The Lemon Fool

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/ ... is-friday/

Pity, it was an easy way to get a few quid.

Scott.

A spokesperson for Nationwide said the regular saver isn't reaching its intended market.

She said: "The [regular savings] account was launched to help members new to saving get into the savings habit. However, the significant majority (86%) are opened by existing savers and, on average, members with the account have around £20,000 saved with Nationwide in other accounts."

You don't say!

Hmm, surprised it wasn't limited to new customers only - I guess they would then be accused of bait-and-switch tactics?
I've been a Nationwide customer for >20 years which means I can get a thrilling 1.4% on my ISA when it rolls over
I wonder where the N'wide CEO keeps his >£2m pa pay and benefits to get a good rate ?

AleisterCrowley wrote:Hmm, surprised it wasn't limited to new customers only - I guess they would then be accused of bait-and-switch tactics?

Nationwide make a thing about loyalty, so that would go against the grain.

Scott.

"that’s what being a mutual building society means. And as we’re owned by you, our members, we listen to what you want. It’s this that shapes our future – and helps us build society, nationwide.
....
Having no shareholders (in the way that banks do) to answer to means we can bring our 15 million UK members some unique benefits.."
[Nationwide website]

Must give the CEO a warm feeling as he relaxes in his £4m London pad, knowing how many ordinary people he helps

swill453 wrote:

AleisterCrowley wrote:Hmm, surprised it wasn't limited to new customers only - I guess they would then be accused of bait-and-switch tactics?

Nationwide make a thing about loyalty, so that would go against the grain.

Scott.

Yep - they treat new customers just as bad as they treat loyal ones.

look like lot of the 5% regular savers are going

Santander has cut theirs from 5% last year to 3% this year

Looks like the only ones remaining are from HSBC - ie M&S, HSBC & First Direct ,

This is annoying - luckily I've just opened the HSBC one (£150 cashback for new account too!). I have the FD and N'wide ones too.

I will be opening the S'der one mid year I think.

I have an M&S account but I've never used it, need to look at that for later in the year.

Mel

melonfool wrote:This is annoying - luckily I've just opened the HSBC one (£150 cashback for new account too!). I have the FD and N'wide ones too.

I will be opening the S'der one mid year I think.

I have an M&S account but I've never used it, need to look at that for later in the year.

Mel

I'd move on that asap as I'd expect HSBC to spot they are the 'last man standing' soon!
Remember M&S needs 2 active direct debits set up to get access.

Virgin Money have now made their 3% regular saver 'Branch access only'. A bit odd.

DrBunsenHoneydew wrote:

melonfool wrote:This is annoying - luckily I've just opened the HSBC one (£150 cashback for new account too!). I have the FD and N'wide ones too.

I will be opening the S'der one mid year I think.

I have an M&S account but I've never used it, need to look at that for later in the year.

Mel

I'd move on that asap as I'd expect HSBC to spot they are the 'last man standing' soon!
Remember M&S needs 2 active direct debits set up to get access.

Virgin Money have now made their 3% regular saver 'Branch access only'. A bit odd.

Yes that's a good point. I have M&S & First Direct, and was waiting till the end of the month to renew my HSBC one. It's better to open them on the last couple of days of the month, as you can get the first £250 in on the 29th, and the second and consecutive £250's in on the 1st of the month, and you end up with a little more interest. But given they may well pull this (I agree, that looks likely now) I've decided to open it today.

I got the HSBC paperwork in the post this morning, so that is sorted, £250pm at 5%.

The N'wide and FD are Sept and Oct, one is £250 and one is £300. I probably can't really 'afford' another one right now but if I did I'd probably just do the Santander one now as I have the right account for it - though the account itself pays 1.5% so not sure there's a lot of point with the 3% saver anyway?

I am running out of direct debits - HSBC needs two (both a £2 charity donation), not sure what N'wide needs, S'der needs two so am transferring my gas/electric as it's the highest and they give 3% cash back on it (can increase the DD to whatever and get 3% cashback on a higher amount and then claim the money back from the ute company!) and they give 1% on mobile phone and broadband so I'll move one of those (both £8 so hardly worth it - don't want to move the council tax as their website is a pain).

That only leaves the other of mobile/BB, water and council tax! (all in N'wide currently)

But I also have Chip which is now on 3% (you get 1% for everyone you refer up to 8% and the % lasts a year - code if anyone fancies it: 4RUZAS) and that pulls small savings from your linked bank account but you can also push up to £100pw into it, so in theory you could have a £400pm regular saver on 8%.

I also have TSB which gives 5% on £1,500, you have to transfer in £500pm but I transfer it right out again.

HSBC you have to transfer in £1,750.

So, I get paid into S'der, transfer £1,750 by SO to HSBC, manually transfer the rest to N'wide (manually because I have not yet had the same pay twice since I started in my new job). £500 from N'wide to TSB and back, £300 + £200 from N'wide to regular savers. £1,500 from HSBC comes back to N'wide and £250 goes into their reg saver.

It's.......complicated! But this is stuff we can only now do as a result of faster payments and banking apps etc.

Once my house renovations are done I'm going to give up all the reg savers and chuck everything into the S&S ISA I think. I already put c£3kpm into my pension.

I might close the M&S one actually.

Mel

melonfool wrote:I might close the M&S one actually.

Mel

You're right that that's a right merry-go-round but once set up you can leave it all alone most of the time.

I do all those shuffles and a few more! There's a website to advise you how to do it https://www.bankaccountsavings.co.uk

If you run out of ideas for DDs, consider:
These 3 take monthly inputs by DD:
Scottish Widows Bank Savings account
Post Office Bank savings (Bank of Ireland in disguise)
Birmingham Midshires B Soc savings
If you use PayPal monthly, link it to a current account
If you have any spare Credit Cards use them monthly and link the cards to a DD where you need it (I buy an Amazon Top-up Voucher for £1 as required to force a DD on each card)

Finally, I wouldn't close a current account like your M&S that you don't use, as they can prove useful for opening yet another current account when they have an opening incentive provided you close an and switch from an old live current account.

DrBunsenHoneydew wrote:You're right that that's a right merry-go-round but once set up you can leave it all alone most of the time.

I do all those shuffles and a few more! There's a website to advise you how to do it https://www.bankaccountsavings.co.uk

If you run out of ideas for DDs, consider:
These 3 take monthly inputs by DD:
Scottish Widows Bank Savings account
Post Office Bank savings (Bank of Ireland in disguise)
Birmingham Midshires B Soc savings
If you use PayPal monthly, link it to a current account
If you have any spare Credit Cards use them monthly and link the cards to a DD where you need it (I buy an Amazon Top-up Voucher for £1 as required to force a DD on each card)

Finally, I wouldn't close a current account like your M&S that you don't use, as they can prove useful for opening yet another current account when they have an opening incentive provided you close an and switch from an old live current account.

Great ideas, thank you!

I don't have a spare cc as such, but I do have an old Barclays one where I have never changed the address and assume it is still open as I still get emails from them, I don't have the physical thing though. I moved nearly two years ago and that Barclays card and the M&S account I never changed address on.

I have recently jettisoned my Halifax account to Natwest (£125 opening cashback) and then jettisoned that for the HSBC!

I did consider using S'der to close the M&S one but they don't require an account switch, so I didn't.

I'll leave M&S which means I have to find a way to sort out the address, it's tricky as you have to go into a branch and none near me have banks in (just checked and the one near work does so can do that).

My best bank income this year has been £300 compensation from TSB for sending a email to me addressed to my ex's name - the account was never linked to him and it was over a year after we had split up and I had moved house!

Mel

melonfool wrote:I got the HSBC paperwork in the post this morning, so that is sorted, £250pm at 5%.

I am running out of direct debits - HSBC needs two (both a £2 charity donation)

Having just switched an old RBS account to HSBC (as they closed the local RBS branch ) I know that HSBC allow two Standing Orders as well as Direct Debits (or one of each I guess). So you could transfer £2,250 by SO from Santander to HSBC, then use one SO to pay the £500 to TSB and then to Nationwide, and a second SO to pay the £1,500 to Nationwide. You could then re-use the two charity DD's somewhere else when needed.

HTH

Adrian

DrBunsenHoneydew wrote:These 3 take monthly inputs by DD:
Scottish Widows Bank Savings account
Post Office Bank savings (Bank of Ireland in disguise)
Birmingham Midshires B Soc savings

It's been a long time since Birmingham Midshires was a Building Society! I've still got 400 preference shares to prove it.

XFool wrote:

DrBunsenHoneydew wrote:These 3 take monthly inputs by DD:
Scottish Widows Bank Savings account
Post Office Bank savings (Bank of Ireland in disguise)
Birmingham Midshires B Soc savings

It's been a long time since Birmingham Midshires was a Building Society! I've still got 400 preference shares to prove it.

Quite so! Taken over by the Halifax in about 2000. It's now a division of Bank of Scotland as part of HBOS plc.

DrBunsenHoneydew wrote:Quite so! Taken over by the Halifax in about 2000. It's now a division of Bank of Scotland as part of HBOS plc.

And therefore part of Lloyds Banking Group of course.

Scott.

DrBunsenHoneydew wrote:

XFool wrote:

DrBunsenHoneydew wrote:These 3 take monthly inputs by DD:
Scottish Widows Bank Savings account
Post Office Bank savings (Bank of Ireland in disguise)
Birmingham Midshires B Soc savings

It's been a long time since Birmingham Midshires was a Building Society! I've still got 400 preference shares to prove it.

Quite so! Taken over by the Halifax in about 2000. It's now a division of Bank of Scotland as part of HBOS plc.

They only have two accounts currently available as well, neither being a Regular Saver https://www.birminghammidshires.co.uk/existing-savers/interest-rates/available-accounts/?WT.ac=BMESIRAA3

Adrian

AJC5001 wrote:

DrBunsenHoneydew wrote:

XFool wrote:It's been a long time since Birmingham Midshires was a Building Society! I've still got 400 preference shares to prove it.

Quite so! Taken over by the Halifax in about 2000. It's now a division of Bank of Scotland as part of HBOS plc.

They only have two accounts currently available as well, neither being a Regular Saver https://www.birminghammidshires.co.uk/existing-savers/interest-rates/available-accounts/?WT.ac=BMESIRAA3

Adrian

True, but the Standard Saver can be set to draw monthly direct debits if you need more DDs for a new current account incentive requirement or to access a high rate regular saver, e.g. the M&S 5% Reg Saver.