Your savings with us

Transcription

1 Your savings with us

2 What s inside Hello 3 Your statement explained 4 Our General Terms are clear and simple 8 Changes to our General Terms 9 Changes to our Specific Terms 10 ISA information and updates 12 Online payment limits 12 Security reminder 13 Keeping in touch 14 Come and join our Members Panel 14 Simplifying our savings accounts 15 2

3 We look at savings from a new perspective. A simple and open one. See for yourself at thecoventry.co.uk Hello We like to keep things simple. We offer straightforward savings accounts and we lend money so that people can buy their own homes. We re always looking to make things even easier. So we recently simplified a number of our accounts and in some cases, made changes to what we call them and how they work. We also reviewed our General Terms for Savers to make sure they re still easy to read and understand. Hold onto this booklet and refer to it when you need to. It explains all the changes we ve made and gives you information about important things like your ISA allowance and how much money you can transfer online. 3

4 Your statement explained Account Details for: A N EXAMPLE Customer Reference: CN /A STATEMENT OF YOUR ACCOUNT(S) from 6 April 2017 to 5 April 2018 Account Balance ( ) Interest 1 Non-ISA accounts MoneyManager (Coventry First) Interest is paid Monthly and is next due on 30th April 2018 Page 1 of 1 EXAMPLE FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY Account Holders: A N EXAMPLE J J EXAMPLE 6 5 Your rate of interest as at 5 April 2018^ 24, % gross p.a.* Fixed Bond (357) Ann Closed Account - closed in the above tax year Account Account number and the name of the account. 3. Interest Interest paid on each account in the tax year 6 April 2017 to 5 April Balance The balance of each account at 5 April 2018, including any interest added. Some transactions made on 5 April might not be included. If your name was removed from an account during the tax year, your statement will show any interest paid to you, but the balance won t be shown. If your account pays interest annually and your statement doesn t show a full year s interest: This is because you either haven t held the account for a full year, or your first interest payment was made less than 12 months after you opened your account. For example, if you opened a fixed bond on 1 September 2017 that pays interest annually on 31 December, your statement will only show interest for the four months from 1 September 2017 to 31 December The next interest payment on 31 December 2018 will be for a full 12 months, and will show on your 2019 annual statement. 4

5 If there s zero interest for this tax year: Although your savings are earning interest on a daily basis, we pay it on the interest payment date. For example, if you opened an account in December 2017 and we pay interest annually in November, your 2018 annual statement will show interest as In November 2018, we ll pay the interest earned on your account since December 2017, which will show on your 2019 annual statement. If it s a joint account: The total interest paid in this tax year will be included on your statement and divided equally between account holders (for the purposes of the annual statement only). If the interest includes an odd number of pence (e.g.: 24.53), the extra penny is shown against the first named account holder. 4. Your rate of interest This is the actual interest rate we pay you for each account you have with us, as at 5 April 2018, based on the balance in your account. 5. Interest Frequency Frequency of interest payments and the next time interest is due to be paid. If the interest payment date or frequency isn t shown, please see the Specific Terms for that account. 6. Account Holders If you hold an account jointly, your annual statement shows the interest for the tax year ending 5 April 2018 divided between you and the other account holder(s). If an account holder is added to or removed from the account, their name appears on the statement if they were an account holder on the date we paid interest. If they were no longer an account holder on the date we paid the interest, their name won t appear. 7. Closed Account Any accounts closed between 6 April 2017 and 5 April

6 Your statement explained (continued) Offset Savings 15 6, Poppy Bond (60) Statement - Ann Interest is paid Annually and is next due on 31st August Postal Saver - Annual Interest is paid Annually and is next due on 30th October , % gross p.a.* 159, , % gross p.a.* Interest 2, Interest paid on the accounts listed above contributes towards your personal savings allowance, see Your statement explained for more information. ISA accounts Fixed ISA (56) Statement-Ann Interest is paid Annually and is next due on 31st May , % tax-free p.a.** ISA Reward - Annual Interest is paid Annually and is next due on 31st March 2019 This is a flexible ISA which means you can take money out and replace it later in the same tax year and it won t affect your annual allowance. See Your statement explained for further information Inactive Fixed Rate ISA (25) Interest is paid Annually and is next due on 30 November 2018 An inactive ISA still earns interest, but you re unable to pay new ISA money in until you ve re-activated your ISA. Please check the terms and conditions of your account to see if you can add in more money. Remember: you can only pay into one cash ISA per tax year. 133, , % tax-free p.a.** 8, % tax-free p.a.** EXAMPLE FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY 13 Total Balance of the Accounts 351, Accounts on which you are a Registered Contact Junior Cash ISA (1) 3.50% tax-free p.a.** 14 Account Holders: A N EXAMPLE S O EXAMPLE , * The gross rate is the interest rate payable before the deduction of tax. ** Interest on cash ISAs is paid tax-free, that is without tax deducted. ^ This interest rate is the actual rate we re paying on the balance in your account on the date stated. Financial Services Compensation Scheme The accounts listed above are eligible for cover under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. You can find out more about the scheme in the enclosed information sheet and exclusions list. For further information about the compensation provided by the FSCS, refer to the FSCS website at 6

7 8. Offset Your Offset savings are linked to your Offset mortgage to reduce the mortgage interest you pay. This is called the Offset benefit. You ll see the Offset benefit on your mortgage statement. 9. Interest Your total interest, between 6 April 2017 and 5 April Remember you only need to pay tax on any interest you earn above your Personal Savings Allowance 1,000 for basic rate tax-payers and 500 for higher rate tax payers. If you re completing a self-assessment tax return, you ll need to use the figure under Interest. For more information contact HMRC, or visit their website: hmrc.gov.uk 10. ISA accounts ISAs appear below the heading Interest because they are tax-free savings accounts and the interest earned does not form part of your Personal Savings Allowance. 12. Inactive ISA An ISA becomes inactive if you haven t paid into it for a whole tax year. It continues to earn interest and you can still make withdrawals. You may still be able to use your account for your current year s ISA allowance if the account terms allow it, but we ll need to re-register it for you. Contact us to find out what your options are. 13. Total Balance of the Accounts The total balance of the account(s) you hold with us, as at 5 April Accounts on which you are a Registered Contact If you re the Registered Contact for any Junior Cash ISAs, these appear under the heading Total Balance of the Accounts. These accounts don t form part of your personal balance because the money is being held on behalf of the child. 11. Flexible ISA If your ISA is flexible, it will show on your statement here. A flexible ISA means that you can take money out of your ISA, and put it back, in the same tax year, without it counting any further towards your annual ISA allowance if you choose to pay the money back in before the end of the same tax year. 7

8 Our General Terms are clear and simple We re delighted to be the first UK bank or building society to have its General Terms approved by Fairer Finance, the independent consumer group. They reviewed them and told us the design is clear and the language we use is simple. This is exactly what we wanted to achieve it s important information so we want it to be straightforward, transparent and easy to understand. And we recently made some more updates and improvements to our General Terms you ll find all the details on the next few pages of this booklet. Going for gold! We ve also been the proud holders of Gold Ribbons from Fairer Finance since they introduced them over two years ago. Fairer Finance ranks providers on trust, complaints, transparency and customer happiness. Recommended by Which? We re delighted to be recognised by Which? as a Recommended Provider for Savings. Which? have also given Coventry Building Society a five star rating for Customer Service, highlighting the great support and service we provide to existing savers. 8

9 Changes to our General Terms Keeping it simple We ve updated our General Terms to make sure the style, design and language are still relevant. There s no financial jargon we ve used plain English throughout and kept it clear and straightforward. We ve changed some of the language we use These changes won t have an impact on your account but you should be aware of them. For example, we re now calling a nominated account a named account. It means exactly the same it s still the bank account you can pay into, from your savings account, but the name has changed. You ll see it on our leaflets and letters from now on. We ve changed the way some accounts are managed The way we keep you informed about payments in and out of your account will change, unless you have a MoneyManager (Coventry First) account. From 1 August 2018, references to statement frequency in the Specific Terms of all savings accounts will be removed. This is a summary of the main changes. For full details, take a look at page 9 of our General Terms: We ve updated the section on Statements and how you check your account. If you don t have a passbook and we currently send you paper statements we ll send you a statement within a month of any money leaving your account (we won t send you more than one statement a month). If you have a passbook this is your record of all payments in and out as long as you keep it updated. If you don t keep it updated, or you choose to amalgamate or group your transactions together, we ll send you a paper statement within a month of any money leaving your account. We won t send you more than one statement a month. If your account is online-only or you ve chosen to go paperless we ll you within a month of any money leaving your account, to let you know that your statement is ready to view and download. You can still ask for a statement at any time. Just pop into a branch or call us and we ll send you one by post. You ll find all of the updated General Terms on our website thecoventry.co.uk/gics or ask for a copy at your local branch. If you opened your account before 13 January 2018, these changes will take effect from 1 August

10 Changes to our Specific Terms We ve made changes to some of our Specific Terms. Below we ve explained these changes, together with the new conditions where appropriate. For a copy of your updated terms and conditions, please phone our Customer Service Centre or call into any branch. Now that we are in the tax year 2018/2019, we ve updated references to the previous tax year in the specific terms to reflect this, for both Privilege Saver and Regular Saver ISA. To reflect the HMRC change to ISA interest for a deceased member for all adult ISA accounts, we ve updated the Specific Terms: If the holder of this ISA died prior to 6 April 2018, interest will be paid tax-free up until the date of their death. From the date of their death until this account is closed, interest will be paid gross (i.e. before the deduction of tax). If the holder of this ISA dies on or after 6 April 2018, interest will be paid tax-free, up until either the completion of the administration of their estate, the date this ISA is closed or on the third anniversary of their death, whichever is the earliest. 10

11 To reflect the updated rules for an Additional Permitted Subscription limit, we ve updated two defined terms contained in the Specific Terms for Additional Allowance ISA: Qualifying ISA means an ISA which your deceased spouse or civil partner held with us as at: i) the date of his or her death (if the date of death was on or before 5/4/18); or ii) the date of his or her death, completion of administration of their estate, closure of their ISA or on the third anniversary of their death, whichever is the earliest (if the date of death was on or after 6/4/18); and Subscription Limit means the amount you are permitted to invest in this Additional Allowance ISA. It is either: i) if the date of death was on or before 5/4/18, the balance, including accrued interest, in your deceased spouse or civil partner s Qualifying ISA(s) held with us as at the date of his or her death; or ii) if the date of death was on or after 6/4/18, the higher of the balance(s), including accrued interest, in your deceased spouse or civil partner s Qualifying ISA(s) held with us: a) as at the date of his or her death; or b) upon completion of administration of the estate, closure of their Qualifying ISA(s) or on the third anniversary of the death, whichever is earliest. Once you have opened the ISA you cannot alter the basis of the chosen subscription limit. 11

12 ISA information and updates Annual Allowances for the tax year 2018/2019 The annual allowance for a junior ISA has increased from 4,128, up to 4,260. There s no change to the total adult ISA allowance, it s still 20,000. Remember, you can split your annual allowance across the different types of ISA (e.g. cash, stocks and shares, innovative finance ISAs and lifetime ISAs). But you re only allowed to pay some/all of your annual allowance into one cash ISA in any one tax year. You can transfer your ISA allowance from one provider to another at any time. If you re thinking about transferring your ISA savings, please get in touch and we ll explain what to do. ISA interest for deceased members When a member has passed away, their ISA begins to earn a gross interest rate which means if the deceased s Personal Savings Allowance is exceeded, there may be a tax liability. However, from 6 April 2018 interest on ISA accounts for those members who died on or after 6 April 2018, will continue to be paid tax-free up until either the completion of the administration of their estate, the date their ISA is closed or on the third anniversary of their death, whichever is the earliest. Online payment limits For your security, we have maximum daily limits on how much you can transfer using Online Services. The current limits are as follows: To your named account 50,000 To another Coventry Building Society account in your name unlimited To another bank or building society (not your named account) 10,000 From time to time we may change these limits. So if you want to find out details of our current limits, simply visit thecoventry.co.uk, log into Online Services then go to: Help, Payments & Transfers and select the question What is the maximum you can transfer online? 12

13 Security reminder If you lose your debit or cash card, or you think somebody has access to any of your security details without your permission, you must let us know as soon as possible. If you don t, you may be liable for any money taken out of your account which you did not agree to. call us on or if you re phoning from abroad contact any branch visit thecoventry.co.uk/security 13

14 Keeping in touch Being open with you really matters to us. We think it s important to let you know when we develop new mortgage or savings products and services that might benefit you, or when we have news we think you should be aware of. But don t worry, we won t bombard you with information. We ll only contact you by or post (no intrusive phone calls!), and you won t hear from us more than twice a month. We ll never pass your details to third parties to try to sell you anything. And if you ever change your mind, just call, or pop in and see us. For more information, visit thecoventry.co.uk/privacy It s important that we have the right contact details for you. So if you move home, change your address or phone number, please let us know. Alternatively, if you have access to Online Services you can log on and change your personal details yourself. Come and join our Members Panel We re looking for Coventry Building Society members to come and join our Members Panel. We currently have nearly 3,000 members who we talk to on a regular basis. We ask them to let us know their views on a wide range of topics. All our research is carried out online, so you can do it at a time that suits you, whenever you re free, and from the comfort of your own home. You can give as much or as little time as you re able. If you don t feel you want to take part in a particular research session, that s fine, you just don t need to respond. If at some point you decide you no longer want to take part at all, just contact us and we ll take your name off the panel list. Our members blogs are an excellent way of chatting to other like-minded members and sharing opinions, good or bad! We also have a free prize draw every month where you have the chance to win 200, just for taking part in an activity or research session. Terms and conditions apply. Joining is simple. Go to There s a short questionnaire for you to fill in, so that we can find out a little more about you. At the end of the survey you ll then go to the Members Panel to set up your account. If you d like to know more contact our Customer Service Centre, or call into any branch our staff will be happy to help. The panel is jointly managed by Coventry Building Society and FlexMR. FlexMR is an independent research company which comprises with the Data Protection Act and is a member of the Market Research Society. As such, they will treat the information you give with the strictest of confidence it will not be used to sell or market products to you. 14

15 Simplifying our savings accounts Keeping things simple is important to us, and so over the last few years we ve been streamlining our savings accounts. It s an ongoing process, and you can see what changes we re making in the tables on the next few pages. For example, we re making our Specific Terms clearer we re deleting anything that s duplicated in our General Terms, or that no longer applies. Some of our older accounts were very similar the only real difference was their name. So now we ve made them one account and in some cases removed restrictions, such as how often you can take money out. Here are two examples of the changes we re making: Our Family Saver account will be more flexible You won t have to pay in Child Benefit or a standing order each month. We re limiting two of our accounts Our Easy Access (Post) can no longer be used for business purposes and we ve reduced the maximum balance on our Postal Account. If you feel that any of these changes could have a detrimental effect on the way you use your account, then of course you have the right to close it before they take effect. And if you d like a copy of your new Specific Terms, or you have a question, just call us or pop into any branch. We ll be happy to help. Phone our Customer Service Centre on , or call into any branch or agency 15

16 Simplifying our savings accounts Existing account New account What s changing Effective date Easy Access (Post) You ll be able to operate your account by phone and online. You ll be able to pay in cash and cheques at a branch. If you have a passbook as a record of your savings, you ll be able to take money out by electronic transfer to pay any 3rd party, or by internal transfer to another account with us. If you have a statement as a record of your savings, you ll be able to transfer money to your named bank/building society account or by internal transfer to another account with us. This account can t be used for business purposes. Your account name will stay the same. Postal Saver You ll have unlimited withdrawals (currently 12 per year). Postal Account Easy Access (Post) You ll be able to operate your account by phone and online. You ll be able to pay in cash and cheques at a branch for any amount and set up an electronic payment from another bank/building society into your account. There ll be no restriction on how much money you can take out (minimum is currently 100). You ll be able to set up an internal transfer to another account with us, or an electronic transfer to your named bank/building society account. If your interest is paid annually, your payment date will change from 1 April to the end of 31 March. If your interest is paid monthly, your payment date will change from the first day of the month to the end of the last day of the month. The maximum amount you ll be able to save in this account will reduce from 500,000 to 250,000. If your balance is currently over 250,000 you won t have to reduce it. 14 August

17 Existing account New account What s changing Effective date You ll have unlimited withdrawals (currently 12 per year). Poppy Save Poppy Save 14 August 2018 Your account name will stay the same. Easy Access (Online) Your account name will stay the same. No changes to the way your account operates. Online Saver You ll have unlimited withdrawals (currently 12 per year). Family Saver Easy Access (Online) You ll no longer have to pay in your Child Benefit into the account or set up a standing order for the same amount. You ll be able to pay in cash and cheques at a branch. 14 August 2018 Poppy Online Saver Poppy Online Saver You ll have unlimited withdrawals (currently 12 per year). Your account name will stay the same. 14 August 2018 Access Account Easy Access Account Easy Access Account If your interest is paid annually, your payment date will change from 1 November to the end of 31 October. If your interest is paid monthly, your payment date will change from the first day of the month to the end of the last day of the month. Your account name will stay the same. If your interest is paid annually on 1 April, your payment date will change to the end of 31 October. If you have your interest paid monthly at the end of the first day of the month, your payment date will change to the end of the last day of the month. 17 August

18 Simplifying our savings accounts (continued) Existing account New account What s changing Effective date Easy Access Saver Your account name will stay the same. No changes to the way your account operates. Easy Access Saver (2) Easy Access Saver (3) Easy Access Saver No changes to the way your account operates. 21 August 2018 Moneybox for Bath Rugby Club (2) Moneybox for Forest Green Rovers FC (2) Junior Supporters Account (2) No changes to the way your account operates. 24 August 2018 Moneybox for PTA (2) 30 Day Notice If your interest is paid annually, your payment date will change from 1 April to the end of 31 March. If you have your interest paid monthly, your payment date will change from the first day of the month to the end of the last day of the month. Your account name will stay the same. 30 Day Notice (Online) 30 Day Notice You ll be able to operate your account and provide notice by post, phone as well as online. If you would like to operate your account in a branch, you can ask us for a passbook. You ll be able to withdraw by cheque by post and if you have a passbook, you can withdraw by cash and cheque at a branch. 24 August

19 Existing account New account What s changing Effective date Instant Access (Online) You ll be able to operate your account in branch, by post and phone. To operate your account in a branch, you ll need to use your cash card or you can ask us for a passbook. At a branch you ll be able to take money out by cash and cheque. You ll be able to ask for a cheque by post. If your interest is paid annually, your payment date will change from 31 July to the end of 31 March. Instant Access (Telephone) Instant Access Account Branch withdrawals will be unlimited (currently only one withdrawal per month in branch is allowed). You ll be able to take money out by standing order and set up an electronic payment to another bank/building society account. If your interest is paid annually, your payment date will change from 31 July to the end of 31 March. You ll be able to ask us for a passbook so you can transact in branch and use this as a record of your savings, in addition to your statement. If you operate your account online, you ll need to provide us with a valid address. 21 August 2018 Access Account (Branch) No changes to the way your account operates. 24 August

20 Contact us At a branch For details of our opening hours, visit thecoventry.co.uk Online thecoventry.co.uk By phone By post Economic House, PO Box 9, High Street, Coventry CV1 5QN INVRATES1 03/18 Coventry Building Society is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (firm reference number Our Customer Service Centre is open Monday to Friday 8am-8pm, Saturday 9am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm. Calls to 0800 numbers are free when made from the UK. You may be charged for calls to all other numbers, please contact your service provider for further details. We may monitor, record, store and use telephone calls to help improve our service and as a record of our conversation. Information correct at time of going to print (21 March 2018). Coventry Building Society. Principal Office: Economic House, PO Box 9, High Street, Coventry CV1 5QN.