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Important Information
Important information about compensation arrangements
What happens if you change your mind?
This information is an overview of the Bank of Scotland savings account range. Each account has its own detailed conditions and you should be given a copy of these during the application process. If you open an account over the phone, the conditions will be sent to you before the application process is complete and you can operate the account. You can also ask for a copy of the conditions applying to your account at any time. The conditions explain how we can change them and the interest rates and charges for the account concerned. Click for further details on charges for certain services.
If you have any queries about Bank of Scotland savings accounts, please contact your local branch - our staff will be happy to help.
These pages are for people who are resident and ordinarily resident in the UK and should not be regarded as an offer or invitation to sell savings and investment products outside the UK. If you are a British expatriate living or working abroad, a non-British national living abroad or a foreign national living, working or studying temporarily in the UK you can save with the Bank of Scotland, provided you live in the UK or any jurisdiction that allows you to save with a UK financial company. You should take your own professional advice before opening an account.
We may monitor telephone calls to help us improve our level of service. We may record telephone calls to resolve any enquiries or complaints. Calls to be charged at local rate. If you are calling us from a mobile phone, rates will vary depending on your network provider.
Bank of Scotland is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Our FSA register number is 169628. You can check the FSA register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234. All the information provided here and in our leaflets, and the Deposit Account conditions, are in English which is the language in which we will communicate with you. English law applies to our relationship with you. Details can be viewed on www.fsa.gov.uk.
We believe this site tells you what you need to know to make an informed decision about taking out one of our products.
If you'd like more general information, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the financial services watchdog, provides a range of free consumer booklets and fact sheets and a Consumer Helpline.
Visit the FSA website or call 08456 06 12 34.
View the latest FSA's Moneymadeclear guides
The FSA have a wealth of helpful information on a wide range of financial areas. However, they can only provide general information and cannot give specific advice or recommend any company's products, investigate individual complaints or contact firms on behalf of individuals.
This website contains links to sites operated by persons outside our group of companies. We are not responsible for the privacy principles, content or the products and services provided through these sites.
If you are a non-UK resident and wish to find out about the savings products that may be available to you, please call the International Banking team on 0800 876 6555 (or +44 207 451 6212 if calling from abroad). Lines are open Mon-Fri 8am - 6pm and Sat 9:30am - 1.30pm UK local time.
Important information about compensation arrangements
We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS can pay compensation to depositors if a bank is unable to meet its financial obligations. Most depositors - including most individuals and small businesses - are covered by the scheme.
In respect of deposits, an eligible depositor is entitled to claim up to £85,000. For joint accounts each account holder is treated as having a claim in respect of their share so, for a joint account held by two eligible depositors, the maximum amount that could be claimed would be £85,000 each (making a total of £170,000). The £85,000 limit relates to the combined amount in all the eligible depositor's accounts with the bank including their share of any joint account, and not to each separate account.
For further information about the scheme (including the amounts covered and eligibility to claim) please ask at your local branch, refer to the FSCS website www.fscs.org.uk or call 0207 892 7300 or 0800 678 1100.
Deposits with us are held with Bank of Scotland plc. Accounts with Bank of Scotland plc include accounts with its divisions and trading names: Halifax, Intelligent Finance (IF), Birmingham Midshires (BM Savings), Bank of Scotland, Bank of Scotland Private Banking, Bank of Scotland Germany, Bank of Scotland The Netherlands, Bank of Scotland Treasury, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets, Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets and St. James’s Place Bank. Some savings accounts under the AA Savings, Saga and Charities Aid Foundation brand names are also deposits with Bank of Scotland plc. An eligible depositor’s £85,000 limit relates to the combined amount in accounts under all of these names. If you are unsure whether your account is held with Bank of Scotland plc please check your account literature. More information.
Interest will either be paid net or gross. If it is paid net (with income tax taken off - currently at 20%), you may claim income tax back from HM Revenue & Customs if the amount we've taken off is more than you have to pay. Interest will only be paid gross (without income tax taken off - currently at 20%) if you are registered with us as a non-taxpayer. A separate registration is required for each account you hold. Certain categories of investors, such as limited companies, charities or clubs who are able to provide documentary evidence which can reasonably be taken to support that they fall into these categories may also receive gross interest. The evidence might be the certificate of incorporation for a company or the registered number for a charity.' Tax-free' means free of income tax. Please remember that the favourable tax treatment for ISAs may change in the future. If you are a higher rate taxpayer, additional income tax is due on the interest we pay.
AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and illustrates what the interest would be if interest was paid and compounded each year. On accounts where interest is paid quarterly, this will be slightly higher than the quoted gross rate because of the compound interest earned on the interest paid during the year. As every advertisement for a savings account shows the AER you can easily compare what return you can expect from your savings over time. The gross rate is the contractual rate of interest payable before the deduction of income tax at the rate specified by law. Net is the amount of interest which would be payable after allowing for the deduction of tax at the rate specified by law (currently 20%).
Accounts opened after 10th of September 2011 pay interest on all balances above £1 unless otherwise stated in the product terms. For example the Fixed Rate Bond pays no interest on balances under £2,000.
For accounts opened before 10th of September 2011 balances below £50 receive no interest (unless you appear in our records as being under 21, in which case we will pay you interest at the special rate for young savers). This does not include Bank of Scotland Monthly Saver, Bank of Scotland Access Saver, Bank of Scotland Internet Saver, Halifax Web Saver Reward, ISA Saver Direct, ISA Direct Reward, Halifax Monthly Saver, Halifax ISA Saver, save4it, Halifax Guaranteed Saver, Halifax Guaranteed Saver Reward, Halifax Web Saver or Bank of Scotland Instant Access Savings Account.
Telephone calls may be recorded for security purposes and monitored under our quality control procedures. Calls from BT landlines to 0800 are free. The price of calls through other phone companies and from mobile phones will be different. This information was correct in March 2010.
A special rate of interest is available on Bank of Scotland Young Saver, Halifax Instant Saver, Halifax Saver Reward, Halifax Monthly Saver, Halifax Liquid Gold, Halifax 60 Day Gold and Halifax Bonus Gold accounts if you appear in our records as being under 21. Interest is paid at the special rate or at the tiered rate of interest (whichever is the higher) on any balances of £1 or more on these accounts.
We aim to please - but we know that sometimes things go wrong. If you have a problem or complaint we want to know. In most cases this can be dealt with at your branch or by calling us on 08457 26 36 46.
If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, then ring our Customer Complaints Helpline on 08457 25 35 19. A copy of our complaints procedure is available on request. Complaints we cannot settle may be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
What happens if you change your mind?
Cancellation under the Financial Services (Distance Marketing) Regulations 2004.
You have 14 days starting from the day after your savings account agreement is concluded to give us written notice that you wish to cancel (unless you have opened a Fixed Rate Bond where no cancellation period applies). Notice should be given in writing to: Bank of Scotland plc, PO Box 548, Leeds LS1 1WU. (You must repay any monies owed and return any card(s).) If you do not exercise your right to cancel you may still close your account as set out in your account conditions. Whenever you cancel, we will repay any credit balance outstanding. There is no charge for cancellation under these regulations and we will pay interest on the account for the time your money was with us.