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Savings FAQs

To help give you more information and guidance on our Savings accounts, we’ve put together answers to the following Frequently Asked Questions.

How do I open a savings account?

Opening an account is easy and you can do that in any of our branches or by post.

Simply download, print and complete the application form of the account you choose.  Then return your completed form, necessary identification and opening cheque to your preferred branch/agency or post it to Loughborough Building Society, 56 Woodgate, Loughborough, LE11 2TZ. 

Cheques should be made payable in the name of the account holder.

For postal applications we’ll accept photocopy identification documents.

You should also read our General Terms and Conditions and the Financial Service Compensation Scheme Information Sheet.

Does the Loughborough participate in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme?

Yes we do and you can find information about the scheme in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme Information Sheet here.

What identity documents do I need to open a savings account?

We’re required by law to check the identity and address details of all account holders and operators.  To do this we’ll ask you to provide documentation to verify your identity and address.  You can find the information about the types of documents that we need for this purpose in our guide, Proving your identity.

Do I need to fill in a new application form to open a new account if I already have an account with the Loughborough?

Yes, we require a completed and signed application form for each account you open with the Society, even if you’re transferring funds from an existing Loughborough account.

Who can open a new account?

UK residents are able to open an account with us. There are age restrictions on some of our accounts and these are clearly marked in our product information.  

What if I change my mind about my new Loughborough account?

If you decide that your new account isn’t right for you, you can close it within 14 days of the open date without notice or penalty. However, this does not apply to accounts where the interest rate and term are fixed.

If I want to pay a cheque into my account who should I make it payable to?

If you’re making a deposit by cheque, please make it payable to the person named on the savings account, do not make it payable to the Society. 

If I pay a cheque into my account how long do I have to wait before I can withdraw against it?

You’ll be able to withdraw against a cheque after six working days. Saturdays and Sundays don’t count as working days.

I’m a non-taxpayer – can I have my interest without tax being taken off?

Since 6 April 2016, saving interest has been paid without the deduction of tax (Gross). However, you may be liable to pay tax depending on your income, for further details go to www.gov.uk and search Personal Savings Allowance.

Can I transfer my ISA into the Society?

Yes, we are currently accepting Cash ISA transfers from another provider. 

If you wish to transfer part or all of your Cash ISA or your full Cash JISA to The Loughborough from another provider, you’ll need to complete an ISA/JISA application form and an ISA Transfer Authority Form or JISA Transfer Authority Form. We’ll then communicate with your current provider to arrange the transfer.

Can I transfer my ISA out of the Society?

Yes.  To transfer an ISA out of the Society you’ll need to check if the other ISA provider will accept a transfer and complete any forms that are required by them.  Your new ISA provider will then ask The Loughborough to transfer your account.

On receipt of your request, the Society will:

  • Forward a cheque and a Transfer Out form to the new ISA provider.
  • Write to you to confirm that the transfer has taken place
  • Where applicable, update and return the passbook.

The Society will normally only require two working days’ notice to transfer an Instant Access ISA to another provider.

Transferring your account and delegating our responsibilities

If we delegate any of our functions or responsibilities under this agreement to anyone else, we will satisfy ourselves that the person or organisation we delegate to will be competent to carry out those functions and responsibilities.

Are partial ISA transfers allowed?

Yes and you can choose whether to transfer the whole or part of the balance in your ISA account to a new provider. If the transfer relates to subscriptions for the current year then the whole of those subscriptions must be transferred. Funds in an ISA from previous years can be transferred from one ISA manager to another in whole or in part.

I’m moving house, how do I notify you?

You can download, print and complete a Change of Address Form and send it to:

56 Woodgate, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 2TZ

Alternatively, you can contact us on 01509 631960 or email [email protected] and we’ll be happy to send a form to you.

My name has changed, how do I notify you?

You can download, print and complete a Change of Name Form and send it, together with  identification* in your new name and evidence of the name change** to:

 56 Woodgate, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 2TZ

Alternatively, you can contact us on 01509 631960 or email [email protected] and we’ll be happy to send a form to you.

*We’ll require one of the items from List A in our Proving you Identity leaflet

**Marriage Certificate, Decree Absolute or Deed Poll Certificate (as appropriate)

Copies of identification documents will be accepted if they’re certified by a solicitor, banker, authorised financial intermediary, FCA regulated mortgage broker, accountant, teacher, doctor, minister of religion or postmaster/sub C postmaster.  The person undertaking the certification must be available for contact by the Society either by telephone or in writing.  Please ensure that the appropriate contact details are stated on the identification.

When certifying a document, the following wording must be used: “I certify that this is a true copy of the original”.

What do I do if an account holder passes away?

You must inform us of the death of an account holder by providing us with the original or a certified copy of the death certificate. You can either post this to us at:

Loughborough Building Society

56 Woodgate

Loughborough

Leicester

LE11 2TZ

Or hand it to one of the staff at your nearest branch or agency office.

Copies can be certified by a solicitor, banker, authorised financial intermediary, FCA regulated mortgage broker, accountant, teacher, doctor, minister of religion or postmaster/sub C post master.  The person undertaking the certification must be available for contact by the Society either by telephone or in writing.  Please ensure that the appropriate contact details are stated on the identification.

When certifying a document, the following wording must be used: “I certify that this is a true copy of the original”.

Upon notification of this, if the account is a sole account, it is suspended until the necessary Statutory Declaration/Grant of Probate is received. The account is then closed and the funds distributed accordingly.  In the case of joint accounts, the name of the deceased holder is removed from the account and it reverts to being a sole account.

We understand that registering the death of a loved one can be a difficult time and there’s a lot to do. There’s a useful service called Tell Us Once which lets you inform most government departments about the death all at the same time. 

How do I register a Power of Attorney with The Loughborough?

Lasting Power of Attorney or an Enduring Power of Attorney where the donor doesn’t have mental capacity, needs to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before we can register it on an account.  You can find more information about this here. 

Once the Power of Attorney has been set up it can be registered with us to open a new savings account or to start managing an existing one.  We’ll need to see the original Power of Attorney document or a certified copy.  

Photocopy documents can be certified by an appropriate person such as a solicitor, accountant, bank or building society official or other financial services approved person and sufficient information must be provided to enable us to contact that person. We’ll also need identification for the attorney/s.

Visit us in branch or call us on 01509 631960 to discuss your individual needs, we’ll be happy to help.

You may also find this leaflet useful as it provides guidance on managing an account for someone else.

How do I find out what interest rate I’m being paid?

You can view our current and previous saving interest rates online or in any of our branch/agency offices.  Alternatively if you email [email protected] or telephone 01509 631960 we’ll be happy to send you a leaflet.

How will I be informed when interest rates change?

When interest rates change, and the change is a reduction, you’ll be given at least 14 days’ notice of any interest rate changes on your account before they become effective.

Where the change is an increase, we’ll update our website and branch notices.

We’ll also provide a summary of rate changes throughout the year within our Annual General Meeting communication sent to Society members each January.

Our current savings rates are available can be found on our current savings rate leaflet.

If I pay into my account when will I start to earn interest?

When you pay money into your account by cheque, interest is payable from the next working day and cash payments earn interest from the day of receipt. The total balance of your account will continue to earn interest up to and including the day before any funds are withdrawn.

How do I make withdrawals?

You can make withdrawals in person at a branch using your passbook (withdrawals are not permitted without a passbook).

Requests for cheque withdrawals and CHAPs transfers can also be processed in Head Office. Please complete a Withdrawal form and send this with your passbook.

Can I pay money / wages into my account by BACS?

Yes you can. You’ll need to download and complete a standing order form. Alternatively you can request one by emailing [email protected], visiting one of our branch or agency offices or telephone 01509 631960 and we’ll be happy to help.

For wages or credits into your account, please use sort code 30-00-80, account number 01781004 and ensure your Loughborough account number is quoted as the reference.

How much can I withdraw at any one time?

You can withdraw up to £500 in cash per day or £99,999 by cheque per day from any of our branch or agency offices. Larger amounts of cash, up to £2,000, and cheques over £99,999 are available provided you give at least 24 hours’ notice.

The passbook must be produced at the time of the withdrawal and you can’t withdraw against a cheque receipt until 6 working days after the date of deposit.

There is no limit to the amount of funds that can be withdrawn by cheque from Postal accounts.

What do I do if I’ve lost my passbook?

If you lose your passbook, you must contact the Society as soon as possible to inform us and we’ll register your passbook as lost/stolen. A warning will be placed on your account which prevents any withdrawals being made until a lost passbook form has been completed and you’re issued with a new passbook and account number.

Are there any fees and charges on savings accounts?

There are no fees for the general operation of your account however, there are other charges we may make. You can find this information in our Tariff of Charges.

Will I receive an annual statement?

We’ll only send you a statement of account annually if you don’t have a passbook recording the transactions on your savings account. 

What is a Section 975 statement and how do I request one?

A Section 975 statement shows the total interest paid on a savings account during a tax year (6th April to 5th April).  Generally you’ll only need a 975 statement if the interest you earn is more than your Personal Savings Allowance.

To request a 975 statement please call us on 01509 631960 or email [email protected] and we’ll post one to you.

Are all accounts share accounts?

All accounts, other than our Deposit Accounts, are share accounts and so account holders are members of the Society.

Will I be a voting member of the Society?

Members are eligible to vote at our Annual General Meeting if they are the first named on a share account and have more than £100 in the account, or are a first named borrower with more than £100 outstanding.

What is Charitable Assignment?

Charitable Assignment was set up in 2000 and means that for customers who joined the Society since it was introduced, any windfall payment in the event of demutualisation would be paid to the Charities Aid Foundation. Details can be found on Savings application forms.

What is a Personal Savings Allowance?

The introduction of a Personal Savings Allowance means that from 6 April 2016 most people will no longer pay tax on their savings income.

The allowance is £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers and £500 for higher rate taxpayers (there is no allowance for additional rate taxpayers).  Interest from ISAs doesn’t count towards your Personal Savings Allowance because it’s already tax-free.

You can find more information at https://www.gov.uk/apply-tax-free-interest-on-savings

How do I make a complaint?

At the Loughborough we’re committed to providing our members with the best possible service.  However, we recognise that there may be occasions when you feel that we haven’t met your expectations.  Should you wish to make a complaint our guide has all the information you need.

How do I close a Savings account?

If you would like to close your account you can do this by visiting a branch/agency or by post.

  • If you have a passbook we’ll need to see that.
  • If you choose to close your account by post we’ll also need a signed letter from you confirming this.
  • If you haven’t used your account for 3 years we may need to ask you for identification, you can find details of the types of ID we can accept here.

Cash is only available in branch/agency and subject to our daily limit of £500, withdrawals over £500 require 24 hours’ notice. For our members’ security, the maximum amount of cash that can be withdrawn on any one day is £2000.

Cheque withdrawals up to £99,999.99 can be done immediately, for £100,000 and above we’ll need 24 hours’ notice.

You can choose a telegraphic transfer however there is a charge for this option, you can find more details in our Savings Tariff of Charges.

How do I find out if I have an account with the Society?

You can find out if you have an account with The Loughborough or with any other bank or building society by using this free government service www.mylostaccount.org.uk

If you have a question which is not answered in the above FAQ’s or if you require any further information or guidance, please use our online contact form or telephone us on 01509 610707.