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After some basic research, I found Alliance & Leicester’s ‘First Save’ instant access savings account for children came out tops in terms of interest rates earned (currently over 4 percent Gross) and flexibility in operation. There were also a couple of other banks and building society ... Read review
Advantages: instant access, good interest rates, open from £1 Disadvantages: some customer advisors not the most helpful or knowledgeable
...some basic research, I found Alliance & Leicester’s ‘First Save’ instant access savings account for children came out tops in terms of interest rates earned (currently over 4 percent Gross) and flexibility in operation. There were also a couple of other banks and building society accounts that I considered such as Nationwide Building Society’s Smart 2 Save (currently 4.00% gross), some Halifax accounts (though they required regular monthly payments) ... ...higher than 4% apart from Alliance & Leicester was at some of the more rural Building societies. However, rural building societies often have their own built in clauses with the account meaning only local residents can open such accounts e.g. Saffron Building Society (currently 4.7% gross). Therefore, the best choice of account available to me was the Alliance & Leicester First Save account.
Opening the account (Child’s)
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Children. Yes, they’re expensive. So, its natural you want the best for them and try to find the best way to save for their future. Whether you’ve recently had a baby or want to start a simple savings account for your child its never too late or too early to start. It’s quite a minefield out there with the number of adverts inviting you to start some sort of long term savings plan for your child, often these are bonds or require saving monthly for at least 15 years and then hoping investments mature…which they may or may not in today’s volatile and rather uncertain world of shares and investment plans. Therefore, my aim was to find a straightforward savings account for children with no ties; i.e. instant access, an attractive interest rate and the ultimate flexibility.
After some basic research, I found Alliance & Leicester’s ‘First Save’ instant access savings account for children came out tops in terms of interest rates earned (currently over 4 percent Gross) and flexibility in operation. There were also a couple of other banks and building society accounts that I considered such as Nationwide Building Society’s Smart 2 Save (currently 4.00% gross), some Halifax accounts (though they required regular monthly payments) and Britannia Building Society. The only place I could find an interest rate higher than 4% apart from Alliance & Leicester was at some of the more rural Building societies. However, rural building societies often have their own built in clauses with the account meaning only local residents can open such accounts e.g. Saffron Building Society (currently 4.7% gross). Therefore, the best choice of account available to me was the Alliance & Leicester First Save account.
Opening the account (Child’s)
As the account is for people under 16 only, an adult is required to open it who acts like the trustee. Before actually going to open the account I enquired what was required (this being the first Children’s account I have opened) and was informed by an Alliance &Leicester [A&L] customer advisor just to bring one item from each List A &B as stated in their Application Form, this was to include identification for the child too such as a birth certificate. The next day fully loaded with my identification and the Child’s I went to open the account. I had filled in the application form already and bought 2 original documents of identification so I didn’t expect it to take long. Unfortunately, I arrived at A&L during a lunch hour (as that’s when I’m free) and was firstly told that a) that I would need an appointment to open the account (I was annoyed, especially as I’d visited a day earlier to check everything) and b) that 2 forms of identification would be required for me and baby. I know 2 forms are required when a single adult account is opened but the A&L Application Form was not clear at all –it implies that one should bring one item from each list –which is what I did. I had my driving licence with my address on, and loads of cards etc. I didn’t have my passport or Utility bill. I also had my child’s birth certificate. Anyway, later on I was told my identification would be ok as I’m sure they found me somewhere in the computer database.
So, could I open the account straightaway? No! Why? There were going to issue me with an appointment some 2 hours later. I didn’t have the time and also had stuck my car in a 30 min parking spot so had to tell them to forget it. I was very annoyed and later on in the week visited another smaller A & L branch (where there’s free car parking!) and opened the account with a minimum balance of £1 within a few minutes. I was issued with a passbook immediately. No goodies bag or toys for the Child, which was a bit disappointing, still I guess they have an attractive interest rate.
Ease of opening account: 2/5 (mainly due to negligence and unhelpfulness of busy city centre branch staff)
Ok, hard part over. I think its best to tell you the main features of the account. Firstly, its instant access and you can open the account with as little as £1. It pays one of the highest interest rates around, currently 4.3% gross. As it’s a child account it also means the interest earned is not liable to have tax deducted and you must make sure at the time of application you fill in an Inland Revenue form. Interest is paid once a year around 31 March. You don’t have to make regular monthly payments into it, you can save when and how you like. If you want regularity, you can set up standing orders to pay into the account. There is one thing though this account has a maximum limit of £25,000 so don’t start doing all your tax evading plans through this account guys! Seriously though that’s a lot of cash and the investment limit is very good compared to some children’s savings accounts that may have limits around £5000. With the higher investment limit it means you can really save for your childs future and hopefully as they grow older they can learn to save for themselves.
Features of account: 5/5
Other Issues:-
On day of opening the account, I deposited cash and cheques. I had also received gifts from family in USA and had a cheque in dollars to deposit. When I explained to the Advisor who opened my account I wanted to deposit it and enquired what the charges would be, he had no idea about international charges etc and just told me it’d be at least £15. This was a vague answer; I thought he’s supply me with a tariff sheet if he couldn’t remember such information but no, no help. I often find this lack of knowledge with many savings banks their staff are just not up to date with International bank transfers, foreign exchange etc. As a result, I did not deposit the US dollars cheque into the account.
To summarise;
The GOOD: One of the best interest rates around Flexible saving No notice Instant access
The BAD: Ease of opening account (due to Application Form and some Staff not being precise and clear), Staff not the most helpful, accommodating or knowledgeable in banking affairs or encouraging new customers (though, shouldn’t matter too much its just a simple Savings account –nothing too complicated!)
So, would I recommend Alliance & Leicester to you? As far as a Children’s Savings account is concerned, yes, I would, it really does offer the best savings rates in the country, and even when Bank of England lowered interest rates A&L kept the Children’s savings rate the same. Despite some initial opening problems and delays it still is a good rate and flexible account and its never too early or late to start saving for your Child.
Further details: -
This opinion relates only to Alliance & Leicester Children’s Savings Account (First Save) for further information see www.alliance-leicester.co.uk
Advantages: Friendly local help, internet and phone access to account. Disadvantages: Slow to process cheques.
...eventually we decided on the Alliance and Leicester (A&L). I had made an enquiry about charity accounts earlier that year as well as ISA's and on both occasions they had been very helpful.
We also wanted to change our mortgage so we decided to ask about this as well. We ended up changing both to the A&L. But more about the mortgage for another op. maybe.
The A&L have at least two different current accounts , I think depending on income . When we ... ...year to open Premier Account Plus , so we just qualified . The lady that helped us at the branch was very helpful and sorted out the new mortgage , the current account , a phonesave account which comes with the Premier account and a money back credit card. By the time the mortgage was all sorted out we felt we had become friends .
We had loads of problems when we first opened the account .The old bank supplied the new bank with details of our standing ...
SueLiz 23.12.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Alliance & Leicester Accounts
Advantages: Sign up offers, Post Office banking, Good interest Disadvantages: Offers don't last
...reason for my opening an Alliance and Leicester Premier Direct Current account, which, at the time, was offering a nice and high 8.5% Gross interest on money in the current account but this is limited to the first £2,500 and will only last a year from the date of opening the account. Any amount above £2,500 only earns the usual 0.1% in line with many other banks and the rate will drop to right down to 1% below base rate after one year. They've dropped ... ...offering giving you £100 for switching over to them but with a much lower interest rate and you can potentially get another £50 if you open your account via a cashback site. Despite the £2,500 limit, I thought that was good enough for me as 8.5% of £2,500 earns around £170 a year. To open and to retain this account with the generous in-credit rate, there is a requirement and that is for me to pay in at least £500 a month, which for me isn't a problem. ...
Deru 20.02.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Alliance & Leicester Accounts
Advantages: Good customer service, competitive rates of interest Disadvantages: I'm still pretty much skint
...bank near me were with Alliance Leicester (technically not a bank, but a building society). I’d also been thinking about opening a savings account to stash away some of my Christmas money (I sound so sensible!), and AL had both of these, and the savings account had a really good interest rate (4.40%). I went to my nearest branch, complete with passport and proof of address, and opened both accounts at the same time. I chose the U18 cashcard account, ... ...did play this really annoying Alliance Leicester song over and over until I was ready to throw the phone at the wall. On the positive side, the interest rates are pretty competitive, and the online banking facility is kinda cool (I’m only little, leave me be).
Alliance Leicester do a huge range of different accounts, as well as mortgages, personal loans, credit cards and motor finance. Website: www.Alliance-Leicester.co.uk
Any comments are very ...
peekaboo123 18.02.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Alliance & Leicester Accounts
Advantages: Available online, over the phone or in local branch Disadvantages: Variable delivery for stationery
...street banks, I swopped to Alliance and Leicest Premier Account three years ago,(the premier account does need a minimum £500 monthly payment into the account) I also set up a savings account at the same time. They currently offer £25 on opening an account online, and 2.12% AER credit interest rate plus a 0%AER on overdrawn accounts up to a limit of £2500.
The Premier account gives both a cheque book and 3 in one Visa debit card, with £100 cheque ... ...I would certainly recommend Alliance and Leicester, particularly for someone like myself who works full time, lives miles from the nearest town and needs a bank that is accessible when I need it rather than during normal banking hours. It is accessible to both phone and internet users and visitors to local branches where money can also be paid in and withdrawn. ...
soupdragon10 30.10.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Alliance & Leicester Accounts
Advantages: Good interest rate Disadvantages: No personal banker - many banking services can only be done over the phone/Internet
...opened Premier Current Account with Alliance & Leicester because like many others, I was disappointed with the interest rate with many high street banks. For example, Barclays/HSBC interest rate on the current account is a pathetic 0.1%, whereas A & L Premier Current Account (PCA) is 2.12%AER. Interest is paid on a monthly basis. The only catch is that you must pay a minimum of £500 per month if you wish to continue to receive 2.12%AER. This suited ... ...account. The opening of this account was straightforward. I visited a local branch filled in simple application form. The staff was friendly, helpful and told me that they required to carry out a credit reference check and will inform by phone me of the outcome.
Later that day, I received a call informing me I have passed the credit reference check. A few days later, I received a formal application form which I signed and returned. Soon enough, ...
marko100 20.06.2003 (06.01.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Alliance & Leicester Accounts
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Advantages: high interest and easy access Disadvantages: none
This bank account is one of the best around not only because of the high interest rates involved (6.85% for balances of under £3000 and 7% for balances of over £3000) but also because of the service it provides.
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