Firstsave

thewizard

I have been looking at a fix term savings account at http://www.firstsave.co.uk/.

On Money Supermarket it says it is from Nigeria, but it also says it is a plc, which means its a UK bases company. So, what I want to know is: if I save my £2500 I have in a fixed term account with Fristsave, am I covered if they go bust, and am are they trust worthy.

It's just the Nigeria bit that worries me, because its such a high interest rate as well.

Also, how would I fill an R85 form out when its an online only account?

Thanks in advance

Aegis

FirstSave is an arm of the First Bank of Nigeria, but it's regulated by the UK Financial Services Authority and is therefore covered by the standard compensation schemes for UK banks.

In short, not too much to worry about in terms of security.

Sillychuckie

Yes, your money is pretty safe.
I just put a much larger sum in with them and have been very impressed by their service so far.

Provided you stick below the 35k guaranteed by the FSA compensation scheme (which you are), I don't think you have much to worry about.
They are entirely UK based and, unlike ICESAVE, have not chosen to opt for the 'passport scheme' where you need to go to Nigeria to recover your money should they go bankrupt.
Your deposit should be fine.

FYI: I applied for all 3 of their bonds on the same day, within a few minutes of eachother. One for 1Y, one for 2Y and one for 3Y. I put different amounts in each.

Within a few days, I had received:
- 1 welcome letter as a new customer
- 1 standing order mandate (which has already been set up on my current account).
- 3 small packs for each of the 3 bonds applications.

They seem to be sticking to their SO dates also so far, which were also different for each of the 3 accounts.
I think I challenged their application process pretty well, and it couldn't be going more smoothly so far.

SC.

[Deleted User]

Firstsave is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), as detailed here:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/safe-savings

Whether they're trust worthy or not is another question.

Regarding the R85, unless someone else can answer I'd sugged giving them a call or sending an email:

Phone: 0845 601 2211
Email: [EMAIL="customerservice@firstsave.co.uk"]customerservice@firstsave.co.uk[/EMAIL]

Mikeyorks

thewizard wrote: »

Also, how would I fill an R85 form out when its an online only account?

As their FAQ's - you ring them. Reading between the lines - sounds as though it may also be in the online application?

Income tax

If your circumstances change and your tax status is affected, then please let us know as soon as possible by phoning our friendly Customer Services team on 0845 601 2211. We ask you to let us know as soon as possible so that your tax position will not be unnecessarily affected.