Regular Savings Accounts Article Discussion

cheexy

Hi All,
I had a FlexDirect account which I opened in May 2017 and the 5% interest rate expired in May 2018 so I took the money out. Can I open a new FlexDirect account and still get the 5% interest. I remember in the past that there was a one year "cooling off" period but I am not sure if this still applies.

Thanks in advance.

OceanSound

soulsaver wrote: »

Yep that's clear. If that's what you meant, what's not clear is why you posted this then, a couple of post earlier:

SImple. One post was made BEFORE contacting support, the other AFTER. :A

OceanSound

Emily_Joy wrote: »

Sure. No need to message or call. Set up the standing order yourself for the day and the amount you like then cancel the one that was set up when you opened the account. :silenced:

Have you done this?...Next question..have you done this RECENTLY?. I believe someone said in an earlier post that we need to contact fd support.

Seems fd has disabled the DIY online ammend feature.(even if it's just the value you are amending - date of SO cannot of course be amended even after contacting support. Although I seem to recall someone saying, maybe in different thread, that he managed to change date by calling. I can't recall if he was talking about fd or hsbc. The latter probably.)

EarthBoy

cheexy wrote: »

Hi All,
I had a FlexDirect account which I opened in May 2017 and the 5% interest rate expired in May 2018 so I took the money out. Can I open a new FlexDirect account and still get the 5% interest. I remember in the past that there was a one year "cooling off" period but I am not sure if this still applies.
.

That cooling off period was abolished a while ago. The rule now is that if you have ever had the 5% interest on a FlexDirect account before you can't have it again, no matter how long ago you had your previous FlexDirect account.

Emily_Joy

OceanSound wrote: »

Have you done this?...Next question..have you done this RECENTLY?. I believe someone said in an earlier post that we need to contact fd support.

I have been doing this for years for all regular savers with HSBC group banks. The last time I did this was in January. One cannot amend the existing SO, but one can cancel it.

cheexy

EarthBoy wrote: »

That cooling off period was abolished a while ago. The rule now is that if you have ever had the 5% interest on a FlexDirect account before you can't have it again, no matter how long ago you had your previous FlexDirect account.

Thanks...this change must have happened last year cos I remember I had one in May 2015 and the 5% ran till May 2016. I then gave it a year and converted my existing flex account to FlexDirect in May 2017 and that ran till May 2018.

My new plan is set up two standing orders to two of my accounts from the existing FlexDirect account and then switch to the HSBC Advance. Would this work?

The interest will not be as amazing the FlexDirect but I guess with the £175 bonus, that would be something. Do you know if there are other options? I already maxed out my Santander 123 acc. My FD RS is maturing in a few days so I will be opening another one straight away.

colsten

cheexy wrote: »

My new plan is set up two standing orders to two of my accounts from the existing FlexDirect account and then switch to the HSBC Advance. Would this work?

Technically, yes. The real hurdle to take with HSBC is to get accepted for their Advance account in the first instance. They are very picky.

cheexy wrote: »

The interest will not be as amazing the FlexDirect but I guess with the £175 bonus, that would be something.

A year of £2,500 in a FlexDirect at 5% AER yields £125, taxable. £175 is obviously more. Not sure whether it is taxable.

cheexy wrote: »

Do you know if there are other options? I already maxed out my Santander 123 acc. My FD RS is maturing in a few days so I will be opening another one straight away.

There are lots of Regular Savers - go to the very first posts in this thread for the most current list.

Also, Marcus pays 1.5% AER for a year with no charges, and there's the Coventry 1.5% AER instant access ISA if you haven't used your ISA allowance. So both yield more than the 123. You just have to keep an eye on the interest rate changes.

sparks6

My Leeds reg saver has come to an end how do I get my funds out? O found a funds transfer form and that mentions a charge of 20 to a domestic transfer payment???

schiff

sparks6 wrote: »

My Leeds reg saver has come to an end how do I get my funds out? O found a funds transfer form and that mentions a charge of 20 to a domestic transfer payment???

That's probably the charge for a SWIFT payment, which anybody with any nous avoids. If faster payment isn't possible, a cheque is the alternative. You could go to a branch to collect the cheque which saves a couple of days?

soulsaver

sparks6 wrote: »

My Leeds reg saver has come to an end how do I get my funds out? O found a funds transfer form and that mentions a charge of 20 to a domestic transfer payment???

They should have written to you weeks before maturity giving you reinvestment/withdrawal options including a FP to a linked account... which you have to confirm or decide.

Phone and ask what your options are now.