricky to get the timings right with the standing orders, it's more effort to find the right combination of a nominated account and a drip feed account etc.

Opening it up was a bit of a pain for me regarding visiting branches etc. Now it's done I have my SOs automated to leave my drip feed account on the 1st of the month, and don't plan on touching my Guaranteed Saver for the year. As the earlier poster has said, what's tricky about that?
Even if I do need the funds in the linked account within the year, I only lose the extra 2% bonus, so still get 10%. I can't get that easily elsewhere.

tiptoe_mouse

debbie42 wrote: »

The one I use in our village is an agency. It does have a rather large HALIFAX sign outside, all the advertising posters etc. and a counter service with two cashier booths. The only visible clue that it isn't a normal branch is that it shares the premises with an insurance broker. You'd probably not be aware of the difference until you asked the counter staff for some service they can't provide, and they tell you.

YorkshireBoy wrote:

**Independent Agencies - Generally a counter facility only, check with agency for details of other facilities available.

http://www.multimap.com/clients/plac...client=halifax

My local branch is listed as an agency, but it doesn't share premises with anything else. It has three cashier booths, but no enquiries desk. Why the Halifax helpline person couldn't look on their system to determine this, I don't know. And I never did find out why she was asking me.

tiptoe

ih8stress

ih8stress wrote: »

Help! I've just set up the 10% RS account with the Halifax and have come back from their branch feeling totally confused.

When I told the advisor that the £500 a month I hoped to pay in would be from savings I already have she told me it would be a waste of time applying....................................................................................

My second gripe is that I was told by the advisor that I can only make 12 payments (and not 13 as some have mentioned on this forum). She calculated my initial payment this week as the first one, the second in August - through to the twelf in June 09.
When I tried to point out that the account was over a year eg. July 2008 - July 2009 she just said that I could only make 12 payments, that the June payment would be the final one and that the interest would carry through until July 09. Again, was she right?

A huge thank you to everyone for their advice.

sloughflint wrote:

It IS worth applying,ih8stress.
6000*( 5.5*6+6.5*10)/1200=£490 gross.( drip feed method)

as opposed to £360 gross if you left it in a 6% paying account.

And stick to amounts/times that I suggested above to maximise interest

Thanks. As I said, I did go through with the application despite the advisor's best efforts to make me feel like an idiot and to put me off applying. I arranged to pay in the initial £500 sometime this week (which will be about the 11th), is this date still okay?

I have arranged my SO's to start on the 1st of each month - the first one being the 1st August.

F_T_Buyer wrote:

Also, you can get 13 payments in *if* you change the standing order to the start of the month after the first payment (assuming you open the account near the end of the month).

It seems the advisor couldn't figure these things out!

P.s. I have done 13 payments on previous Halifax regular savers, so I know it works!

Would I have to arrange an extra SO for July 09 with my bank? - the advisor filled in this form and hasn't given me a copy. As she was SO insistent that I could only make 12 payments and that the last one would be June 09 I presume she will have put this on the form if it asks for this.

nash0819

sloughflint wrote: »

That doesn't sound right to me.Especially if the branch have accepted your ID.

I'd close the Websaver altogether first.
I'd wait until close to 20th to fund the RS and you have 2 weeks from account opening to fund the GS so that should give them ample time to sort out the change of nominated account.
A poster further up said that it was simply done over the phone.
You should see in online banking the roll number of the nominated account. Maybe check daily and keep chasing.

First off, my sympathies to tiptoe_mouse; I was worried I would get into the same kafka-esque situation that you did with having to prove your identity but thankfully I only had to suffer a 40-minute call with a YTS trainee.

Thanks to sloughflint for the advice. Last night, I transferred over my £5K into the GS account and my first £500 into the RS, via Faster Payments and this worked a treat. I know I may lose a few days interest by not waiting but I decided to get this sorted now.

Today I rang up Halifax and got through to the right department within a minute and spoke to someone who knew what he was doing. They confirmed that I did need to fund the GS account before I could transfer the nomination onto it (wasn't clear if I aslo needed to fund the regular saver account but I decided not to push my luck).

Then he transferred my nominated account to the GS and said I could close my Web Saver account there and then online. I said I would wait until the change of nomination showed up online, which hasn't happened yet but it was under an hour ago.

So: 8/10 rating for Halifax CS this time around, now averaging out at 4.5/10. It seems to be pot luck whether you speak to someone competent or not. If you're stuck in a conversation with them and it's clearly going nowhere, maybe you should ask to talk to someone else.

sloughflint

ih8stress wrote: »

A huge thank you to everyone for their advice.



Thanks. As I said, I did go through with the application despite the advisor's best efforts to make me feel like an idiot and to put me off applying. I arranged to pay in the initial £500 sometime this week (which will be about the 11th), is this date still okay?Fine. The closer to the 20th the better. The 12 months will start from the first deposit

I have arranged my SO's to start on the 1st of each month - the first one being the 1st August.



Would I have to arrange an extra SO for July 09 with my bank? Assuming the SO is from Halifax,you can check the status online. It it hasn't been set up ( like me), you can do it yourself and get your extra 12 payments in ( Aug to Jul)- the advisor filled in this form and hasn't given me a copy. As she was SO insistent that I could only make 12 payments and that the last one would be June 09 I presume she will have put this on the form if it asks for this.

Answers in red

ih8stress

sloughflint wrote: »

Answers in red

Can you tell me how I would go about checking this on-line, please? This account has been arranged via the local Halifax branch.

Squattie

Hi

I opened my RS account last week (anniversary date is showing as 02/07/2009) and would really appreciate it if someone could help me with the questions below - I have looked through a few pages of this thread so have an idea of the answers but would appreciate the clarification.

Firstly, am I right in assuming that I don't actually need to setup a standing order and can simply do a manual transfer from my Smile current account each month using the sort code and account number of the RS account? Obviously I will need to make sure I don't forget, etc, but that won't be a problem and I'd prefer to be able to easily control the amount I transfer each month.

Secondly, with regard to the timing of my payments - I presume I should make the first one as soon as possible in order to start earning interest? Then, from next month onwards, make the transfer as early as possible in the month (i.e. the 1st)?

Finally, I presume my last transfer should be on 01/06/2009? This will then earn interest for a further month before the whole balance is transferred to my nominated account on the anniversary date (02/07/2009)?

Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

Regards

William

Edit - one final question - can I make multiple payments in order to reach the £500 each month? i.e. £300 on the 1st, then if I realise I have spare cash mid month, upto another £200?

greengirl999

Hi all,

Thanks for all the info on this so far. I have decided to open this account.

I went into Halifax today & made an appointment to speak to someone next week about opening this account. On the letter it says "Financial Review" with a "Personal Financial Advisor", which may take up to an hour. Has anyone else had one of these? I have a feeling it is going to be a big sales talk as the guy who booked me in seemed a bit too excited that I didn't have any accounts with Halifax yet.

Also, he couldn't book me in until Fri 25th July. In your experiences, will I be able to open the account & make my first deposit on this day? I go abroad for a week from the next day!

Thanks for your replies,

gg

sloughflint

greengirl999 wrote: »

Hi all,

Thanks for all the info on this so far. I have decided to open this account.

I went into Halifax today & made an appointment to speak to someone next week about opening this account. On the letter it says "Financial Review" with a "Personal Financial Advisor", which may take up to an hour. Has anyone else had one of these? I have a feeling it is going to be a big sales talk as the guy who booked me in seemed a bit too excited that I didn't have any accounts with Halifax yet.

Also, he couldn't book me in until Fri 25th July. In your experiences, will I be able to open the account & make my first deposit on this day? I go abroad for a week from the next day!

Thanks for your replies,

gg

No, the regular saver must be opened and funded by 20/7.Apply online?

sloughflint

Squattie wrote: »

Hi

I opened my RS account last week (anniversary date is showing as 02/07/2009) and would really appreciate it if someone could help me with the questions below - I have looked through a few pages of this thread so have an idea of the answers but would appreciate the clarification.

Firstly, am I right in assuming that I don't actually need to setup a standing order and can simply do a manual transfer from my Smile current account each month using the sort code and account number of the RS account? Obviously I will need to make sure I don't forget, etc, but that won't be a problem and I'd prefer to be able to easily control the amount I transfer each month.

Secondly, with regard to the timing of my payments - I presume I should make the first one as soon as possible in order to start earning interest? Then, from next month onwards, make the transfer as early as possible in the month (i.e. the 1st)?

Finally, I presume my last transfer should be on 01/06/2009? This will then earn interest for a further month before the whole balance is transferred to my nominated account on the anniversary date (02/07/2009)?

Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

Regards

William

My understanding was the anniversary date was from date funds hit the account ( edit: it is, just checked online); in which case the later the first payment the better and then 12 subsequent payments on the first of each month.
Manual payments fine.