Halifax to relaunch regular saver @10%+

ctdctd

alared wrote: »

I opened mine online yesterday and the details were there immediately but when I tried to transfer some money,today,to set it up ,it won`t allow me to do this.
Looks like I`ll have to make a trip to a branch to pay some money in and make out a SO.
Hardly online banking.

You need to transfer via an SO or a one off payment - even from a Halifax Current account as the RS does not show up on the "quick" transfer list..
Or you could phone them up and they will do the transfer for you.

HTH

pthompson

Hello,

I think I may have opened up the wrong kind of Guaranteed Saver account...

1) I opened a Guaranteed Saver; deposited £5K; "nominated" it for my Regular Saver a/c (SO for £500 pm into RS). It's showing current interest rate as 5%. Halifax provided a "cash card".

2) My wife opened a Guaranteed Saver; deposited £5K; "nominated" it for her Regular Saver a/c (SO for £500 pm in RS). It's showing current interest rate as 6.25%. No "cash card".

Looking at our accounts via Halifax Online Banking portal, I can't see any difference, but given the interest rate I guess my wife's is the Gtd Saver REWARD account(?).

Do both Gtd Saver accounts qualify the RS account for the 12% interest rate?

How should I fix this mess? Can I change my Guaranteed Saver into a Guaranteed Saver Reward?

Thanks.

ctdctd

pthompson wrote: »

Hello,

I think I may have opened up the wrong kind of Guaranteed Saver account...

1) I opened a Guaranteed Saver; deposited £5K; "nominated" it for my Regular Saver a/c (SO for £500 pm into RS). It's showing current interest rate as 5%. Halifax provided a "cash card".

2) My wife opened a Guaranteed Saver; deposited £5K; "nominated" it for her Regular Saver a/c (SO for £500 pm in RS). It's showing current interest rate as 6.25%. No "cash card".

Looking at our accounts via Halifax Online Banking portal, I can't see any difference, but given the interest rate I guess my wife's is the Gtd Saver REWARD account(?).

Do both Gtd Saver accounts qualify the RS account for the 12% interest rate?

How should I fix this mess? Can I change my Guaranteed Saver into a Guaranteed Saver Reward?

Thanks.

Two issues here:-
1) The Gtd Saver with cash card is the wrong account - the Reward version is without a cash card. Try phoning them - I suspect you will have to close one, open the other, and make it the nominated account.

2) The 5K or more must stay in the Gtd Saver for the year and you lose the 6.25% rate is you make more than one withdrawal anyway so I hope your SO's to fund the RS are from a different account!

HTH

jay213

How mush interest is the old regular saver paying ?

I had a brief advice session with a FA in Halifax and he told me Im getting 3.4 or something like that on the current/ old RS..... Is that true, if so I'll cancelled it straght away. I wasnt going to close it as I figured that I was getting 7% interest and I have already made about 3 or 4 payments of £250 pm in & losing the interest wouldnt make it benefical.... but if its only 3.something im getting then I guess I need to switch ASAP I only got until Sunday

pthompson

Thanks ctdctd,

ctdctd wrote: »

Two issues here:-
1) The Gtd Saver with cash card is the wrong account - the Reward version is without a cash card. Try phoning them - I suspect you will have to close one, open the other, and make it the nominated account.

I've just 'phoned them and was told that the Gtd Saver a/c is actually identical to the Gtd Saver Reward a/c in every way except the former comes with a cash card to allow multiple withdrawals. Apparently on their internal system they are the SAME account, and the way to make a Gtd Saver pay 6.25% is to simply not make more than 1 withdrawal and to keep a >£5K balance. (Presumably the converse is true: If you make multiple withdrawals from a Gtd Saver Reward, it becomes a plain Gtd Saver?).

I'm still a bit suspicious, though, as my online account view only shows 5%... but I suppose all I can do now is keep my fingers crossed.

paulboy83

I opened my account over the phone on saturday and went into the branch yesterday to pay in my first bit of money and prove I actually do exist, they gave me a standing order form to fill in to set one up.

I was just going to set the standing order up myself from my bank as it should be a bit quicker! Do they need their form so they know i'm going to pay into it or can I just set it up myself as i'd planned?

Also can I pay in £500 per calendar month or is it per month starting the day the account is opened?

Thanks

YorkshireBoy

pthompson wrote: »

(Presumably the converse is true: If you make multiple withdrawals from a Gtd Saver Reward, it becomes a plain Gtd Saver?).

Yes. See http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/guaranteedsaver.asp

However, if you make more than 4 withdrawals there are then further penalties applied.

debbie42

I also received a card, and the rate is showing as 5%, though it changed from 5.25% on the 18th June, if you look at the historical rates. I've queried this, but the response hasn't been definitive, as yet.

debbie42

pthompson wrote: »

I've just 'phoned them and was told that the Gtd Saver a/c is actually identical to the Gtd Saver Reward a/c in every way except the former comes with a cash card to allow multiple withdrawals. Apparently on their internal system they are the SAME account, and the way to make a Gtd Saver pay 6.25% is to simply not make more than 1 withdrawal and to keep a >£5K balance.

It's a very confusing (and odd) way of managing the accounts, though. How does a customer elect for a cashcard? I didn't, but got one anyway. Maybe they are trying to tempt me into making withdrawals :rolleyes:.

I'm hopefully getting clarification in writing as to what my account actually is.

fiodyl

Need some help please, I opened the RS last week and took my ID into my local branch on Saturday. I asked if I should make my initial payment there and then but was told it didnt need to be in the account until 28th, so I said I would pay it in via online banking when I set up the standing order before the 23rd so it gets there on the 28th.

But now after reading this thread I think they told me wrong and the money need to be in there by tomorrow. My standing order is set up to take the money from my current account tomorrow(18th) but this probably won't have cleared by the 20th.

Should I cancel the standing order and take the cash into my local branch today?

Also I have the same problem as an earlier poster re Gtd Saver, my welcome letter doesnt mention its the reward one and sas I wil recieve an ATM card once I put £10 in the account.