Child Trust Fund - scream coming...
  Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:43 am
Post subject: Child Trust Fund - scream coming... AARRRRRGGGGHHHH
Why does it have to be so complicated???????????? If we don't choose an account by baby's first birthday (4th March  already.... ) then the government choose for us.
Fair do's. But I can't for the life of me figure it out - why can't it be straight forward?! Is it just like picking a normal savings account?! Basically, who have you chosen or who do you intend to choose to put your CTF money with? xx _________________   Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:52 am
Post subject: I know how you feel hun - it took us until Thomas was 11 months to actually do something about it - it was all so confusing.
In the end we chose to put it in HSBC for no other reason than the fact that they are who we bank with - have both banked with all our lives and never had a problem with. They are a stable bank and were offering a trust fund that had no frills - no false promises and no dodgy free gifts 
The more I looked into it the more confused I got - in the end I came to the conclusion that you get nothing for nothing in this life so the ones that were offering gifts and incentives probably all had hidden clauses etc so went for a simple bank based one. OH just went online and set it up there and then, I got a trust fund pack and folder a week later and it was all sorted. 
xx _________________ 
 Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:52 am
Post subject: i totally forgot about leos so they did it
 it went into family investments and it fine. tbh i dont have a clue which one to put olis in either!
but you can change it over if you change your mind later x _________________ 
 Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:59 am
Post subject: I did a stakeholder with the childrens mutual and it did quite well in the first year, it's worth more than we put in so far
We also got free mothercare vouchers for setting up a Direct debit into it _________________ 
 Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:59 am
Post subject: both britannia and abbey have low interest rates though - 1% and 0.4% each from my reading... and I will check those other banks just now too - but Yorkshire bank offer 3% dropping to 2.3% after 12 months, Skipton building Soc. offer 2.65%.....
Now should this be a determining factor?! It does say you can transfer the monies to other accounts / banks / building societies at any time, for no cost...
Bounty (the pack people and photo people!) link themselves to the children's mutual - who charge you a fee each year just for putting the money with them though!! 1.5% yearly admin fee? And they say it like it's a good thing "one low-cost capped fee" 
Banks etc. don't seem to do this - but it's a beggar reading through the small print  _________________ Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:02 pm
Post subject: the childrens mutual charge because it's a stakeholder (stock market related), the ones you look at in abbey etc are non-stakeholder so just like a savings account with interest so they don't charge,
Historically shares have always outperformed savings over an 18 year period. The stakeholders are all quite similar as they are government regulated and have to operate within certain criteria. _________________
Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:09 pm
Post subject: I forgot about Roberts until he was 10 months then I went on the website to request a replacement voucher then they sent me an email saying that they wouldnt be able to issuse me it in time so they would open an account for him and then send me the details. Still haven't heard anything from them, just hope its just a normal savings account though coz I don't understand the rest of them
 im s hit with money x_________________   Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:11 pm
Post subject: We're after normal savings account - not stakeholder, thanks for that though mandy - I clicked on the non stakeholder part of children's mutual and it said:
"Charges for Baby Bond® Choice Child Trust Fund depend on the fund(s) that you choose. That means that they could be higher than those that apply to our other Child Trust Fund accounts. For more information on the funds and their charges please see the document below." So a browse through a pdf will prob show that they even charge for non-s-holder accounts _________________ Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:16 pm
Post subject: http://www.childtrustfund.gov.uk
have a look at their website, it has an account chooser tool _________________
Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:23 pm
Post subject: mandygr wrote:
http://www.childtrustfund.gov.uk
have a look at their website, it has an account chooser tool I know - started there! Thanks though, no answers just loaaaads more questions
For anyone else choosing non-stakeholder savings account at the mo: Questions to ask providers * Can I manage the account by phone or online or will I need to come into the branch? * Is there a minimum amount that has to be paid in each time someone contributes to the account? * How can other people pay into the account? * Will I be sent regular statements to show how much money is in the account or can I check the value of the account myself from time to time? * Can I see the policy on social, ethical and environmental investments for this account? * Is there an annual fee for this Child Trust Fund account and, if so, how much will I be charged for every £100 in the account? * How will my child’s money grow in this account? * Who can I talk to if I have concerns about the account once it is opened? For accounts that invest in shares, you may also want to ask: * Where can I get more information about the companies in which the money is invested? * By how much could the account drop in value, and is there any possibility I could lose all the money in it? * Is there a way to limit the amount of loss so that I don’t lose all the money in my child’s account if the investments do badly? For savings accounts, it might also be worth asking: * Is this interest rate fixed for a certain length of time and what happens after that? * How can I guarantee that I'm always getting the best interest rate for my account? Methinks I shall bookmark all the bank & building society sites I'm reading and let hubbie take it from here _________________
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Went straight into an Abbey Account which is just what I wanted 
