Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Competitive Rates |
| Disadvantages: |
Only A Few Branches |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
When I decided to open a savings account I had a good look around at the various options available and eventually settled for an account at the Barnsley Building Society. There were various factors why I chose to open an account with a rather small, and relatively unknown Building Society, which I will detail during the course of this review. First however I will begin with a little bit of background information first.
THE HISTORY
The Barnsley Building Society has a long history. In fact it was established way back in 1853 as the Barnsley Permanent Benefit Building Society.
The initial aim of the company was to enable local people to buy their own residences or other freehold or leasehold property. The Barnsley Permanent Benefit Building Society became incorporated under the Building Society Act of 1874, but at this time the only premises were above a Grocer's Shop in Barnsley Town Centre.
In 1938 the Society moved to its current premises, a purpose built building called Permanent House in 1938. This was built at a cost of £50,000 and it is still the location of the Society's head offices today.
After the Second World War the Society changed its name to the Barnsley Building Society and spread outwards from its central roots, opening branches throughout South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and North-East Derbyshire.
WHAT THEY OFFER
The services offered by the Barnsley Building Society fall broadly into three main categories. These are as below:
Savings and Investments
Mortgages and Loans
Other Financial Services
Savings and Investments - There are many different accounts available to suit different needs. Within the General Accounts the following accounts are currently available
Instant Access Accounts
High Interest Earning Accounts
ISA Accounts
Monthly Savings Accounts
Age Specific Accounts
Mortgages and Loans - There are many different Mortgages and Loans available including both fixed and variable rate Loans. The Barnsley Building Society also places a strong emphasis on trying to assist first time buyers with a range of specific Mortgages to assist people buying their first home, these include 110% Mortgage Loans and 30 year repayment periods.
Other Financial Services - These include Insurances of all kinds, including Home and Car. Foreign Exchange facilities and Credit Cards.
MY ACCOUNT
I decided to open a Falcon Flexi-Save Savings Account. The process was relatively straight forward and only took a few minutes. There was a form to fill in and sign and then I needed to show some proof of identify. I used my Passport and two utility Bills, which need to be less than three months old.
I chose the Falcon Flexi-Save account because it really is a truly flexible account. It has been designed to allow for regular savings but you can make the choice of when and how much you wish to deposit. The minimum amount that the account can be opened with is £20 and the maximum amount is £50,000. You are not restricted to investing the same amount each month but you can only make twelve deposits in a year, although you do not have to. You are however allowed to only make three withdrawals a year, without incurring penalties.
The amount of each deposit has to be between £20 and £500. I opened my account with a lump sum of £500 and intend to invest £50 each month. I have set up a direct debit to do this but this can be cancelled or adjusted at any time.
The current rate of interest paid on this account is 3.15%. All interest is added to your account on the 31st December each year.
WHY I CHOSE THE BARNSLEY BS
The main reasons that I chose to open my account with the Barnsley Building Society was that first and foremost their Flexi-Save Account seemed to meet all of my needs and it also had a very competitive rate of interest.
I also chose to open my account with the Barnsley Building Society because they are a small and local Society and it did feel that somehow I was helping to support my local community. There is only one branch of this Building Society in Sheffield where I live which I actually consider to be a positive thing since this means that I can not get access to my savings easily and therefore the temptation to withdraw my money from any High Street Cash Machine whilst I am out in Town on a Saturday Night is not there.
Finally the Barnsley Building Society is one of the few Societies left in the UK where you do not have to sign away your rights to any "windfall" shares in the event of there being a takeover or merger, or if the Society ever went down the route of becoming a fully fledged Public Limited Company.
OTHER INFORMATION
There are currently only nine branches of the Barnsley Building Society located in Barnsley, Chesterfield, Cudworth, Doncaster, Mexborough, Rotherham, Sheffield, Wakefield and Wombwell.
These branches are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturdays 9am until Midday.
The Barnsley Building Society does not offer Postal Accounts or Online Banking and therefire you need to live within the catchment area of a branch to be elegible to open an Account.
The Head office is located at the address below:
Barnsley Building Society,
Permanent House,
Regent Street,
Barnsley ,
South Yorkshire,
S70 2EH
Tel: (01226) 733999
Thank you for reading.
