1. Introduction
1.1 These terms and conditions (referred to as the "Conditions") apply to all investment accounts with the Society, except if they are inconsistent with special conditions for particular accounts (in which case, those special conditions will apply).
1.2 In the Conditions:
"the Society", "we", "us" and "our" refer to Buckinghamshire Building Society; and
"you" and "your" refer to holders of savings accounts.
1.3 If you are a company or other form of corporation, please refer to Condition 22.
2. Membership
2.1 If these Conditions apply to your account you will (except where the account is a deposit account) be a member of the Society and therefore our Rules will apply. However, these Conditions, or any relevant special conditions for a particular account, will override the Rules in case of any inconsistency. A copy of the Rules is available on request, if you haven't already received it, at either of our branches.
2.2 If you have a deposit account, you are not a member of the Society by virtue of that account. You are, however, bound by our Rules.
2.3 Members with less than £100 in their account or under the age of 18 have the right only to receive information on request and do not have voting rights.
2.4 New investing members from 27th April 2000 are subject to the Society's Charitable Assignment Scheme, full details of which are set out in the application form.
3. Opening an account
3.1 We will require evidence of identity and address before an account is opened. If we receive money without evidence of identity that is satisfactory to us, then the money will be returned.
3.2 Once you have opened an account, you have 14 days after the contract is entered into (or, if later, 14 days from the day you first receive, on paper or electronically, these terms and conditions and other information relating to the account) to notify us at our principal office in writing that you want to change your mind. If you notify us within this time, we will help you switch to another of our accounts or (assuming we have received cleared funds) give you back your money together with any interest it has earned. We will ignore any notice period and any extra charges. Please note that this Condition 3.2, and the option to change your mind, do not apply to fixed rate accounts, or to accounts where the price depends on rises and falls in financial markets outside our control that may happen during the cancellation period, or to branch based Child Trust Fund accounts (in other words, not sold at a distance).
4. Account details
4.1 The address that you provide in the application form for the account will be the registered address for you, and will remain the registered address for you until it is changed in our records.
4.2 It is your responsibility to notify us of any change of address. You should also notify us of any change of name and telephone number. All notifications must be in writing.
4.3 You agree to produce evidence of any new name or address, if we ask to see it. You must send or produce your account document to us so that we can note the change of details.
4.4 You agree to provide us with specimen signatures, if we ask for them.
4.5 If you have more than one investment account with us, you must make sure that the registered address we have for you is the same in respect of each account.
4.6 If you lose your account document and at or about the same time you notify us of a change of address, then we will not issue any cheques from the account payable to anyone other than you for a period of 14 days from the date we receive the notification. This is to protect you against possible fraud.
5. Minimum and maximum account balances
5.1. The minimum and maximum amounts that can be held in any particular account are set out in the special conditions for that account.
5.2. We can close the account if the amount in it is below the minimum for that account. We will give you at least 7 days' notice before doing this. During this period, you can pay in more money to bring the balance up to the minimum. See the specific account pages for details.
5.3. The overall maximum holding by any one person in respect of all investment accounts with the Society is £250,000. If the total investment is above the maximum, interest can still be added to the account. Exceptions to this limit may be considered by the Society's Board.
6. Paying money into your account
6.1. Unless special conditions for a particular account specify otherwise, you can generally pay money into your account at any of our branches or by bank transfer or post. However, for security reasons we do not recommend that cash is sent by post. Please see Condition 7.2 regarding when interest becomes payable.
6.2. If money is paid in by bank transfer or by BACS, it is your responsibility to make sure that all the account details are provided correctly.
6.3. For security reasons, we reserve the right to refuse to accept large sums of money in notes or coins.
6.4 You can pay money into your account by standing order (although you will need to set this up direct with your bank). We cannot accept payments by direct debit.
6.5 Cheques made payable to the Society will only be accepted for payment into an account if they contain additional details (such as the name(s) of the account holder(s) or the account number), so that it is clear who the money is intended for.
7. Interest
7.1. We will tell you the interest rate that applies to your account (and when it is paid or credited) when you open it. This information is also available:
on our Interest Rates page
in our Interest Rates leaflet;
by asking our staff at our offices or by telephone; and
by looking at notices in our offices.
7.2. On our accounts we generally:
calculate interest on a sum paid in from the day after the day we receive it, and on any amount withdrawn up to and including the day before the day you make the withdrawal.
give you the choice of having the interest added to the account, paid into another account with us, or paid into your bank account, details of which you have supplied to us on your application form.
However, this may vary depending on the type of account. You should check the special conditions detailed in the specific account page for particular accounts.
7.3. We will give you information regarding your account, as follows:
To help you compare interest rates on our different accounts, we will send you, at least once a year, a summary of these accounts (including accounts no longer available) and their current interest rates, unless your account has less than £500 in it.
We will tell you, at least once a year, about the different rates that have applied to your account during the year and any changes in the Bank of England base rate.
If you have a variable rate account with more than £250 in it, and the interest rate has fallen significantly compared to the Bank of England base rate over the previous 12 months, we will contact you within 30 days after this has occurred to:
tell you that this has happened; and
give you details about how you can switch accounts or withdraw the money in your account.
7.4. Subject to any special conditions that apply to particular accounts e.g. Tracker or fixed rate accounts, we can change interest rates as set out in Conditions 7.5 to 7.7 below.
7.5. We may change interest rates at any time if we reasonably believe that the change is needed for any of the following reasons (which may relate to circumstances existing at the time or those that are expected to apply in the near future):
to reflect changes in the Bank of England base rate or mortgage or interest rates generally (including the interest rates paid on similar accounts by other providers of financial services);
to respond to changes in the law or the decision of a court or ombudsman;
to meet relevant regulatory requirements;
to reflect new (or changes to) statements or codes of practice or industry guidance designed to enhance consumer protection;
to reflect changes to our costs, including administration costs and costs of providing services or facilities.
Any change we make to interest rates will be proportionate to the circumstances giving rise to the change.
7.6. Changes may include the introduction or alteration of "bands" under which:
interest is not paid where the amount in the account is below a certain level; and/or
different rates apply depending on the amount in the account.
Where we make a change under Condition 7.6, then Conditions 18.3, 4, 5 and 7 will apply instead of Condition 7.7.
7.7. When we make these changes, we will tell you about them:
by placing notices in our branches and on our website within three working days of the change
and either
by letter or other personal notice within 30 days of the change
or
in two newspapers within 3 working days of the change.
7.8. If you have a variable rate account with £500 or more in it and the interest rate falls by more than 0.25 per cent on a rate change compared with the Bank of England base rate, we will notify you personally within 30 days after making the change.
This does not apply to:
interest rate tiers applicable to balances below the minimum operating balance for the account (provided we have clearly told you about the minimum balance requirements);
accounts where we have told you that the interest rate payable on them will be fixed or less than 0.5 per cent a year while the balance remains below a certain level; or
fixed rate or tracker accounts.
7.9 The information on our telephone helpline and our website will be updated within three working days of an interest rate change.
8. Account charges
8.1. We may make charges for items relating to your account. Details of any charges are contained in the Important Information page. You can also find them by enquiring at our branches.
8.2. Where the charge does not relate to the day-to-day running of your account we will tell you before we provide the product or service (except for charges in respect of unpaid cheques), or at any other time you ask.
8.3. We can change the charges we make at any time if we reasonably believe that the change is needed for any of the following reasons (which may relate to circumstances existing at the time or those that are expected to apply in the near future):
To reflect changes to our costs, including our administrative costs;
To respond to changes in the law or the decisions of a court or ombudsman;
To meet relevant regulatory requirements;
To reflect new (or changes to) statements or codes of practice or industry guidance designed to enhance consumer protection.
Any change we make to our charges will be proportionate to the circumstances giving rise to the change.
8.4. Changes may include the abolition or alteration of existing charges or the introduction of new charges.
8.5. If we introduce or increase a charge relating to the day-to-day running of your account, we will give you at least 30 days notice by letter or other personal notice, before the charge comes into effect.
8.6. There may be other taxes or costs that are not paid through us or charged by us.
9. Withdrawals
9.1. Withdrawals of cleared funds are subject to the special conditions for particular accounts and to any branch/agency withdrawal limits that we reasonably impose. The current limits are available on request at any branch.
9.2. No withdrawal will be allowed unless you produce the account document at the time of withdrawal.
9.3. We may refuse to allow a withdrawal:
if we are not satisfied that we have the proper written authority for the withdrawal, in accordance with the mandate you have given us;
against uncleared funds (see Condition 10).
9.4. We can restrict at any time the amount which can be withdrawn from any account.
We will only do this if:
a) We reasonably believe that there may be fraudulent activity or other financial crime affecting the account;
b) We are required to do so by any law, regulation or court order;
c) There is a dispute (which we reasonably believe may be genuine) about the ownership of, or entitlement to, the money in the account;
d) Circumstances beyond our reasonable control prevent us from offering a normal service (such as in the event of terrorist threat, computer systems failure or strikes); or
e) Circumstances exist which lead us reasonably to believe our financial stability is under threat (such as where rumours cause actual or potential abnormal levels of cash withdrawals)
In the case of (d) and (e) above:
We will act proportionately to the circumstances in question;
We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the restrictions are lifted as soon as practical and to minimise the inconvenience to you;
We will take into account the interests of the Society's membership as a whole;
We will, if practical, give advance notice; and
We may consider exceptions to the restrictions if we are reasonably satisfied that substantial hardship would otherwise be caused.
9.5. If a withdrawal is made by a cheque in favour of someone other than you, we will not stop payment of the cheque unless we have clear evidence of fraud, or that the cheque has been lost, stolen or destroyed.
9.6. Please also note that we do not permit withdrawals to be made by direct debit or standing order.
10. Uncleared funds
10.1. Our normal practice is to allow withdrawals against a cheque 6 working days after it has been paid in, provided we have no reason to think that it has not cleared, or might not clear. If we allow you to make a withdrawal against a cheque a certain number of days after it was paid in, this is no guarantee that the cheque has been cleared. If the cheque is not cleared, you will have to repay us the amount of the withdrawal if there is not enough other money in the account to cover it.
10.2. If a cheque that you have paid into your account is lost during the clearing process, then it will not be cleared and (provided we have not acted negligently) we will take the amount from your account accordingly. It will then be your responsibility to obtain a replacement for the lost cheque.
11. Closing your account
11.1. You can close your account at any time, subject to any special conditions that apply to particular accounts and to normal administration requirements.
11.2. We can close all (or part of) your account at any time without giving any reason, but (except in exceptional cases, such as suspected fraud or other criminal activity, or threatening or abusive behaviour):
we will give you at least 30 days' notice; and
we will not use this right to repay a fixed term investment before the end of the fixed term.
11.3. If we close the account, we will pay interest at the agreed rate up to the day before the date of closure. We may make repayment by sending you a cheque.
11.4. If we close the account in full and make repayment to you, in person or by post, then you will have no further right or interest in the account.
12. Statements
We will send you a statement of account annually unless the specific conditions for a particular account specify otherwise.
You should check all statements carefully. If there is an entry which seems to be wrong, you should tell us as soon as possible.
13. Taxes
Where required by legislation, interest will be paid or credited after deduction of income tax at the appropriate rate.
14. Joint accounts and trusts
14.1. If an account is held in more than one person's name, then only the holder whose name appears first in our records will be entitled to membership rights (such as the right to receive notices of, and to attend and vote at, meetings). This is subject to any rights given to other holders by any legislation.
14.2. You can choose the order in which the names appear in our records. Any change in the order will happen when our records are actually changed. We will make the change within a reasonable time after you tell us about it.
14.3. For tax purposes only, we will treat joint account holders as being entitled to the money in the account in equal shares. This does not affect the operation of Condition 14.4, which takes precedence.
14.4. Where one account holder dies, we will, on receipt of satisfactory evidence of the death, treat the surviving holder(s) as being entitled to the account. We do not accept accounts on any other basis. The other terms of the account will remain unchanged. Under the Rules, joint accounts cannot be held by the holders as tenants in common.
14.5. Withdrawals and other transactions on a joint account need the signatures of all account holders, unless all of them have authorised us to accept the signature of any one of them or (if there are more than two holders) any combination of them.
14.6. Any authorisation given under Condition 14.5 can be stopped by any account holder.
14.7. If we have reason to think that there is a dispute between account holders we may (but will not be obliged to) require the signatures of all account holders, despite any authorisation that has been given to us previously under Condition 14.5.
14.8. If there is a relationship between the account holders which ceases, you will need to inform us if the account is to be closed or you want any name to be removed from the account. If you do not inform us then, even if we know about the relationship breakdown, we will continue to operate the account in accordance with the instructions that you have given us. This may mean that withdrawals and/or closure of the account will be permitted on one signature.
14.9. We may (in accordance with Condition 9.4) freeze the account if we have reason to think that there is a dispute in relation to the money in the account. However, we will not be obliged to do this, unless we are ordered to do so by a court.
14.10. Any correspondence relating to the account will be sent to the address of the first-named account holder, unless you instruct us otherwise.
14.11. The liability of joint account holders is joint and several. This means that each of you is separately responsible to us for the performance of all the obligations of the account holders, and not just a share of them.
14.12. We do not have to recognize the interest or claim of any person other than the account holder(s) in respect of any money held in the account (and we will not have any liability for failing to do so), except as may be required by law.
Further details about the rights and responsibilities of joint account holders are contained in the leaflet "You and Your Joint Account". A copy of this is available on request.
15. Transfers
Unless the special conditions for a particular account say otherwise, you may ask us to transfer your investment to another person. We do not have to agree to this and if we do agree, it may be subject to conditions and/or payment of a charge.
16. Unclaimed balances
16.1. If no payment into or withdrawal from your account is made:
for a period of 3 years (where the amount in the account is less than £100); or
for a period of 5 years (in other cases)
and we cannot trace you (after having made reasonable efforts to do so), then we may close the account. However, any money in it will remain yours, and if you contact us later (and provide any necessary evidence of identity) we will repay the money from the closed account to you, together with interest at a rate that we reasonably consider to be appropriate.
16.2 Condition 16.1 is subject to any rules that may be made under any legislation.
17. Account documents
17.1 We may issue you with a passbook, certificate or other similar document relating to your account. If we do:
the document will belong to us;
you agree to return it to us for updating, or for any other purpose we reasonably require;
you agree to keep it safe, and to tell us as soon as you discover it has been lost or stolen; and
the document must be produced to us before any withdrawal from the account is made.
17.2 We may issue a replacement for lost or stolen documents but this may be subject to payment of a charge and/or other conditions. These conditions may include:
providing us with reasonable evidence of the loss or theft;
notifying, and co-operating with, the police;
restricting withdrawals from the account for a certain period from the date you notify us of the loss or theft; and/or
signing any form of indemnity that we may require.
17.3 If someone other than you produces your account document to us, pretends to be you or authorised by you, and is therefore able to withdraw money from the account, you will be liable for the amount of any withdrawals if you have acted fraudulently and you may be liable if you have acted without reasonable care.
17.4 You should check your account document regularly. If there is an entry which seems to be wrong, you should tell us as soon as possible, so that we can resolve the matter.
18. Changing these Conditions
18.1 We can change these Conditions and/or terms on which your account is held if we reasonably believe that the change is needed for any of the following reasons (which may relate to circumstances existing at the time or those which are expected to apply in the near future):
to respond to changes in the law or the decisions of a court or ombudsman;
to meet relevant regulatory requirements;
to make the terms clearer or fairer;
to provide you with extra benefits or services;
to reflect new (or changes to) statements or codes of practice or industry guidance designed to enhance consumer protection.
18.2 Any change we make under Condition 18.1 will be proportionate to the circumstances giving rise to the change.
18.3 A change which is not to your disadvantage may be made immediately and without prior notice. We will tell you about the change within 30 days.
18.4 A change which is to your disadvantage will be effective only after at least 30 days' notice is given to you. At any time up to 60 days from the date of the notification you may switch your account or close it without having to give any period of notice or pay additional charges.
18.5 Notices under Condition 18.4 will be sent by individual letter. Notices under Condition 18.3 may be given in this way, or instead be given by general notice in our branches, principal office and website.
18.6 This Condition 18 does not apply to changes to interest rates or charges, which are dealt with in Conditions 7 and 8.
18.7 If we have made a major change or a lot of minor changes in any one year, we will give you a copy of the new terms and conditions or a summary of the changes.
19. Notices
19.1 You will be taken to have received any letter or e-mail or other personal notice 72 hours after we have sent it to you.
19.2 If we, accidentally, fail to:
send to you a communication intended for our investors generally or a category of investors of which you are one; or
display a notice at any of our offices
this will not make the notice invalid.
19.3 If an error is made in a notice, but this is corrected shortly afterwards by a subsequent notice, the notice period will run from the date of the original notice.
20. Matters Beyond Our Control
We will not be liable to you if we are unable to provide any service in connection with your account because of strikes, power failures or other causes beyond our reasonable control.
21. Set Off
We may use the money in your account towards payment of any money that you owe us which is due for payment but has not been paid. We will notify you if we do this. No interest will be earned on money used in this way.
22. Companies
If you are a limited company or other type of corporation, you will need to authorise officers to operate the account. The application form has further details. We will also require evidence of identity and address for these persons.
23. Law
These Conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales.
24. Language
All communications between you and us will be in English.
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