Halifax update on interest rates cut for savings account
Halifax has alerted customers about a key letter going out to savers about a change to their accounts. A confused customer reached out to the bank after receiving a notification in the banking app about a letter they had been sent.
The letter made referred to their bonus saver scheme "ending soon", and also had some information about an instant saver account. To clear up the confusion, Halifax said in response: "After 12 months the account changes to an instant saver."
The Bonus Saver offers a 3.05 percent interest rate across a 12-month term. This rate applies provided you make no more than three withdrawals during the 12-month span. Making four or more withdrawals results in the interest rate plummeting to 0.95%.
The interest for this account is paid monthly, on the same day the account was opened. To open the account, you only have to deposit £1 and you can put in up to £9 million.
Nevertheless, once you reach the end of the 12 months, the account becomes an instant saver, offering a significantly lower interest rate of just 1.35%, meaning a reduction in your interest rate of 1.7%.
Moreover, those with a Bonus Saver should be aware that the interest rate is variable, so Halifax can change it at any point. The Halifax website provides this guidance: "We'll always let you know of any planned changes to the rate.
"Our account conditions explain when and how we do this. For example, we might change it if it costs us more to run this account for you." The account can be managed online, through the app, in branch or over the phone.
If you open the account and decide later on you don't want it, you can cancel the account free of charge within 30 days of opening. Halifax customers with an easy access savings account have the option to renew it into a bonus saver without needing to open a new account.
In other savings news, customers with Nationwide Building Society may want to note they have just days left to take advantage of a £200 switch offer. Existing members can get the bonus cash when switching from non-Nationwide account to a new or existing FlexPlus, FlexDirect or FlexAccount account.
The offer is available until Thursday, July 10. You can check if you qualify using the checker tool on the Nationwide website.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
9 hours ago
- Reuters
Exclusive: Agnellis in talks over Iveco sale, Tata Motors has made approach, sources say
MILAN, July 18 (Reuters) - Italy's Agnelli family is in talks over the possible sale of truck maker Iveco ( opens new tab, three sources told Reuters, with two mentioning Tata Motors ( opens new tab as a potential buyer. India's Tata Motors has approached Exor ( opens new tab, the Agnellis' investment company, over its controlling stake in Iveco Group, two of the sources said. A sale would not include Iveco's IDV defence business. Exor and Iveco declined to comment. Tata Motors did not reply to a request for comment. Shares in Iveco jumped as much as 9.7% on the Milan bourse following the news published by Reuters. The stock ended trading up 8.3% on Friday. Italian trade unions also reacted to the Reuters report, asking Industry Minister Adolfo Urso to be summoned to discuss the company's prospects. Iveco said in May it would press ahead with plans to either spin off its defence business by the end of 2025 or sell it, having already received offers from potential buyers. A third source said that, as the separation process of the defence unit was progressing, Exor had started talks with more than one non-European counterpart over a possible sale. The talks over the sale of Iveco and Tata Motors' approach have not been reported before. Exor owns a 27.1% stake in Iveco, with 43.1% of voting rights in the Turin-based truck maker. Iveco, which also makes buses and engines, has a market capitalisation of around 4.2 billion euros ($4.9 billion). It is the smallest among Europe's leading truck makers - a market led by Volvo ( opens new tab, Daimler ( opens new tab and Traton ( opens new tab - and has often been seen as a potential M&A candidate by investors and analysts. However, its presence in the sensitive business of defence has so far complicated any possible deal and restricted the pool of potential buyers. The Italian government in 2021 blocked an offer for Iveco from Chinese rival FAW. Iveco was at that time part of the Agnelli-controlled industrial conglomerate CNH (CNH.N), opens new tab. It was spun off and separately listed at the beginning of 2022. Iveco has received three offers for its defence business, according to two sources: a joint one from Italian defence company Leonardo ( opens new tab and Germany's Rheinmetall ( opens new tab, and two others from Franco-German tank maker KNDS and arms company Czechoslovak Group. These offers value IDV at up to 1.9 billion euros, according to Bloomberg. Iveco employs around 36,000 people, including 14,000 in Italy. Any M&A transaction involving Iveco is expected to fall under Rome's 'golden power' legislation, allowing it to set conditions on deals affecting companies deemed of national strategic interest. ($1 = 0.8590 euros)
Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Telegraph
Nationwide's self-righteousness has been exposed as a sham
Who said banking was boring? One glance at Nationwide's website and you might wonder if you were in the company of some crusading NGO on the cusp of saving the planet. 'We are not a bank, built to make money for shareholders. We are … a mutual, owned by and run for the benefit of our members', it proudly states. 'There's no one else quite like us.' It surely doesn't need pointing out that if you're going to join the sanctimonious crowd and act like a paragon of virtue then you definitely need to walk the walk. Yet Nationwide is rapidly turning into a world-beater in hollow soundbites. The Nationwide model is a simple one. The concept of democracy is absolutely core to mutual status – when it comes to major strategic moves or matters of genuine consequence, its 16 million members are supposed to have a say. Without that, it instantly loses its USP and becomes just another self-interested organisation out to make a quick profit at all costs. Unfortunately, Nationwide's members are quickly learning that despite management endlessly shouting about its principled ways, this supposedly ethical approach appears increasingly to be built on flimsy foundations. The latest example of Nationwide's readiness to ride roughshod over the will of its members comes in the form of what should have been a fairly routine board re-election vote at its annual general meeting. But it is in danger of spiralling into another embarrassing storm for the organisation. Members – not unfairly – point out that of the 13 board members up for re-election, none of them have been nominated by them. They are also concerned that there aren't enough directors with the experience of running a mutual. On the face of it, it is hardly a scandal to rival Watergate, but because the situation has been so poorly handled, Nationwide risks coming out of it terribly. It is also fundamental to what the mutual insists it stands for, so while it may seem largely inconsequential, it is another test of its claims to operate ethically. In keeping with Nationwide's democratic values, members can put forward candidates if they obtain 250 endorsements. But one customer, James Sherwin-Smith, claims his nomination was blocked despite receiving 600 signatories. Nationwide disputes this - the number of valid nominations received fell 'substantially short of the threshold', it says. But the word 'valid' sticks out like a sore thumb in that sentence. In the interests of full transparency, it needs to explain how many votes were invalidated and why, otherwise this whole farrago smacks of an organisation that continues to obfuscate whenever the threat of real scrutiny presents itself. With all 13 directors up for re-election and not a single one of them nominated by members, one empathises entirely when Sherwin-Smith says: 'It's unclear to members where the representation for us is. It feels to us that the board is doing what the board wants, not what the members want.' If a row over the re-election of directors was its only misdemeanour, Nationwide would be entitled to feel hard done by perhaps. Yet such episodes are starting to become the norm rather than the exception to the extent that it is beginning to look like it is not being run for the benefit of members. This, after all, is a board currently trying to see off an entirely justified backlash over a bumper £7m pay award for chief executive Debbie Crosbie that wouldn't look out of place at some of the big investment banks. It's certainly not out of kilter with what the bosses of Britain's high street banks get paid. However, as one bank chief privately points out, running a building society that essentially provides mortgages, current accounts and not much else, isn't nearly as complex as running a publicly listed financial institution with an investment banking arm or overseas operations. So why is Crosbie being paid like she is? It is way more than her building society peers earn. Susan Allen, chief executive at Yorkshire Building Society, receives around £1.6m a year, while Steve Hughes, the boss of Coventry Building Society, took home £1.2m last year. A big part of the reason is Nationwide's takeover of Virgin Money last year. According to senior independent director Tracey Graham, the deal 'significantly increased the size and scope' of the business, bringing 'additional operational complexity and demands of executive roles'. Yet that somewhat conveniently overlooks the fact that there was serious opposition both from Virgin shareholders who complained they were the subject of a low-ball offer, and Nationwide members after they were denied a vote on the tie-up. Instead of doing the courageous thing and putting it to a ballot, the two sides hid behind merger rules and archaic legislation they insisted prevented any such move. Members were essentially being asked to take Crosbie and her team on their word. However, this was a regime whose credibility had suffered a serious knock when a Nationwide TV ad claiming it wasn't closing branches was banned on the grounds it was misleading. With Nationwide boasting, 'you have a voice we want to hear', members are entitled to ask whether that only applies when it suits those at the top.
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Dollar Tree shopper reveals secret price hike signal
By A shopper has revealed the secret way to tell if prices at Dollar Tree have been hiked — look for a small red sticker. Brittanie Pyper, who posts as SimplisticallyLiving on social media, recently noticed that items at her local Dollar Tree were creeping up in price. She then did some snooping around her local store and discovered how shoppers can spot if items have seen a price rise. She spotted red dots on artificial flowers that had jumped to $1.75 from their previous $1.50. The same sticker showed up on storage bins, cleaning supplies, and bathroom essentials, all now priced at $1.50 instead of $1.25. Pyper even found a store cart stacked with red-dot stickers and signs warning that $1.50 toys were about to rise another 25 cents. Her findings come as shoppers reacted with fury to Dollar Tree's broader plans to raise prices. CEO Rick Dreiling has confirmed that the discount chain will lift its price ceiling to $7 at more than 16,000 stores nationwide, a move he says has boosted sales and attracted more affluent customers. Dollar Tree has long struggled with rising costs, which have forced bosses to raise prices. The chain first raised its iconic $1 baseline to $1.25 in 2022, calling the move necessary to 'materially expand its offerings, introduce new products and sizes, and provide families with more of their daily essentials.' In April this year, it emerged that some locations had begun selling products with starting prices at $1.50. Stores have also been adding $3 and $5 items as part of the Dollar Tree Plus concept. The price rises sparked outrage on social media, with threats of boycotts from longtime fans But the price hikes haven't slowed business. Dollar Tree reported an 11.3 percent jump in first-quarter sales, crediting the changes with helping it compete more aggressively with Walmart by offering upgraded seasonal and everyday goods. Dollar Tree has also declared war on Walmart by offering high-quality summer essentials . Meanwhile, Dollar Tree has been reshaping its store portfolio. Its $ 8.5 billion purchase of Family Dollar once looked like a win, but that chain has struggled with declining sales and customer dissatisfaction. Earlier this year, Dollar Tree announced plans to close 600 underperforming Family Dollar stores.
