# Halifax regular saver rate



## Galway99

From what I recall the 7% rate ran out yesterday. Anyone have an update? can't get through on the phone!!


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## forbes

Just rang them there. They said it would be released in the press later on today.


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## ClubMan

Nothing [broken link removed] so far.


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## camlin90

Keep us posted on this.

If the rate does drop, some people may consider closing their accounts.
Watch out here.

The T&C's of this account are structured so that if you close your account between anniversary dates, or change the monthly contribution, the interest rate drops to the "standard" rate for the whole term since the last anniversary date.
In other words, if the account is closed, you could lose two thirds of the interest you've been accruing at 7% since the last anniversary date of your account. 
Adopting alternative strategies could save you a lot of money.

Let's hope the rate will stay at 7%. In the event it does drop, we can talk about what's the best thing to do.


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## ClubMan

forbes said:


> Just rang them there. They said it would be released in the press later on today.


Still nothing to indicate that the rate is changing...


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## forbes

what are the chances of them not changing it?


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## spinmaster

Any update on this? Is they rate staying 7% indefinitely?


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## ClubMan

No update. The rate remains variable so could change any time.


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## TSThomas

Awaitng confirmation? Surely they meant fighting for our rates


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## mmmmmmmm

Got a text to say the 7% will be dropping. It said it will be about 5%.
The terms state to be at least 1.5 above the ECB until June 31st 2008.
This means the rate will be at least 5.5%. Unsure to when this will take effect. 
About a month ago I got an email to say that all posters with the 7% where to be removed and the new 5.15% account to be put up. 
This explains why.


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## forbes

Thanks for the update. Not too much of a surprise.


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## camlin90

Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be true. There have been some quite savage cuts in interest rates on these accounts. See Halifax website.

_To summarise:_

_First tranche of Monthly Savers (opened prior to 24/10/06)_
_Rate has fallen from 5.5% to 3%_

_Second tranche of Monthly Savers (opened between 24/10/06 and 07/10/07)_
_Rate has fallen from 7% to 4%_

_Third tranche of Monthly Savers (opened after 07/10/07): rate unchanged_

[broken link removed]

I am not aware when these changes happened. Can anyone confirm? Also, can anyone confirm how these revised rates break down in terms of standard and bonus components?

Anyone considering closing their accounts or changing the monthly contribution needs to be aware that they could lose a lot of interest accrued since the last anniversary date of their account.
Under the old rate structure, 4.75% of the 7% interest was a "bonus", only paid if you met certain conditions, such as leaving your account open and not altering the direct debit.

An alternative strategy is to keep the account open, leave the monthly contribution unchanged, but take all money out apart from the €10 minimum balance required to comply with the T&Cs.
You are allowed to make 2 withdrawals a year, so when money builds up again, repeat the process.
Then, when the next anniversary date comes around, take your interest and close the account.

Personally, I got my interest 6 weeks ago, so closing the account fully is probably the best option.  I only stand to lose six weeks of bonus interest, and if I leave the account open I'll have to put in €750 a month until next January, which could be getting a better return elsewhere. 
I might do a quick calc to confirm


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## camlin90

> For an anniversary which was about thirteen weeks ago, would it be more advantageious to do this ... or this


 
These are quite messy to work out, I was fiddling with a spreadsheet there...
It looks to me like you always win if you leave the Regular Saver open but take out the max amount you can and transfer it elsewhere (assuming you have another account paying about 5%).
The nearer you are to your next account anniversary, the more you gain.

Yorky if I assume:
- you had €10K in the account on the last anniversary which was 3 months ago
- this includes your first monthly contribution of the year, which went into your account on the same day as the anniversary
- you contribute €750 per month to the account
- you can earn 5% interest on money you transfer out of the regular saver into a "lump sum account"

Then (all figures gross of DIRT and APPROXIMATE  ):

(1) Leaving the account open and unchanged you'll get €645 interest over the year

(2) Closing the account now, transferring the balance to the "lump sum account", and paying the monthly contribution to the "lump sum account" instead, you'll get €632 interest over the year

(3) Leaving the account open and continuing to pay the monthly contribution, but transferring €12240 now to the "lump sum" account, you'll get €737 interest over the year.

(4) Doing option three, but transferring a further €3000 out of halifax to the "lump sum account" in four months' time, you'll gain another €12, giving you €749 over the year.

Don't intend doing these figures again but you get the idea 

EDIT: just to illustrate how sneaky this condition is though; someone similar to Yorky whose anniversary was 10 months ago would lose almost €500 (gross) by closing outright, i.e. choosing option (2). This is what halifax are hoping you'll do, so don't do it... you have been warned!


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## camlin90

Before the rates changed, (so for the last 3 months in your case), the standard rate on this account was 2.25% and the bonus rate was an additional 4.75%.

To earn the bonus interest you have to:
- keep account open for full year between anniversaries
- keep the monthly contribution the same
- make no more than 2 withdrawals

If you don't meet these conditions the rate drops to the "standard" and this will apply from the last anniversary.

So:


Yorky said:


> Do you mean continue paying the maximum (€750) pcm?


No choice here - if you reduce the monthly payment, the 7% you've been earning over the last 3 months goes down to 2.25%. 
If you're going to leave the account open to get the bonus, you need to keep your contribution unchanged until next anniversary.



> Would you then close the account at this stage or transfer €3000 every four months?


Again, no choice. You can't close the account until the next anniversary, without losing the bonus. So just leave it open, with as little as possible in it!


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## Freddie

I have one of the first regular saving a/c's which has dropped from 5.5% to 3% today.
Currently I have about 16000 euro in this a/c. For the 1st year I contributed the max 750 euro and then in the second year I changed this to 10 euro. This kept with all their terms and conditions.
This a/c is due to have its second anniversity mid March(not sure of the exact date). 
If I move this to a 5% account now (all except 10 euro) will I get my full 5.5% on the 15990 up to today.
Or should I just wait until the anniversity date in mid March and close the a/c then.


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## camlin90

Freddie said:


> If I move this to a 5% account now (all except 10 euro) will I get my full 5.5% on the 15990 up to today.
> .


 
Not too sure what terms apply to the first set of accounts. 
If they have similar T&Cs to the second batch of accounts, then you should be able to make two withdrawals per year without affecting the interest you've been accruing at 5.5% on the balance to date. 
Check out the docs you got when opening the account, and what they say about conditions for earning the bonus rate of interest.



> my case there would be another five months to the anniversary, after the four months from now, so if the monthly payment remained the same there would be €3750 in it at that stage but I wouldn't have a choice if I didn't want to lose the bonus interest.


 
Yes, for a deposit account those T&Cs are surprisingly sneaky.


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## Clohass

Best option seems to be to reduce the monthly payment to the min €10 pm and withdraw all but the min balance from the account. Then close the account on the Anniversary having received the Interest + Bonus Interest. I have the 2nd series of this account (The one which was paying 7% pa up to the change today) and I've confirmed with Halifax that this approach does not break the terms of the bonus interest. This approach again assumes you have a more attractive home for the money that you withdraw and do not deposit in this account going forward.


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## camlin90

Clohass said:


> I have the 2nd series of this account (The one which was paying 7% pa up to the change today) and I've confirmed with Halifax that this approach does not break the terms of the bonus interest.


Thanks that's very interesting... their T&Cs are misleading then, it states (and I quote) "The bonus rate... will be paid... if but only if... all 12 monthly payments in the amounts set out in the application form have been made"


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## TSThomas

I've been paying in 750 a month since November 06. So basically it'd be recommended to withdraw the majority (11000) of that to, say, Northern Rock for their higher interest rate & come December this year - close it?


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## ClubMan

My _Halifax _regular saver account opened January 2007 is still saying 7% on their online banking!


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## Clohass

John J said:


> Thanks that's very interesting... their T&Cs are misleading then, it states (and I quote) "The bonus rate... will be paid... if but only if... all 12 monthly payments in the amounts set out in the application form have been made"


 

Thanks for pointing this out, I will ring again this morning to confirm/clarify and post the outcome. As you highlight what I was informed contradicts the T&C's above


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## DublinTexas

ClubMan said:


> My _Halifax _regular saver account opened January 2007 is still saying 7% on their online banking!


 
Same here (opened 08/07) still saying 7%, did not get any notification of rate change in e-mail, sms or post.

Also I have not seen yet the required advert in any newspaper informing me about a rate change, but maybe I overlooked it. Has anybody seen such advert?

So I wait until I see either an advert or get other notification and than I call them.


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## Clohass

Clohass said:


> Thanks for pointing this out, I will ring again this morning to confirm/clarify and post the outcome. As you highlight what I was informed contradicts the T&C's above


 
Rang Halifax and spoke to a different Cust Serv Rep. He was adamant that once the monthly payment is between the min of €10 and €750 that you will still qualify for the bonus interest. I asked him could he e-mail or send this to me in writing and he said that he would send me out a letter today. I will post the contents when I receive it but it may be worthwhile for others to check today on this understanding also. My understanding from these 2 conversations remainsd that you can withdraw most of the amount in the account and reduce the monthly payment to €10 and still qualify for bonus interest on the anniversary.


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## DublinTexas

2 minutes after my above post my halifax account shows 4% now, so I rang them and after 7 minutes of wait a person picked up and than hung up. After another 12 minutes of wait I spoke to a person who really sounded like he could use a break.

Anyhow he confirmed that you can change the contribution down to 10€ (or any amount between 10€ and 750/350 € depending on your T&C) ONCE a year without loosing your bonus rate.

He also advised that the change needs to be done at least 5 business days before the next direct debit date to be processed.

He than told me to withdraw the money if I like after the DD change as I'm only allowed 2 withdraws a year.


I read the T&C again and there is this:



> *2.5 The amount of your monthly lodgement is selected by you in the application form (subject to condition 2.3) and all monthly lodgements must be in this amount. You may change the amount of your monthly deposit once in each year. *


 
So I'll have to wait until Friday when my 500€ is taken, than once that is done I can withdraw all bar 10€ and move it to somewhere else.

I wonder how many people are calling them today!


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## ClubMan

DublinTexas said:


> 2 minutes after my above post my halifax account shows 4% now


Yeah - mine too now.  They must have updated the records overnight.


> so I rang them and after 7 minutes of wait a person picked up and than hung up. After another 12 minutes of wait I spoke to a person who really sounded like he could use a break.


Odd - I have always found them fine to deal with on the phone. No hanging around so far and always informative and helpful.


> I wonder how many people are calling them today!


One more soon...


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## Corky

From what I can gather my monthly saver 1 previously @ 5.5% is now at 3%,
and monthly saver 2 previously at 7% is now at 4% .Is this correct?


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## ClubMan

Corky said:


> From what I can gather my monthly saver 1 previously @ 5.5% is now at 3%,


If it was opened before 24/10/2006 then yes.


> and monthly saver 2 previously at 7% is now at 4% .Is this correct?


If it was opened between 24/10/2006 and 07/10/2007 then yes.

See [broken link removed].


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## ClubMan

ClubMan said:


> Odd - I have always found them fine to deal with on the phone. No hanging around so far and always informative and helpful.


Just called to inquire about closing my account with them and was on hold for less than a minute and the person at the other end was able to deal with my query no problem. To date I have had absolutely no problems with _Halifax _telephone banking/customer service. Pity about the regular saver rates though...


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## oldtimer

I have 3 regular saver accounts with Halifax, self, missus and joint with anniversaries in Dec, January and February so will close all three now and suffer small loss re bonus interest.


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## DrMoriarty

I'm in the same boat, except that the anniversary of all three was 10th February, so I'll lose out very little by closing them now. I'm certainly grateful for this thread!

However, I'm first getting Halifax to pre-populate and post me out application forms for three FlexiSaver (5.15%) accounts in the same names, into each of which I'll first have them transfer just under €10K while I set up a new home for the funds. That way, as existing customers, we won't have to go through all the AML hoops again.


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## Aesop

I just got off the phone with halifax (straight through no problems). The person I talked to said the bonus rate which was due on the first anniverary of the account (March '08) has already been paid out due to the change in interest rate and by closing the account right now it would incur no loss of bonus interest etc.


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## ClubMan

You should get that in writing before doing anything!


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## Aesop

Good advice Clubman. I rang back to see if I could confirm with another person and ended up getting the same person again. This time though they completely contradicted what they had said on the previous phone call . 

To be safe I will close all accounts the week after the anniversary date.


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## DublinTexas

I am wondering how this is going to work out for Halifax's profit.

Every single customer calling in or visiting a branch to lower his monthly payment to 10€ that's a lot of contacts.

Every single customer withdrawing the money saved so far now, that's a lot of money.

Every single customer from now only paying 10€ via direct debit, that is a lot of processing cost.

Or maybe they gamble on the fact that a lot of people don't know about the change or will just forget about taking action.

I mean I know about 10 people that did withdraw today alone, that's at lot of money Halifax needs to pay out today.

_I am not saying that Halifax can not pay out, I'm simply saying that there will be a high demand on funds._


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## camlin90

Good point DublinTexas.
Transactions processed by me alone today:

- Opened Flexi Saver (in branch)
- Opened Child Saver (by post - with cheque)
- Opened another Child Saver (by post - with cheque)
- Altered DD on monthly saver to €10 (in branch)
- Transferred 10K from monthly saver to flexi saver (in branch)
- Transferred out remainer of monthly saver balance down to minimum (by writing to Dundalk HQ)

All triggered by Halifax dropping their rate. (However, they're keeping most of the money in my case)

From a processing point of view let's hope, for their sake, everyone isn't doing this 

Ahh... I love (rate) tarting myself about


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## dublinhead

*3.6 *In addition to interest, the *bonus rate of interest* will be paid on your *account* on each *account opening anniversary* if, but only if, the following conditions are met in that *year*:- 
(a) no more than two *withdrawals* have been made in that *year* from your *account*; 
(b) your *account* has not been closed in that *year* by *you* or *us*; and 
(c) all twelve monthly payments in the amounts set out in the application form have been made by *you* to your *account *in that *yea*r.  

*3.7 *If *you* satisfy the conditions above, *we* will pay the *bonus rate of interest* to each *account* on each *account opening anniversary*. The *bonus rate of interest* is calculated on the credit balance in your *account* at the end of each day during the year. 


The first 2 conditions for closing the account are straight forward. But see the 3rd condition above, Does that mean if i reduce the 750 per month i pay down to the minimum of 10,  that i will loose the bonus rate of interest?


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## DublinTexas

dublinhead said:


> *3.6 *In addition to interest, the *bonus rate of interest* will be paid on your *account* on each *account opening anniversary* if, but only if, the following conditions are met in that *year*:-
> (a) no more than two *withdrawals* have been made in that *year* from your *account*;
> (b) your *account* has not been closed in that *year* by *you* or *us*; and
> (c) all twelve monthly payments in the amounts set out in the application form have been made by *you* to your *account *in that *yea*r.
> 
> *3.7 *If *you* satisfy the conditions above, *we* will pay the *bonus rate of interest* to each *account* on each *account opening anniversary*. The *bonus rate of interest* is calculated on the credit balance in your *account* at the end of each day during the year.
> 
> 
> The first 2 conditions for closing the account are straight forward. But see the 3rd condition above, Does that mean if i reduce the 750 per month i pay down to the minimum of 10, that i will loose the bonus rate of interest?


 
2.5 of the T&C allows you ONCE to change the amount you want to save (both up and down):

2.5 The amount of your monthly lodgement is selected by you in the application form (subject to condition 2.3) and all monthly lodgements must be in this amount. You may change the amount of your monthly deposit once in each year. ​As long as you make all payment as orginaly agreed or changed ONCE a year your Bonus Rate will stay in effect.

That at least is the consensus from people who have spoken to Halifax today.


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## dublinhead

DublinTexas said:


> 2.5 of the T&C allows you ONCE to change the amount you want to save (both up and down):
> 
> 2.5 The amount of your monthly lodgement is selected by you in the application form (subject to condition 2.3) and all monthly lodgements must be in this amount. You may change the amount of your monthly deposit once in each year.​As long as you make all payment as orginaly agreed or changed ONCE a year your Bonus Rate will stay in effect.
> 
> That at least is the consensus from people who have spoken to Halifax today.


 

Good spot. Their terms and conditions are way over complicated.


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## cork

Who offers the best regular savings account at the moment?

It is a pity Halifax has dropped rates.


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## trebor

I'm in the same position as  many of you. The high rate of interest was only guaranteed untill 31st January 2008. My regular saver account reached its one year anniversary a few weeks ago so I think I'm best off withdrawing the whole lot and spreading it among the other high rate accounts, ensuring I don't exceed the high rate/low rate threshold. Am I entitled to close this regular savers account and withdraw the balance at no cost to me?  



Does anyone know if this was complied with:



  11. How will we tell you about any changes? 
*11.1* *We* will tell *you* about any changes *we* make  under condition 3.1 and 10.1 to the interest rate which *we* pay on your  credit balance or charge *you* on any overdraft, by putting a notice in  at least three national daily papers and in our branches, or by writing to *you*.


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## camlin90

> Am I entitled to close this regular savers account and withdraw the balance at no cost to me?


 
To summarise above posts - if you close, you lose the bonus interest earned since the last anniversary date. So you will incur a cost.
However this cost will be less significant in your case, because it's not long since your last anniversary.

As a guide - for an account with an average balance of 10K, closing now would lose you about €7.30 (after tax) for each week you had it open between the last anniversary and yesterday.

Alternative is to draw all money out down to the minimum of €10, and alter the DD to €10 a month, which (according to above posts) still qualifies you for the bonus interest.


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## ClubMan

cork said:


> Who offers the best regular savings account at the moment?


See the _Financial Best Buys _lists.


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## Godfather

Hello everyone,

sorry if I didn't connect so often to this lovely forum for such a long time (long story... did anyone call the garda about the fact that I was the Godfather of this forum?  ).

Terrible to read that the old reg. saver (the most loyal ones!!!) are now awarded with 3%!!!!

I'm going to close my old. reg. saver account ASAP!!!

Thank you halifax for the loyalty bonus!!!


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## ClubMan

Anybody else faxed them instructing them to close a regular saver account and cancel the _DD_? Did you hear anything back?


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## Godfather

Ciao Clubman! Long time we didn't have a chat! I hope everything's ok there... I'm thinking about going to my nearest subsidiary to close both account and direct debit...


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## oldtimer

Clubman, I wrote to them cancelling three regular saver accounts and went to the bank to cancel the 3 direct debits. I expect my 3 cheques next week.


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## ClubMan

I faxed them yesterday but just realised that I never signed the fax.  I'll give them a call later to see what the story is.


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## TSThomas

Decided to simply close the account after yesterday, was told at the branch they'd take care of it (Was told over the phone I'd needed a signed statement to that effect, so I handed that over). Direct Debit canceled. Wonder how long it'll take for money to transfer...


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## eileen alana

Godfather said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> sorry if I didn't connect so often to this lovely forum for such a long time (long story... did anyone call the garda about the fact that I was the Godfather of this forum?  ).
> 
> Terrible to read that the old reg. saver (the most loyal ones!!!) are now awarded with 3%!!!!
> 
> I'm going to close my old. reg. saver account ASAP!!!
> 
> Thank you halifax for the loyalty bonus!!!


 

Welcome back Godfather, yep there sure has been some changes with these regular savers since last you signed in. First it was AIB dropping down to 4% and now they are after launching another regular saver with a high interest for new recruits. I am beginning to get tired from chopping and changing accounts all the time, running to the banks at lunch times etc, its a tough job being a rate tart and trying to keep one foot ahead.


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## camlin90

I hope all the people above who are closing are not getting stung for the bonus interest...

Halifax is obviously not like all other banks, who can transfer money instantaneously between internal accounts.
I transferred 10K to the Flexi Saver yesterday, but for some reason it's still sitting in the Monthly Saver earning 4%... Customer Service will be getting an earful in a few days!


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## ClubMan

John J said:


> I hope all the people above who are closing are not getting stung for the bonus interest...


My account anniversary was last month so I will lose a little bonus interest but I'm better off moving in spite of this.


> Halifax is obviously not like all other banks, who can transfer money instantaneously between internal accounts.


I think if you do the transfer before noon or thereabouts then it should happen same day otherwise it should happen the next day. Unless the transaction is subject to additional security checks in which case they will call you and this can delay things by a further day (at least in my experience).


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## Godfather

eileen alana said:


> Welcome back Godfather, yep there sure has been some changes with these regular savers since last you signed in. First it was AIB dropping down to 4% and now they are after launching another regular saver with a high interest for new recruits. I am beginning to get tired from chopping and changing accounts all the time, running to the banks at lunch times etc, its a tough job being a rate tart and trying to keep one foot ahead.


 
I totally agree with you eileen alana! How much petrol (and lunch-breaks in which I could have relaxed more) I spent in reaching the branches of the banks for new reg. savers accounts... And for what? A bit of difference in terms of interest rates? 

...Btw I'm so grateful to this forum... Sorry I keep repeating that because I've never seen such an "open share source of information on savings".


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## dublinhead

ClubMan said:


> Anybody else faxed them instructing them to close a regular saver account and cancel the _DD_? Did you hear anything back?


 
 I went into my local branch yesterday and withdrew all but  10 euro and I also reduced my monthly amount to 10 euro. I had to sign a form to this affect and I should get my money in 3 working days. I'm a bit peeved off that they didnt write to me to inform me of the reduction in rates. I only found out through this forum. . They tried to push the flexi saver on me but i said thanks but no thanks.


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## dec11

hi all,

just found out about the new rate today and i need some advice.

on the 2nd of February I phoned Halifax regarding the interest rate and got confirmation (verbally) that the rate would stay 1.5% above the ECB rate for original account holders. so i increased my monthly DD to 350 a month.

i phoned Halifax this evening and they said they would investigate and get back to me.

can anyone advise where i stand here? my next maturity date is July 2008


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## camlin90

> on the 2nd of February I phoned Halifax regarding the interest rate and got confirmation (verbally) that the rate would stay 1.5% above the ECB rate


 
You were given misleading information by customer service, so you could try to use this to "encourage" them into waiving the limit of one DD alteration per year on your account.

Worst case scenario though - the interest difference will be quite minimal on the extra €340 you'll be paying in between now and July. You could draw out some money in 3 months time to reduce your exposure; assuming you haven't already used the permitted withdrawals.


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## Godfather

Hi guys, I went to a subsidiary this morning trying to close my account but couldn't because I faced a weird behaviour...  I am lodging a complaint now asking for the form to be sent by post... They must be going through hard times after this continuous reduction in the rates!


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## ClubMan

I faxed through instructions to close my account on Wednesday afternoon. I didn't hear anything further so called them last night to be told that the fax and instructions were logged on the system and the closure process was in train. I thought that it might happen sooner than that.


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## Godfather

ClubMan said:


> I thought that it might happen sooner than that.


 
Hi mate, as I thought: too many requests at the same time.  That probably partially justifies the weird behaviour I faced this morning that I had to complain about...


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## treasure

I was in touch with Halifax today and the rate on the Regular Savings accounts has just gone down to 4%.


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## ClubMan

treasure said:


> I was in touch with Halifax today and the rate on the Regular Savings accounts has just gone down to 4%.


Er, yeah! Posted 19-02-2008, 03:26 PM:


John J said:


> Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be true. There have been some quite savage cuts in interest rates on these accounts. See Halifax website.
> 
> _To summarise:_
> 
> _First tranche of Monthly Savers (opened prior to 24/10/06)_
> _Rate has fallen from 5.5% to 3%_
> 
> _Second tranche of Monthly Savers (opened between 24/10/06 and 07/10/07)_
> _Rate has fallen from 7% to 4%_
> 
> _Third tranche of Monthly Savers (opened after 07/10/07): rate unchanged_
> 
> [broken link removed]


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## treasure

Rang Halifax today and the rate is now 4%. Time to move our savings elsewhere?


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## ClubMan

treasure said:


> Rang Halifax today and the rate is now 4%.


Yes - this has been discussed at length already!


> Time to move our savings elsewhere?


Some people are doing just that.


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## Alex

i'm thinking of switching from halifax to anglo's 7% regular saver...


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## ClubMan

There are better rates on offer. See the _Financial Best Buys _lists.


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## askU

> Originally Posted by *John J* http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?p=580649#post580649
> _Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be true. There have been some quite savage cuts in interest rates on these accounts. See Halifax website.
> 
> To summarise:
> 
> First tranche of Monthly Savers (opened prior to 24/10/06)
> Rate has fallen from 5.5% to 3%
> 
> Second tranche of Monthly Savers (opened between 24/10/06 and 07/10/07)
> Rate has fallen from 7% to 4%
> 
> Third tranche of Monthly Savers (opened after 07/10/07): rate unchanged
> 
> [broken link removed]_


JUST TO CLARIFY:
I opened my account opened *after* 07/10/07 so rate is still at 7% ? Is it?


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## ClubMan

[broken link removed]?


> *Monthly            Saver*                             Accounts opened after 08/10/07                             €10 per month                             €350 per month                             7.00%                             7.00%


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## trebor

Anyone who closed their regular saver account can you tell me how long it took for the system to register this online and transfer the funds to your current account? Thanks


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## hakouna

Sorry I am a bit confised here , the current best buy section states that rate is 7.00% inc bonus interst 
"*7.00%* inc bonus interest.
_*2.25%*_ if terms are not met. 

"Regular lodgements required (direct debit only): Minimum €10 a month; Maximum €350. Total lodged cannot exceed €50,000. At most two withdrawals in first 12 months. You may change the amount of your monthly deposit at most once in each year."

and Halifax website is showing a "new" product with same interst rate 7.00% [broken link removed]

So as far as I can see the high interst rate is still on , but max lodgement has been dropeed from 750 to 350 a month .. 

Can you please clarify  

Thanks


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## NavanMan1

Just went to Halifax online to check my regular savings account and was shocked to see that the rate stated is 4% rather than the 7% the last time I checked. Then rushed on here to AAM and searched for this thread.

Given the good advise here, I phoned up Halifax Customer Service, waited just two minutes before I got through to a Rep. Confirmed the rate change ( I opened my account in Nov’06 ), she also confirmed the advise here, to reduce my monthly contribution to 10 euro and also withdraw funds as long as the balance is also above 10 euro. She implemented the change to the lower contribution and also put me through directly to the Maynooth branch where I have the account. 

The official in Maynooth took my details and confirmed that she would have the cash in the branch for my withdrawal tomorrow.

Other than the interest rate dropping, I find Halifax customer service very professional and easy to deal with, unlike some others I could mention.


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## qingdao

trebor said:


> Anyone who closed their regular saver account can you tell me how long it took for the system to register this online and transfer the funds to your current account? Thanks


regarding the time need to get the funds after closing the account. I went into the bank last Saturday and closed the accounts asking they transfer the money into other halifax accounts. At the time they said it would take 3 working days. As of yesterday, no funds transferred so rang up customer service and they said the transaction process had begun on Wednesday and I should have the funds in my account next Monday...so 3 days has become 5...or 6 if you count next Monday. No explanation given when i asked about the reason for the delay...


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## ClubMan

I had to fax my instructions again on _Monday _because my fax last week was not signed. My mistake.  Today the money has disappeared from the regular saver account but has not yet appeared in my _(Halifax) _current account. I presume it's in the ether somewhere but hold time for queries at the moment is 5 minutes so I will keep an eye on things and maybe call them at a quieter time.


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## TSThomas

Got a call from them there myself 2 days ago, querying the Sort Code I gave them, said it was showing up as AIB not Northern Rock (Guess it may have been human error on their end as the letter was typed & I copy / pasted the details from the website, not to mention BOI work just fine with the same details ).


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## ClubMan

_Northern Rock _use an _AIB _clearing account for transfers. That's why the sort code, account number and your own _NR _account number (as the reference) are required. See [broken link removed]:


> *How can I send an electronic transfer from my external bank account?*
> 
> In order to send an electronic transfer from a current account to your Demand Online account you must contact your bank and tell them to send the funds to our clearing account, details of which are as follows:
> 
> AIB, Westmoreland St, Dublin 2
> Account Number; 75234003
> Sort Code; 93-33-84
> Reference*
> *It is important that you quote your Demand Online account number as the reference as funds cannot be applied without this number.
> Northern Rock cannot withdraw from an external account.


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## falcon7xs

Called into branch to close my reg.saver due to rates collapse,requested transfer into my flexi saver a/c.
In spite of doing the above 10 working days in advance of the next standing order payment Halifax incompetance means that they didnt terminate the standing order and still havent transfered to my flexi saver.
I switched my current account to them recently and none of my direct debits have even been actioned even though they have the details resulting in me having late payment fees applied.


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## ClubMan

Strange. After my second fax last Monday (correcting my own mistake on the first one!) they closed my account yesterday (although I think it still appears online but generates an error when I click on it) and then the money appeared in my current account later that day.


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## TSThomas

Ahh Ok. Didn't realise that  Should arrive early next week I'm told.


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## jigsaw

i just rang halifax customer care and asked about the rate of my regular saver dropping from 7% to 4%, the rep asked what date i opened my account and i told him 24/10/07 and he told me that i will be on the 7% rate until june?

i wonder why june?


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## trebor

Its guaranteed or "up for review" in June. No indication of whether it may remain the same, may change to reflect market conditions, or plain and simple drop down to 4% like the series 2 regular saver account. Just have to wait and see.....


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## TSThomas

No mention of that here yet...

[broken link removed]

Maybe they'll review they rate then, or perhaps it's the planned to drop it too & they accidentally revealed that.


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## trebor

I was told this in the branch aswell, which made me decide not to re-open a new regular saver account. Their exact words were the rate will be "up for review" then.


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## cork

I was going to open an EBS reguler savings account but this is being reviewed in April.

I think I'll hold off for a while.

My Halifax account has gone down to 4%.


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## dublinhead

I went into my local branch last thursday week to withdraw money from money saver account, 11 days later money is still not in my BOI account. So much for the 5 working days they say. I rang today, the lady said that someone had just put through the transaction a few minutes ago and it would take another 48hrs. When I questioned her on the delay she said it was due to the high level of withdrawels being requested. 2 weeks to withdraw money! And I thought NR was bad!


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## Godfather

Just sent my request for account closure... I am sure it will take a while as well...

I'm very disappointed with halifax... And I don't find their ads (although supposed to be funny) very appropriate as well...


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## ClubMan

Godfather said:


> Just sent my request for account closure... I am sure it will take a while as well...


As I mentioned above I faxed them instructions last Monday PM and it was all sorted by Thursday PM.


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## Godfather

Thank you Clubman, I'm crossing my fingers!


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## TSThomas

Money's not displaying in NR yet, though I did just receive confirmation that my Flexi Saver accounts been opened & that the Access Codes are on the way


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## Godfather

Aren't we talking about regular savers accounts here??


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## askU

TSThomas said:


> Money's not displaying in NR yet, though I did just receive confirmation that my Flexi Saver accounts been opened & that the Access Codes are on the way



yeah get with it..


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## blobert

Just a quick question.

I started a monthly saver in December 06, paying the full €750 a month. In December 07 I recieved only about €80 interest for the year, does this sound right or is it a bit too low, it seems to be? I missed the 1st direct debit due to a mix up with the bank but Halifax assured me that I'd still get the full 7+% but it seems like I haven't?

Also does it make sence to transfer the money into my flexisaver @ 5.15% or keep it in this account till the end of the year so as not to loose out on the bonus interest.

I couldn't be bothered filling in forms and changing the direct debit to €10 a month if it's only going to be worth a small ammount more than putting it in the flexi saver account.

Thanks in advance.


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## ClubMan

blobert said:


> I started a monthly saver in December 06, paying the full €750 a month. In December 07 I recieved only about €80 interest for the year, does this sound right or is it a bit too low, it seems to be? I missed the 1st direct debit due to a mix up with the bank but Halifax assured me that I'd still get the full 7+% but it seems like I haven't?


Yeah - according to this calculator €750 a month for 12 months should be c. €337 gross interest. Did you see two interest lodgements on your statement? If not then you may have only received the base rate and not also the bonus.


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## blobert

ClubMan said:


> Yeah - according to this calculator €750 a month for 12 months should be c. €337 gross interest. Did you see two interest lodgements on your statement? If not then you may have only received the base rate and not also the bonus.


 
Thanks for the quick reply.

There was only one interest payment, the base rate I expect.

The problem is how I can convince them that I should have been paid the full amount of interest when looking at my account they will just see that there was one missing lodgement. As I said, the person I spoke to said it was fine but I have no proof of this.

They are checking up on it and say they will ring me back later, I predict annoyance.


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## ClubMan

blobert said:


> There was only one interest payment, the base rate I expect.


Sounds like it - if you got the base and bonus rates of interest then there should have been two interest lodgements.


> The problem is how I can convince them that I should have been paid the full amount of interest when looking at my account they will just see that there was one missing lodgement. As I said, the person I spoke to said it was fine but I have no proof of this.


Going to be difficult to prove your case so I'm afraid...


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## Joe1234

ClubMan said:


> Sounds like it - if you got the base and bonus rates of interest then there should have been two interest lodgements.
> 
> Going to be difficult to prove your case so I'm afraid...



Will be difficult, and I know it's a very long shot, but could there be a record of your call?


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## Galway99

Went into Branch on 26th Feb to withdraw money from regular saver to my current account. still not in the current a/c today (march 7)!!


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## Joe1234

Galway99 said:


> Went into Branch on 26th Feb to withdraw money from regular saver to my current account. still not in the current a/c today (march 7)!!



I went into my branch on Wednesday and got cash from my regular saver by just providing my drivers licence. It was only a withdrawal of most of the funds.  Maybe when I go to close the account completely, it will be a different story.


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## DublinTexas

I got told to fax them a request with hand written signature, so I said, too complicated and went into the Branch.

They said they don't deal with withdraws from that type of account and made me fill out a form that they say will be processed next day by the savings account team.

And that was 5 days ago.

Today again I hear the halifax advertising how difficult it is to withdraw savings at other banks (i.e. only when moon is right and so on).

A disgrace. First they don't inform me about the change of interest rate in accordance with their own T&C and now they hang on to the money.

What do I care that they have a lot of withdraw requests running, they saw that one comming, so have staff to deal with it.


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## Joe1234

DublinTexas said:


> First they don't inform me about the change of interest rate in accordance with their own T&C and now they hang on to the money.



Do their Terms and conditions specifically state that they will inform the customer when the rate changes?  I was not informed either. 

The account I opened was their regular saver account in approx June 2006.


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## DublinTexas

Joe1234 said:


> Do their Terms and conditions specifically state that they will inform the customer when the rate changes? I was not informed either.
> 
> The account I opened was their regular saver account in approx June 2006.


 
*11.1* *We* will tell *you* about any changes *we* make under condition 3.1 and 10.1 to the interest rate which *we* pay on your credit balance or charge *you* on any overdraft, by putting a notice in at least three national daily papers and in our branches, or by writing to *you*.


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## TSThomas

Initially it seemed I'd be able to do it over the phone but I was eventually put on hold & then told that actually, we'd need this in writing.
Ok, dropped it in at the local branch the next day (21st Feb).
Few days later got a call (26 or 27th Feb) querying the Sort Code (As clarified earlier by Clubman, Northern Rock uses an AIB Clearing Account). Advised all details given were correct.
Finally got a statement indicating that the account was closed on 3rd March.
The money's not showing up in NR as of yesterday (Sites down at the moment), though they did inform me it was transferred from their end Ok.

That said, I did in the intervening time decide I may as well open a Flexi-Saver account & encountered zero problems with that.


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## Fanny

My Regular Saver is one year old on 20th March and I want to withdraw and move money into different other accounts. Reading about the difficulty and delays people encountered, I wonder would it be a better idea moving the funds into a Halifax Flexi saver first and then withdrawing bit by bit. I live near the branch so it would be no problem going in and getting the money out whenever I need it.
Initially, I was planning to get a cheque from the branch, isn't that possible without any delay? How flexible is the "Flexi"saver?

Fanny


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## minion

I logged into my regular saving account today and found the following.

They seem to have added €253.76 to the total on the first payment and left it  like that.

What are these jokers at?

Yesterday the Balances all read correctly.

Date Paid                           Interest Rate         4%         
Account Type         MONTHLY SAVER         

Transaction Summary            
Date    Pay Out (€)    Pay In (€)    Balance (€)
09/03/2007                750            "1,003.76"
16/04/2007                750         "1,753.76"
15/05/2007                750            "2,503.76"
15/06/2007         750            "3,253.76"
16/07/2007                750            "4,003.76"
15/08/2007                750            "4,753.76"
17/09/2007                750            "5,503.76"
15/10/2007                750            "6,253.76"
15/11/2007                750         "7,003.76"
17/12/2007                750            "7,753.76"
15/01/2008                750            "8,503.76"
15/02/2008         750            "9,253.76"

Sorry about the formatting, but you see what i mean.

If €253.76 is the total interest on this account for the year then i would say i've been conned.
And why add it to the first installment when there was no interest earned at all at that point.

I would be expecting nearer to €400 minus 23% as almost 11 months of this was at 7%.

Anyone else had similar messing with thier account from Halifax?


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## TSThomas

If you check the [broken link removed] - 750 a month for 1 year @ 7% = 9337.72, that's before DIRT. Deducting DIRT brings it down to 9270.


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## minion

Fair enough, but why mess with the payment log like that.  And add it to the first payment at all.

I'm not impressed with the way Halifax have handled this at all.


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## camlin90

This seems to be a glitch with Halifax online banking. 
For instance, the monthly DD on my account is due tomorrow, but when I log into my account now, they have added the DD amount to the balance all the way back to the start of the account.

It seems like they work out the historical balance working back from the current balance... and for some reason the current balance is updated before the transaction actually appears so this screws things up... if you know what I mean.

I'd imagine if you log in tomorrow it will be OK


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## Joe1234

DublinTexas said:


> *11.1* *We* will tell *you* about any changes *we* make under condition 3.1 and 10.1 to the interest rate which *we* pay on your credit balance or charge *you* on any overdraft, by putting a notice in at least three national daily papers and in our branches, or by writing to *you*.



Since they have not written to me, or probably most customers, I presume they have placed adverts in at least 3 daily papers.  Mind you, I was in the branch last week and did not see any notices there.  Of course, there may have been some that I never saw.


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## camlin90

Joe1234 said:


> Since they have not written to me, or probably most customers, I presume they have placed adverts in at least 3 daily papers. Mind you, I was in the branch last week and did not see any notices there. Of course, there may have been some that I never saw.


That T&C is particularly nicely worded - no timescale whatsoever - maybe the notice will be in the Dec 31, 2999 newspapers. That is, if we still have newspapers by then 

Of course, they didn't count on having AAM to keep us all informed!


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## Godfather

Hi guys, I closed my first reg. saver account (the one now reduced to 4%) and decreased my monthly payments on the 2nd regular saver account to 10 Euro/month. Then I'm just keeping my flexisaver for the moment. I'm a bit fed up with the regular saver accounts as I can see some trends moving to reduction of the rate after the capital has reached a certain point (average after 1 year and 1/2)...


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## oldtimer

Yes, I agree with John J regarding the notification (or lack of it) when rates were reduced - if AAM did not exist many would still think the interest was unchanged. When I read it here I wrote a letter closing my four regular saver accounts. Three were closed but when I enquired about the fourth Halifax stated they only received notice of three - despite all four requested in the same letter. They were very abrupt on phone. I am going to a Halifax office to-morrow to close the account. Will not bother with a Flexisaver account - prefer to put it into EBS or Irish Nationwide. I also agree with Godfather regarding regular saver accounts, quite a few reducing rates and putting savers to the bother of opening new accounts.


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## camlin90

oldtimer said:


> When I read it here I wrote a letter closing my four regular saver accounts.


Hi oldtimer
I thought you could only have one regular saver - is it possible to open several of the accounts provided they're in different "generations"?

For instance I have one of the accounts whose rate has been cut to 4% (left open purely to avail of bonus interest). 
Could I now open one of the accounts which pays 7%?


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## Joe1234

John J said:


> That T&C is particularly nicely worded - no timescale whatsoever - maybe the notice will be in the Dec 31, 2999 newspapers. That is, if we still have newspapers by then
> 
> Of course, they didn't count on having AAM to keep us all informed!



Of course!


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## Joe1234

John J said:


> For instance I have one of the accounts whose rate has been cut to 4% (left open purely to avail of bonus interest).
> Could I now open one of the accounts which pays 7%?



I think you can now open a 7% account.  In June (approx) 2006, I opened a reg saver account, and opened another one in May 2007.  When I went to open the 2nd a/c I told the staff member that I had another account and there didn't seem to be a problem.


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## oldtimer

Hi John J,
Re my four accounts,  opened 2 accounts pre October 2006, one single name and one joint account. Then when they changed the interest rate in October they allowed me open two more accounts. If the same flexibility is allowed now then it should be possible for anybody to open accounts at 7%. Worth checking out if you are interested.


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## cpt_boom

Damn! I am only hereing about the rate change to 4% now! I opened my account in Nov 06 so the first I have heard of any change in rates was my statement arriving yesterday. 

I guess I should have been should have been checking AAM more closely rather than trusting the Bankers (pun intended) to inform it's customers of a rate change. It is really bad form that they didn't notify people by mail and it was clearly designed to stop people from cashing out. It's effectively a €350 difference in gross interest for my account and I'm quite pi$$ed off about it.


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## olewy

Just closed down my Halifax Regular Saver today and after 6 months of paying the full €350 per month since 28/8/2008 (back when it was 7%) and without missing any months payments I was given €7.48 net in interest. Does this sound correct interest/calculation-wise to any of you? Tks.


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## GeneralZod

Perhaps it's because you closed it before the first 12 months were up so you didn't get the bonus rate of interest. 

Here are the account's [broken link removed].

€350 per month over 6 months means an average balance of €1050 = (€0 + 6 * €350)/2.

So if a penalty wasn't applied it would have been = €28.30 = €1050 * 0.07 * 0.5 * 0.77

What you got sounds like a non-bonus standard rate of about 1.75%.

Did the bank official advise you of this before proceeding with your instruction to close the account?


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## oldtimer

I posted here on 23rd January advising holders of regular saver accounts with Halifax *not *to close their accounts until twelve instalments were paid, otherwise the bonus rate would not be paid and interest would be very low. It is clearly set out in the term and conditions. This is what happened to you.


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