Yorkshire BS dumps 66,000 into poor deal

ABOUT 66,000 loyal savers with Yorkshire Building Society will see their rate cut by almost 60 pc in two months’ time.

Members who have saved for years into Regular Saver 1 earn 3.55 pc on their monthly payments. From December 14, the rate tumbles to 1.5 pc, when the society moves them from their existing account into its Single Access Saver Unique Edition.

Members in Regular Saver 2 — which closed to new savers in March 2014 — earning 2.5 pc will see a cut of 1 percentage point as they, too, are shifted over.

In a double whammy, savers will only get this rate for one year — as the account then converts to its Triple Access Saver, which currently pays just 0.6 pc.

Those with £10,000 accumulated in Regular Saver 1, withdrawn from sale in December 2008, will see their interest drop from £355 a year to £150.

Once they are shifted again into Triple Access Saver, they will suffer a further drop to £60.

These top rates on Regular Saver 1 and 2 are paid if you put in between £10 and £500 a month for at least 11 out of 12 months and make no more than one withdrawal. The maximum you can have in the account is £20,000. If you break any of the rules, you only earn 0.05 pc, or 0.5 pc for Regular Saver 2.

A spokesman for Yorkshire BS says: ‘We regularly review our savings accounts to ensure they are competitive and sustainable in the marketplace.’

It is writing to customers giving them the option to transfer to a different account or close it altogether.

Single Access Saver allows customers to withdraw money on one day a year.

But the account only lasts for 12 months. So in December next year, your money will be moved into the Triple Access Saver, which lets you make withdrawals on three days a year.

To carry on saving, you need to look for a better account, rather than putting more money into the new account.

Yorkshire offers a Monthly Saver at 1.75 pc for two years on between £10 and £500 a month and lets you make one withdrawal a year. But the rate is variable, so could change at any time.

Check out what your current account provider offers. First Direct pays 5 pc fixed for a year on savings between £25 and £300 a month to its First current account holders. HSBC has a similar scheme at 5 pc for its Premier and Advance customers, or 3 pc for other current account holders. M&S Bank offers 5 pc if you have switched your current account to it. You can’t get your hands on your money during the 12 months. Open to all is Virgin Money Regular Saver, available online, by post, phone or through its branches, at a fixed 2.25 pc until October 1, 2018. You can save between £1 and £250 a month and have access to your money without penalty at any time. Saffron BS 12month Fixed Rate Regular Saver pays 3.5 pc for 12 months — available through its branches or, if you are already a member of the society, by post — on between £10 and £200 a month. You can access your money at any time.