Regular Savings Accounts Article Discussion

alanfp

Principality BS or Barclays plc?

If there's no difference to your pocket surely we all feel better paying towards funding a mutual rather than a plc's shareholders. Well I do, anyway.

Swirlywurly

Has anyone else found that the Barclays monthly saver site is down?

JustMe_6

Just a quick one regarding the Abbey monthly saver, that has to be opened via Bradford & Bingley, Martin's article and B&B website says:

"If you pay in less than £20 or more than £250 in a month you will receive a rate of 0.10% AER for that month only. All rates above are fixed for 12 months after account opening"

Does this not mean then, that I can dump say £10,000 in the first month and just get 0.10% for that month but then enjoy 6% so long as I continue to make a monthly deposit of £250???

Sorry if I missed something here.....

pcyam

JustMe wrote: »

Just a quick one regarding the Abbey monthly saver, that has to be opened via Bradford & Bingley, Martin's article and B&B website says:

"If you pay in less than £20 or more than £250 in a month you will receive a rate of 0.10% AER for that month only. All rates above are fixed for 12 months after account opening"

Does this not mean then, that I can dump say £10,000 in the first month and just get 0.10% for that month but then enjoy 6% so long as I continue to make a monthly deposit of £250???

Sorry if I missed something here.....

have to open the account with a zero balance and there after have a stndong order min £20 max £250

albinohawk

Just a note on the B&B/Abbey reg saver - ring ahead and book an appointment - the lady said it takes about an hour(!) to do each account so were blocking in that much time for people. Apparenlty they only had one computer connected to Abbey and were unfamiliar with the Abbey system (..what a shambles)

That was a tiny branch but prolly better to be safe than sorry, esp if its a bit of a trip into town for you...

Smithills

Absolutely agree with albinohawk; I went to my local branch today, only one person can use the "Abbey" computer, and one hr appointments, as they are unfamiliar with the system. Add on to that the coverage this account has had recently and it will be a slow process. But maybe not as bad as the Tesco Internet account :mad:

mary

Just be careful, some accounts stipulate that you have to stick to the agreed say, £130 p.m. that you decided to pay in for the first month and it cannot be varied. Other accounts offer flexibility.

Exceller8

Made appointment at Bedford branch 1:00pm last week. Arrived 5 mins late due to not being familier with town and finding car park headroom to low and having to find alternative parking arrangements.(Could i find an empty bay :laugh: ) Went into BS and receptionist asked if i did not mind waiting (After i had appologised for being a tad late) as the person i had to see was busy out the back sorting something out. (No problem as i was late)Whilst i was waiting one of the staff was running around the shop like a headless chicken unable to find her keys :eek: (panic stations). To my surprise the adviser appeared from the back of the shop carrying a tray with hot drinks on, about 10 mins later and said she could not set up the account as I was 15 mins late :rolleyes: and it took 40mins to set up the acc, and would not be able to fit me in :mad: and could i make another appointment :eek: . I explaind i had been waiting for her and only wanted to open an RS not to have a full financial review:rotfl: when her mate (headless Chicken) butted in with her tuppence worth:mad: :mad: . To which i replied i don't think they will have my custom after all and goodbye:D .

apt

The account pays 6% fixed for 13 months so is the best on the market without ties to another product. The passage below is incorrect. If you go above £250 in any month the account will pay 0.1% for the whole of the rest of the term. If you want to get 0.1% on £3,000 please go ahead.

NickyDee wrote: »

This is an interesting one.

I have just read through the terms & conditions for one of my regular saver accounts and it does specify both a monthly deposit limit (e.g. £20 to £250) and maximum account balance (e.g. £3,000). The maximum account balance is equal to maximum monthly deposit limit multiplied by the term (e.g. £250 x 12 months = £3,000).

However, in your first deposit you could make the maximum account balance minus the minimum monthly deposit limit multiplied by the remaining term. Continuing this example:

Month 1 deposit £2,780.00
Month 2 deposit £20.00
Month 3 deposit £20.00
Month 4 deposit £20.00
Month 5 deposit £20.00
Month 6 deposit £20.00
Month 7 deposit £20.00
Month 8 deposit £20.00
Month 9 deposit £20.00
Month 10 deposit £20.00
Month 11 deposit £20.00
Month 12 deposit £20.00

I don't know how much more interest you would earn, as there would normally be a penalty involved for at least one month.

There may also be other terms & conditions that would stop you from doing this and/or make it unworthwhile.

ctdctd

apt wrote: »

The account pays 6% fixed for 13 months so is the best on the market without ties to another product. The passage below is incorrect. If you go above £250 in any month the account will pay 0.1% for the whole of the rest of the term. If you want to get 0.1% on £3,000 please go ahead.

Wrong - from the Abbey B&B terms:-

Fixed Rate Monthly Saver (BBI1) Fixed Rate paid for 12 months after opening. After which account changes automatically to Monthly Saver.
Monthly SavingsGross rate p.a. / AER
if 1 withdrawal is made
during the yearGross rate p.a. / AER
if 0 withdrawals made
during the year£20 - £250 a month5.51%6.00%
*If you pay in less than £20 or more than £250 in a month you will receive a rate of 0.10% AER for that month only. All rates above are fixed for 12 months after account opening

However, if large amount was deposited in month 1, I'm sure they could use the max £250 a month term in the T&C's to stop them paying the 6%, otherwise it could be used as a 6% 1 year term bond.