# EBS Family Savings



## billy-bob (14 Oct 2012)

Just perusing the site, and I notice the EBS Family Savings a/c interest rate is now 3.1%.  It was 4.1% when I opened my account in September, and the important product note on this page still says 4.1% (obviously nobody noticed this when doing a replace recently).  However, I've checked my documentation I got from EBS, and can't find any notice of the interest rate.  Can they change the rate on my account, as I have no real proof of what rate was in effect at the time I opened the account?


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## Lightning (15 Oct 2012)

The rate, with this account is fixed, for the first year. 

If you got 4.10%, at account opening stage, then you still have 4.10% for the first year and then it drops. 

The rate is 3.10% for new customers. 

From the best buys ... 



> *EBS: Family Savings Account*
> *3.10%* for year 1 only up to €13,000.
> *2.70%* for year 2 only up to €63,000.
> 
> ...


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## Boyd (15 Oct 2012)

If opening a new one now then the PTSB online regular saver is the best @ 3.5%


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## billy-bob (15 Oct 2012)

Tks Ciaran, that was the agreed rate, I just got a little nervous that I have no real proof that that rate was in effect when I opened my account.


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## Boyd (15 Oct 2012)

It surely shows it on one of the following:

When using online banking when you log onto EBS
Or in the initial document you got from EBS
Or in the document you get when its wound up


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## billy-bob (15 Oct 2012)

Yeah, never thought of looking online, and it states 4.1% there, so I think I'm ok (of course being the cynical sort, I should probably take a screenshot of that rate and post it to myself )


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## Lightning (15 Oct 2012)

While you are at it, put a reminder in the calendar to shut this account just before the 1 year anniversary.


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## seantheman (15 Oct 2012)

CiaranT said:


> While you are at it, put a reminder in the calendar to shut this account just before the 1 year anniversary.


Would you not be deemed to be breaking the terms of this 12 month a/c if you shut prior to anniversary and thus lose intrest?


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## Lightning (16 Oct 2012)

seantheman said:


> Would you not be deemed to be breaking the terms of this 12 month a/c if you shut prior to anniversary and thus lose intrest?



One needs to give EBS notice prior to the first anniversary for closure on the first anniversary. 

My point was simply that the closure notice needs to go in before the anniversary has occurred to prevent 'reinvestment'.

You are allowed one withdrawal during the first 12 months.


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## DMcL1971 (17 Oct 2012)

EBS will write to you one month before the first anniversary of account opening. In the letter they will outline the rate offered for the second year and the different conditions in relation to a lodgements and withdrawals in that year. They will also give you the option to have the account closed on the first anniversary and the funds transferred elsewhere.


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## seantheman (20 Oct 2012)

I'm coming up to the second anniversary and i've recieved a letter from EBS telling me that the rate for the coming year for capital (from first two years) and regular savings will be 2.7% fixed until next anniversary.
   I see from the regular savings best buys that PTSB and Ulster are paying the highest rate of 3.5% however these rates are variable.
   EBS pay a fixed 3.1% on year one savings. 
  Am i best off closing the existing EBS Regular saver a/c and moving funds elsewhere (possibly fixed one year Ulster 3.75%) and either starting a PTSB/Ulster variable rate regular saver or a new EBS fixed rate regular saver for the coming year?
           I know that the PTSB/Ulster a/c's shown here http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=20747 are regarded as regular savings a/c's, but with instant access and ad hoc payments allowed during the year,
don't these offer a better rate than all of the instant access a/c's for small amounts?


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## DMcL1971 (20 Oct 2012)

Your plan sounds good to me Sean. Close the EBS account, move it to a fixed account to get the best rate and then start saving from scratch to a new regular saver account. Some things you might want to consider are that you might not want to move the entire amount you have saved to a fixed account as you would lose access to it. Maybe move some to an instant access account in case of an emergency.

By the looks of it you can use the two regular saver accounts as if they were instant access accounts. The only limitations would be that you have to start with a balance of zero and you can't lodge more than 1000 a month. If you do want to save more than 1000 a month you can either open both a PTSB and a UB account or the UB account will actually allow you to lodge more than 1000 a month but it is not supposed to.


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## Lightning (21 Oct 2012)

Seconded. Good plan. 

Minor suggested tweaks. 


Consider the Ulster Bank 1 year 6 months term deposit product that pays more and gives a great return for the period. 
Make decisions and actions prior to 31 October 2012 as the Ulster Bank term deposit rates apparently end then. 
Open both the Ulster Bank account and PTSB regular saver account so you can easily pick and choose where to deposit if rates drop in once of the accounts.



> I know that the PTSB/Ulster a/c's shown here http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=20747 are regarded as regular savings a/c's, but with instant access and ad hoc payments allowed during the year,
> don't these offer a better rate than all of the instant access a/c's for small amounts?



Yes, correct, for small amounts.


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## GoldDigga (8 Nov 2012)

I recently finished out year 1 of the EBS family saver account at a rate of 5%

Total savings for the year were 12100 Euro. The interest i received after DIRT was 225 Euro. This did not seem correct to me. Please tell me of I have my calculations wrong

12100 @ 5% = 605

605 - 30% DIRT (181.5) = 423.50

Now when i called i was told on the phone that the interest was calculated Monthly, not yearly. If this was the case the interest would be even more than 423.50. It doesn't state on the original documentation how the interest was calculated.


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## Boyd (8 Nov 2012)

Its a regular saver account..........which means you deposit each month. Hence the E12100 was not in the account for the full year and therefore its not just a matter of E12100 @ 5%. Im sure this has been explained on the forum before, try doing a search for regular saver calculation.

i.e. in month 1 you only get interest on €1000, not on €12100, month 2 its on €2000 etc.


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## sandra1 (8 Nov 2012)

This is regular savings account. If you invested 1000 euro per month it works like this:

5% for 1000 euro applied for 12 months.
5% for 2000 euro for 11 months.
5% for 3000 euro on 10 months.

etc.

5% for 12000 only for 1 month.

Google regular savings calculator to find out exact amount for your case.


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## GoldDigga (8 Nov 2012)

Thanks for the reply.These are the figures i got from the regular saver calculator. They dont add up comparing to what interest i actually received.


                Deposits     Accrued payments      Interest
1	        100.00	12,000.00	               335.13	12,435.13
Totals	 	        12,000.00	               335.13	12,435.13


435.13 - 30% DIRT (130.53) = 304.6

I only received 225 Euro


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## DMcL1971 (8 Nov 2012)

The interest that EBS have paid you seems about right.

Interest is calculated on a daily basis, based on the closing balance you have in the account that day. The interest is not added to the overall balance until the end of the year.

So for example if you opened the account with €1000, then each day after that you earned (0.05/365)*1000 or 13.7c per day. This continued everyday until you lodged another 1000. At that point your balance became 2000, so the daily interest went up to (0.05/365)*2000 or 27.4c per day. This continued on until a year later when you had 12000 in the account and you were earning €1.64 everyday.

The table below might show it a bit clearer. (Sorry about the formatting)
Month Days Balance Daily Interest Monthly Interest
31/08/2011 31 €1,000 €0.14 €4.25
30/09/2011 30 €2,000 €0.27 €8.22
31/10/2011 31 €3,000 €0.41 €12.74
30/11/2011 30 €4,000 €0.55 €16.44
31/12/2011 31 €5,000 €0.68 €21.23
31/01/2012 31 €6,000 €0.82 €25.48
29/02/2012 29 €7,000 €0.96 €27.81
31/03/2012 31 €8,000 €1.10 €33.97
30/04/2012 30 €9,000 €1.23 €36.99
31/05/2012 31 €10,000 €1.37 €42.47
30/06/2012 30 €11,000 €1.51 €45.21
31/07/2012 31 €12,000 €1.64 €50.96

Gross Interest €325.75
Net Interest after DIRT €228.03

The figures of 228 and 225 don't exactly match but that is because you have an extra 100 in the account somewhere.


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## seantheman (9 Nov 2012)

DMcL1971 said:


> The interest that EBS have paid you seems about right.
> you have an extra 100 in the account somewhere.


 
I'd imagine €100 to open a/c and then 12 x €1,000 per month payments


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## GoldDigga (9 Nov 2012)

> The interest that EBS have paid you seems about right.
> 
> Interest is calculated on a daily basis, based on the closing balance you have in the account that day. The interest is not added to the overall balance until the end of the year.
> 
> ...



Thank you for the reply. That clears it up. Much more helpful than the guy on the phone in EBS.... "It sounds about right to me" and that was his valuable insight


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