Investment Account - Straightforward savings by post

Description

1. These terms and conditions apply to the NS&I Investment Account, and explain the obligations we have to you, as a customer, and the obligations you have to us. Please read these carefully and keep for reference.

2. Deposits into the Account are investment deposits in the National Savings Bank and are subject to the National Savings Bank Act 1971, National Savings Bank Regulations 1972 (Statutory Instrument Number 1972/764 - see paragraph 93) and the National Savings Bank (Investment Deposits) (Limits) Order 1977 (Statutory Instrument Number 1977/1210), as amended or re-enacted from time to time. This is a guide to the main provisions. In the event of any differences between these terms and conditions and the legislation, the legislation will prevail.

Definitions

3. In these terms and conditions:

• (a) "Account" means the NS&I Investment Account;

• (b) "BACS" means Bankers' Automated Clearing Service;

• (c) "banking day" means a day (other than a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday) on which banks are generally open for business in London, and, in relation to the processing of a payment, any other place of receipt;

• (d) "Director" means the Director of Savings;

• (e) "NS&I" means National Savings and Investments.

4. For the purposes of these terms and conditions, any references to "we", "us" or "our" are references to the Director or those acting under the Director's authority in carrying out the business of the National Savings Bank.

Interest

5. All deposits accepted (see paragraph 22) will earn interest at a variable rate. The rate applicable to a particular Account at any time may depend on the balance in that Account. Both the rates, and the balances required to earn them, if applicable, may be changed from time to time.

6. The current rate(s) and the balances required to earn them, if applicable, and notice of any changes will be available:
• on the NS&I website;
• in our Interest Rates leaflet available from us;
• in the London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes (the Gazettes); and
• directly from us over the phone.

7. The Treasury may change the interest rate(s) which apply to your Account from time to time. Typically the Treasury will exercise this power:

• (a) to enable us to respond proportionately to a change in the Bank of England's base rate or any other publicly listed market rate;

• (b) to enable us to respond proportionately to changes in the interest rates paid or charged by other banks and financial institutions;

• (c) to reflect changes in the costs we reasonably incur in providing your Account;

• (d) to reflect changes in the law or a decision by an ombudsman;

• (e) to enable us to meet changed regulatory requirements; or

• (f) to reflect changes in any codes of practice to which we subscribe.

8. We will give you a reasonable period of personal notice if the Treasury make a material change to the applicable interest rate(s) which is to your disadvantage. Whether the change is material will be determined by reference to the size of the balance of your Account and the size of the change to the interest rate(s).

9. Subject to a minimum balance of £1, interest is earned on a daily basis on the closing balance for each day. The closing balance on any particular day will include all the deposits dated that day (see paragraph 23 and paragraphs 37 to 41 inclusive) less any withdrawals dated for that day (see paragraphs 48, 49 and 51). Interest is earned at 1/365th of the annual rate for each day (or 1/366th for each day in a calendar leap year).

10. Interest will be credited annually after close of business on 31 December and will include all interest earned for that year up to and including 31 December. The interest will then form part of the balance in the Account on and from the following day (1 January).

Tax

11. Interest will be credited to the Account without deduction of tax. However it is subject to UK Income Tax so Account holders may need to declare their interest to HM Revenue & Customs, depending on their circumstances.

Who may open an account?

12. Individuals. If you are an individual of at least 16 years of age you may open an Account in your own name.

13. Joint Accounts. If you are an individual of at least 16 years of age you may open an Account jointly with one other individual of at least 16 years of age.

14. You may hold more than one Account in either or both individual and joint capacities.

15. Children. A child under 16 years of age cannot open an Account. Accounts may be opened for a child under 16 years of age to be held in the name of, and as the property of, the child, in accordance with paragraphs 63 to 70.

16. Trustees. If you hold money on trust for one or more persons, you may (whether you are an individual or not) open an Account in your capacity as a trustee either:

• (a) by yourself; or

• (b) jointly with one or more other trustees.

17. Where there are more than two trustees, we may require all such trustees acting jointly to nominate no more than two of their number to manage the Account.

18. Deputies. If you are legally entitled to make investments on behalf of a person of at least 16 years of age, who lacks capacity, you may open an Account on behalf of and in the name of that person.

19. General. Accounts cannot be:

• (a) opened by a person who is 16 years of age or older and operates under a legal disability; or

• (b) opened by one person on behalf of another, unless:

•      (i) the application is made in accordance with paragraphs 13, 15 and 18; or

•      (ii) the applicant is acting under a valid power of attorney.

How to open an account

20. An application to open an Account must be made by post to NS&I.

21. The opening deposit must be made by personal cheque drawn on a UK £ sterling bank or building society account held by you, a building society branch cheque or bankers draft or by postal order.

22. In all cases, an application to open an Account is subject to acceptance by us.

23. Once an application is accepted, the date of opening your Account and of the opening deposit will be the date that NS&I received your application and deposit;

24. You will receive confirmation that your Account has been opened by post, including the date of opening and details of the opening deposit.

25. Where the Account is held jointly any correspondence, including the confirmation that the Account has been opened and transaction records, will be sent to the holder named first on the application to open the Account.

Evidence of identity

26. Under Money Laundering Regulations we are required to verify the identity and address of our customers before we can accept an application to invest. To do this we may make electronic checks using data from a third party including information from the Electoral Register. In accepting the terms and conditions you are confirming that you, and anyone else named on the application, are aware that your and their identity and address will be checked.

27. We may also write to any person named on the application requesting documentary evidence of their identity and address. The request for evidence of identity will specify the time within which the evidence must be returned to us. If the evidence is not received by us within the specified time we will not be able to process your application.

28. If we are unable to process your application due to lack of evidence of identity, your application will be cancelled from inception and any money paid to us will be refunded to you. No interest is earned or paid for the intervening period.

Cooling off

29. If you are not happy with your choice of Account you have 14 days from the date you receive confirmation of your investment within which to cancel your Account. To cancel your Account you must notify us in writing, by post, by fax, by email, or by telephone, using the details at the end of these terms and conditions.

30. If you cancel your Account we will return all the money in your Account including any interest it has earned. If you do not cancel your Account you will remain bound by these terms and conditions until your Account is closed.

Deposits into your Account - limits

Minimum deposit

31. The minimum amount that may be deposited at any one time:

• for cheques, postal orders and bankers' drafts is £20 (and the first deposit into an Account must be made in this manner (see paragraph 21)); and
• for electronic transfers is £1.

32. Subject to the maximum investment limits (see paragraph 33), and any limitations imposed by your or our banking service provider, a deposit may be made for any amount equal to or more than the minimum.

Maximum deposit

33. The maximum investment limits restrict the amount that a person may invest in Accounts. The maximum investment limits are as follows:

• (a) an individual may hold no more than £1,000,000 in Accounts;

• (b) an Account may not contain more than £2,000,000; and

• (c) the trustees of any trust may hold no more than £1,000,000 of the trust money in Accounts.

  34. For the purposes of determining whether a maximum investment limit has been reached:

  • (a) where deposits have been made in an Account held in joint names, each Account holder will be treated as being credited with an equal share of those deposits;

  • (b) any amounts held by a person in their capacity as a trustee will be treated separately from any amounts held by that person in their personal capacity.

  35. Once a maximum investment limit has been reached, no further deposits will be permitted. However, interest will continue to be credited each year and it will remain possible to receive a transfer of amounts from the investment deposit account of another depositor who has died.

  Deposits into your Account – procedure

  36. All deposits into the Account must be in £ sterling, drawn on a bank in the UK.

  Deposits by post

  37. You may deposit cheques, bankers' drafts and postal orders by post. You will need to send the payment, together with the deposit form, available from us and online at nsandi.com, by post to us. For interest purposes the date of deposit will be the date your payment and form are received by us.

  38. Deposits sent to us by post will not be accepted without a completed deposit form. Cheques, bankers' draft and postal orders received without a fully completed deposit form will not be credited to your Account, and will be returned to you where possible.

  39. The amount of any cheque deposit will be available for withdrawal from the seventh banking day. For example if we receive your cheque and deposit form on a Monday, your payment will be cleared on the Tuesday of the following week. Allow one additional day for each English bank holiday. Clearance times on other types of deposits may vary.

  Deposits by electronic transfer (Faster Payments and BACS, including under a standing order, although we reserve the right to accept a different method if necessary)

  40. You can save regularly by setting up a standing order with your bank or building society. You can also make individual deposits (other than the first deposit into an Account) by BACS if your bank or building society offers such a facility. For interest purposes the date of such deposits will be the date the funds are received in our bank account and will be available for withdrawal from the following banking day.

  Exceptional circumstances

  41. In certain circumstances where it is required by law, or where circumstances arise beyond our control, the payment into your Account may be prevented or may take longer than the time periods set out in paragraphs 37, 39 and 40.

  Payments out of your Account - limits

  42. Funds are only available for withdrawal after your payment has cleared. The time taken for payments to clear is detailed in paragraphs 39.

  43. The minimum amount that may be withdrawn is £1.

  44. Withdrawals will only be permitted to the extent that they will not reduce your balance to less than £1. If you wish to make a withdrawal that will take your balance below £1, you will need to close your Account.

  Payments out of your Account - procedure

  45. To make a withdrawal, you will need to complete a withdrawal form, available from us and online at nsandi.com, and send it by post to us. No notice is required.

  Payment by electronic transfer (direct credit)

  46. Withdrawals may be paid by electronic transfer, and such transfers will be made to a UK Sterling bank or building society account held in the Account holder's name(s) but see paragraph 65 in the case of withdrawals in respect of childrens' Accounts.

  47. Because we intend to use BACS as the means of making these electronic transfers (although we reserve the right to use a different means if necessary) the specified bank or building society account must be capable of receiving payments via BACS.

  48. We will normally initiate the electronic transfer within three banking days of receiving your instruction.

  49. Once we have initiated the electronic transfer, the date of withdrawal will be taken to be the date on which, in the normal course, the requested amount would be credited to your bank or building society account. In the case of BACS, this is normally two banking days after we initiate the transfer.

  50. Where an electronic transfer is initiated properly we will not be liable for:

• (a) any failure or delay of the receiving bank or building society in crediting the specified account; or

• (b) any failure or delay in any part of the electronic transfer process which is beyond the Director's direct control;
  including any failure which occurs because the specified account is incapable of receiving an electronic transfer.

Payment by crossed warrant

51. Withdrawals may be paid by crossed warrant sent to you at your address or directly to a nominated bank or building society for credit to an account in your name(s). The date of withdrawal will be taken to be the date on the warrant.

Transfers

52. You may be able to transfer funds into your Account from your existing NS&I savings and investments. You may also be able to transfer funds from your Account to other NS&I savings and investments. We will provide you with details when you ask us to.

Repaying deposits and closing your Account

53. We can repay deposits in your Account without having received a request for withdrawal where we see fit, including in particular where:

• (a) deposits have been made otherwise than in accordance with the National Savings Bank Regulations 1972 and the National Savings Bank (Investment Deposits) (Limits) Order 1977;

• (b) we reasonably think you (or in the case of a joint Account, one of you) have provided false information;

• (c) we reasonably suspect that your Account is being used for an illegal purpose;

• (d) any declaration or information that we require in relation to you or one of the other Account holders is not received within a reasonable period of time after it is requested; or

• (e) the balance of your Account falls below the minimum balance needed to retain your Account;

54. You can close your Account at any time, for any reason, without charge.

Giving us instructions

55. We cannot change or cancel a payment instruction given by you because we start processing it when we receive it.

56. We may refuse to act on your instructions if:

• (a) we reasonably believe that you did not give us the instruction; or

• (b) we reasonably suspect fraudulent activity in relation to the Account; or

• (c) your instructions are unclear, incomplete or not in the required form; or

• (d) in carrying out these instructions, we might thereby act contrary to a law, regulation, code or other duty which applies to us; or

• (e) it would cause you to exceed any limit or restriction which applies to your Account; or

• (f) we have any other valid reason for not acting on your instructions.

57. If we refuse to make a payment we will notify you and, if possible, give our reasons for doing so. You can obtain information about the refusal and, where appropriate, our reason for refusing the payment, along with information on how to correct any errors that led to the refusal, by contacting us using the details at the end of these terms and conditions (unless we are prevented by legal obligation, or by other circumstances beyond our control, from providing you with this information).

Joint accounts

58. Where an Account is held jointly:

• (a) the Account will be the joint property of both holders;

• (b) in the event of the death of a joint holder full ownership will pass to the survivor who will be entitled to operate the Account on the same terms;

• (c) if a holder tells us of a dispute, NS&I may freeze the Account until we receive written instructions from both of you. The Account will continue to earn interest.

59. Where the Account is to be held jointly by two individuals, the applicants will need to specify whether withdrawals are to be authorised by both holders together, or by either one of them acting alone. Note that the facility for any one party to authorise withdrawals can be cancelled by either holder.

60. Where the Account is held jointly, all correspondence will be sent to the holder named first on the application to open the Account.

61. Where an Account is held jointly and the holders have decided to allow either holder to authorise withdrawals (see paragraph 59), either holder may make withdrawals, including closure of the Account, independently of the other joint holder.

62. Upon the application of both holders, or the survivor of them, we may remove the name of any person from the title of the Account.

Children under 16 years

63. Accounts may be opened, and deposits may be made, on behalf of and in the name of a child under 16 years of age by their parent, grandparent, great grandparent or guardian (see paragraph 15). Any person who makes such a deposit will receive an acknowledgement.

64. Any application to open an Account on behalf of a child must nominate a person who is responsible for the welfare of the child (normally a parent or guardian) to manage the Account on behalf of the child. Until the child reaches 16 years of age, the nominated person will receive communications and may give instructions on behalf of the child. However, we may exceptionally communicate with and accept instructions from another person who is responsible for the welfare of the child where we consider it appropriate to do so.

65. Payments will normally be made by electronic transfer to a bank account in the name of the nominated person, or by crossed warrant made payable to the nominated person.

66. When a child reaches 16 they will have responsibility for managing their Account. We will ask for their signature when they first transact with us after reaching 16. We may also ask for evidence of identity at this stage (see paragraphs 26 to 28).

67. A child may have multiple Accounts and each may be managed by a different nominated person.

68. The maximum investment limit referred to in paragraph 33(a) applies to the total of the deposits made in all of the Accounts held by a child, regardless of who has responsibility for managing those Accounts. For the purpose of the maximum investment limits, a child's Account is treated separately from any Account held by the nominated person in their own name.

Accounts opened prior to 21 May 2012

69. Where an Account was opened for a child pursuant to an application received prior to 28 November 2011, and the child is under the age of 7 on 21 May 2012, the Account will need to be managed by a person with responsibility for the welfare of the child until that child reaches 16 years of age. This person can be nominated at any time. Please contact us for details how to do this. No withdrawals can be authorised without a responsible person being nominated.

70. Where an Account was opened for a child pursuant to an application received prior to 28 November 2011, and the child is at least 7 years of age on 21 May 2012, paragraph 64 will not apply and the child will be able to manage the Account as if they were 16 years of age. Although not required to do so, a child holding such an Account will be permitted to request that payment be made to a person responsible for their welfare.

Statements and transaction records

71. We will send you a statement annually showing all transactions for the previous year ending on 31 December. The statement will include details of all transactions and interest added to the Account.

72. You can request, at any time, an interim statement of all transactions on your Account. This statement will include all transactions since 1 January immediately preceding its issue.

73. You will receive a transaction record every time you make a deposit in accordance with paragraph 37 or a withdrawal. The transaction record will confirm the details of the transaction that has taken place and your balance immediately following that transaction.

74. Where an Account is held jointly, the statements, transaction records and correspondence will be sent to the holder named first on the application to open the Account.

75. You are responsible for checking the information we give you and must tell us as soon as you can if it includes something which appears to you to be wrong or if a payment was not made in accordance with your instructions.

Liability

76. If you tell us that a payment from your Account was not authorised by you, we will carry out an investigation. As soon as we are reasonably satisfied that you did not authorise the payment, we will, subject to paragraph 77, refund the amount deducted and will return your Account to the position that it would have been in if the unauthorised payment had not taken place. This means that, in addition to the amount of the unauthorised payment, we will pay any interest on the amount incorrectly paid but we will have no further liability.

77. We will not be liable to restore your Account if you have acted fraudulently.

78. If you ask us to make a payment and, after a reasonable period has elapsed, the bank or building society to which payment should have been made says that it did not receive the payment, we will refund the amount of the payment and return your Account to the position it would have been in if the payment had not been made, except in the following cases:

• (a) there was a mistake in any of the details contained in the payment instructions you gave us. If this is the case, we will make reasonable efforts to recover the funds;

• (b) we can show that the payment was in fact received by the bank or building society to which payment should have been made.

79. It is possible that a bank or building society may make a payment into your Account by mistake, and then may seek to recall that payment. If this happens, we may take the payment out of your Account.

How we use your information

80. We may use any information provided to us to help us:

• (a) manage your Account;

• (b) prevent and detect crime;

• (c) understand our customers' requirements; and

• (d) develop and test products and services.

81. We treat all the information we hold concerning customers as private and confidential. We will not reveal any details about you or your investments to anyone not connected to NS&I, unless:

• (a) you ask us to reveal the information or we have your permission to do so;

• (b) we are required or permitted to do so by law;

• (c) it is required by credit reference and fraud prevention agencies and other companies that provide a service to us or you; or

• (d) there is a duty to the public to reveal the information.

82. If you are a joint applicant, we will pass your information to the other joint applicant. When giving us information about another person, you confirm that they have appointed you to act on their behalf. This includes providing consent to process their data as set out in these terms and conditions.

83. We may monitor or record telephone calls for training and quality purposes.

84. From time to time we may change the way we use your information. Where we believe you may not reasonably expect such a change we will notify you personally. If you do not object to the change within 60 days, you will be deemed to have consented to that change.

85. Your information will be held by us in both paper form and on our IT systems. Information about you will be kept after your Account is closed in line with our retention procedures. If you would like a copy of the information we hold about you, please make a Data Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act and send it to: The Data Protection Officer, National Savings and Investments, 1 Drummond Gate, London, SW1V 2QX – make sure your request is signed. You can print off and complete the form available in the 'Privacy' section of the NS&I website or write to the Data Protection Officer giving us your full name, current address and any previous addresses, which savings or investments you have with us and the account, holder's or customer numbers. There may be a small charge for this service – if so, we will let you know.

86. We would like to keep you up to date with information about our products and services which we think might interest you. If you do not want to receive this information please contact us using the details at the end of these terms and conditions.

How to notify us of changes to personal details

87. To enable us to manage your Account effectively and to be able to contact you when necessary we ask that you let us know, as soon as possible, of any changes to your name, address, telephone number or email address. Please use the details at the end of these terms and conditions to notify us of any such changes.

Complaints

88. If we make a mistake we'll aim to put things right quickly and without fuss, and we have a procedure designed to resolve complaints effectively and fairly. Complaints can be made in writing to the Customer Service Team at the address at the end of these terms and conditions, by calling us free on 0800 092 1286 (calls from mobiles may not be free), or by visiting nsandi.com, clicking 'Contact us', clicking on the 'Contact us online' button in the 'Email us' section, and selecting 'complaint' in the 'subject' dropdown menu. A leaflet describing our complaints procedure is available on request or you can download one at nsandi.com, clicking on 'Why save with us', clicking on 'Our commitment' and then clicking on the link under the heading 'Not happy with our service?'.

89. If a customer feels that we have not resolved their complaint to their satisfaction, they may be able to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) at South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR (Tel 0800 023 4567). The FOS is an organisation set up by law to give consumers a free and independent service for resolving disputes.

Changes to these terms and conditions

90. These terms and conditions may be amended to reflect changes to the legislation applicable to the Account.

91. If the change is to the Account holder's detriment we will let them know personally at least 30 days before the change. If this is the case you can switch to another NS&I product or close your Account, without notice. For any other changes, we will let customers know by putting a notice on our website and, if appropriate, in a range of national newspapers.

Customers with special needs

92. Some of these terms and conditions may not apply if we have agreed changes with you in order to make your Account more accessible. If so, any differences will be agreed with you individually.

Regulations

93. As at 21 May 2012, The National Savings Bank Regulations 1972 (Statutory Instrument Number 1972/764) have been amended by the following Statutory Instruments:

1974/553	1978/888	1981/484	1982/1282	1982/1762
1983/1750	1984/9	1984/602	1986/2001	1988/1166
1988/2144	1989/25	1989/2045	1991/72	1992/2892
1993/3130	1996/801	1996/1724	1998/1446	1999/588
1999/1611	2001/858	2003/2895	2004/1662	2005/2114
2006/1066	2007/1265	2007/1898	2008/734	2008/1142
2008/1164	2008/3098	2011/783	2011/2288

Law and jurisdiction

94. These terms and conditions and any agreement made on the basis of them will be governed by and interpreted in accordance with English law.

95. In the event of the death of the last surviving holder, we reserve the right to make payment in accordance with the law of the place in which the Account holder resided or, if different, was domiciled at the date of their death.

96. Subject to paragraphs 97 and 98, the courts of England are to have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute (including claims for set off and counterclaims) which may arise in connection with these terms and conditions or any agreement made on the basis of them and which, subject to the Regulations, falls to be determined by a court of law.

97. Where section 16 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 applies the relevant court of law of the relevant part of the United Kingdom shall have jurisdiction to settle any such dispute.

98. Paragraphs 96 and 97 are included for the benefit of NS&I. Accordingly NS&I retains the right to bring proceedings in any other court which has jurisdiction to whose jurisdiction the depositor irrevocably submits.

Investment Account
National Savings and Investments
Glasgow
G58 1SB

21 May 2012

PLEASE KEEP FOR REFERENCE