My auntie couldn't have children of her own, at 35 she was diagnosed with Hodgekin's Lymphoma. My mum always said if my auntie wanted to she would provide eggs for my auntie to have children. But years of chemotherapy left her weak and there came an appropriate time so when I was born I was named after her; maybe because of this or maybe because she was the loveliest person I ever met she opened a trust fund for me. When I was twelve years old my auntie passed away, a mere fifteen years after her diagnosis. Her husband decided to remove the money from the trust fund, double it and share it between me and all my cousins.
This is where there was a slight problem; another uncle, who had three children, took it upon himself to set us each up a trust fund for this money, with himself as the trustee. This caused a year of family fighting and feuding, which ended in an agreement that the parents of the children would be the trustees for the account but the accounts were to be set up at the Harpenden Building Society, only a few hundred miles from our place and about two from my uncle's.
Now, I can't comment on opening my original account but when I became eighteen I had to convert my account to from a 18 Club Account to a 21 Club Account. The procedure was very simple. I received a letter from the building society listing my options i.e. converting my account to a 21 Club which gives you the option of continued 5% interest, which the 18 Club Account offers, but with the advantage of the possibility to make up to three withdrawals a year; or I could close the account and receive the money straight away. I decided to convert my account, all I had to do was fill in a simple form an return it with the passbook of my previous account. The building society returned the old passbook to me with cancelled stamped on the pages and issued a new one for the new account.
I never worried about my account, either one. I never added or withdrew money until I closed the account but I received a sealed statement of interest every year. I was always amazed by the amount of interest I was receiving but with the 18 Club Account no tax is charged on your interest, but tax is charged with the 21 Club Account. I also regularly received letters with updates of the interest and tax rates.
When I decided to close my account I wasn't sure how it would work being so far from the branches. So, I called the head office to ask. Although the phone did seem to ring for quite some time there was no annoying messages, putting you on hold or hours of automated options. When I got through to a member of staff he was very helpful, polite and friendly enough to be able to ask the necessary questions, All I needed to ask was how do close my account? He offered to give me the address and explained that in order to close the account all I needed to do was write a letter, sign it and send it to them accompanied by my passbook.
I was amazed by the speed of their correspondence. I posted my letter on Wednesday and on Saturday I received my passbook with cancelled stamped on it, a compliment slip and a cheque for the full balance f the account. I paid this into my bank and within a week of posting my letter I had the money cleared in my account.
The details of my account My 18 Club Account was opened with £2250, interest is paid every six months. After 5 months I received £41.79 After 11 months I received £52.57 After 17 months I received £52.96 After 23 months I received £51.98 After 28 months I received £56.64 Six months later my gran passed away and another £1000 was added to my account Then I received £67.98 6 months later I received £91.27 12 months later I received £95.15 13 months later I received £16.45 and my account was changed to a 21 Club Account with an opening balance of £3776.13 After 11 months I received £173.44 I closed my account 6 weeks later and received £26.80 The closing balance was £3976.97
Harpenden Building Society offer the following savings accounts The Escalator Account - Instant access - No penalties for withdrawals - Variable interest rates - Interest paid annually in December
The Freestyle Account - One year variable bond - Withdrawals during the year are subject to 90 lost interest - Interest paid on maturity of the bond
Hertfordshares/Bedfodshares - Withdrawals may be made without notice if remaining balance will be over £10,000, otherwise 30 days notice will be required - Variable interest - Interest paid every six months
18 Club - Variable interest - No withdrawals until account holder turns 18
21 Club - Variable interest - 3 withdrawals a year without losing interest - Ideal for those aged 18 - 21
Simple ISA - Withdrawals can be made without loss of interest or notice - Maximum investment £3,000 a year - Tax free interest
Tessa ISA - Only available to existing customers - Notice or loss of interest of 28 days - Variable tax-free interest
The Harpenden Building Society also offer mortgages but I have idea about these especially as I don't have a mortgage, but there is a lot of information on these on the Building Society's website http://www.harpendenbs.co.uk/mortgages/mortgage_fset.html
In summation, I think that in the five years I have held this account I have never had a problem. I have found their interest rates very competitive, their customer service very polite and helpful and their correspondence useful, regular and not too overwhelming. If you are thinking of saving money and live near Harpenden or even if you don't open an account with them, you won't be disappointed.
