Terms & Conditions
All terms and conditions relate to the Premium Share Account.
Account availability This is a limited issue and may be withdrawn without notice.
Amount of investment The minimum investment is £500. If you do not keep the minimum investment in it, your account will be closed. This may affect your membership rights. There is no maximum investment. Additional investments may be made unless the account has been withdrawn.
Opening an account Individuals aged 16 or over can open this account on their own behalf or on behalf of another individual, provided that that other individual is at least 16. A corporate body or an unincorporated body may not open an account, and an individual cannot open an account as trustee for such organisations.
Cooling off period Occasionally, you may change your mind after you have opened an account. The cooling off period is the 14 days from the day you open your account (and excludes public holidays). If you close your account within the cooling off period, we will pay you the interest due at the then current rate from the day you open your account but not on the day that you close your account. During the cooling off period, we will ignore any notice period normally needed and you will not have to pay any penalty interest.
Identification We are required to verify your identity. Therefore, we may ask you to provide evidence to confirm your name and address when you apply to open an account with us. For existing customers we will confirm if you need to provide evidence of your name and address when we receive your application. For new customers we will require evidence of your name and address before opening the account for you. There are additional requirements where accounts are opened by post. Please contact us for furtherdetails.
Withdrawals and closures Withdrawals can be made without loss of interest provided that the balance in your account remains at £10,000 or more. If your account balance is below £10,000, or will be after you make the withdrawal, then you must give us 30 days’ notice, otherwise you will lose 30 days’ interest on the amount withdrawn. If you make a withdrawal between the 20th of the month and the end of the month, then any adjustment to monthly interest resulting from this will not be made until the month after the withdrawal. Withdrawals are normally paid by cheque, if you do not use a LINK card with this account, but up to £250 in cash per day can be paid from your account at a branch. If making a withdrawal by post, you must send us your passbook.
Interest Interest is variable, is calculated on a daily basis and can be paid either annually or monthly. If you choose to have interest paid annually, it will be paid after close of business on 30 September each year. If you choose to have your interest paid monthly, interest is paid after close of business on the last day of each month and is paid at a rate 0.50% lower than the annual gross interest rate. If your interest is paid annually, it can be paid either to the account, to another Dunfermline Building Society account or to a bank account. If your interest is paid monthly, it must be paid either to another Dunfermline Building Society account or to a bank account. Interest rates may vary from time to time. Changes of interest rate will be advertised in the national press - The Herald, The Scotsman, The Independent and the Belfast Telegraph. Current interest rates are published on our website and are available on our 24 hour rate line on 0845 603 1209.
What about tax? Interest is payable either net of the relevant rate of income tax (which can be reclaimed by non-taxpayers) or gross (subject to the required registration). Non-taxpayers can have interest paid gross if an HM Revenue & Customs Form R85 is completed - available in all our branches. We must receive the form before we can pay interest gross. You may have to pay tax at a higher rate depending on your tax position. If this is a joint account, part of the interest can be paid gross if one account holder is a non-tax payer.
LINK card A LINK card can be issued with this account and, provided that your account balance remains over £10,000, will let you withdraw money from LINK cash machines. Terms and conditions apply to the use of your LINK card, which are available on request and which you will be bound by when using your card.
Assignation of windfalls We want to avoid further disruption to our business caused by speculators. Because of this, all new customers opening share accounts must agree to assign any windfall benefits to which they may become entitled on a conversion or takeover of the Society. The assignation will be in favour of the Charities Aid Foundation and the agreement will be for a period of five years. Please refer to the application form for full terms and conditions of the agreement.
Banking code We have adopted the Banking Code. You can get a copy of the Code and the Banking Code leaflet from any of our branches or by calling Dunfermline Direct on 08457 33 66 88.
Financial services compensation scheme We are a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme established under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Payments under this scheme are limited to a maximum of £50,000 of an investor’s total shares and/or deposits. Most investors are covered including individuals and small firms. Although most shares and deposits in UK Building Societies are denominated in Sterling, the Euro and other European Economic Area currencies are also covered.
Governing law Our relationship with you will be governed by the Law of Scotland. We will communicate with you in English.
Complaints If you have a complaint please contact your local branch or call Dunfermline Direct on 08457 33 66 88, alternatively write to us at Dunfermline Building Society, Caledonia House, Carnegie Avenue, Dunfermline, KY11 8PJ. We will try to deal with your complaint as soon as we reasonably can. A leaflet which details our Complaints procedure can be obtained from any of our branches or head office. If we are unable to resolve your complaint you can refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service who can be contacted on 0845 080 1800.
Other important information Dunfermline Building Society introduces only to the Norwich Union Marketing Group, members of which are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The Society provides Income Protection and General Insurance products, underwritten by AXA Insurance plc which is authorised by the Financial Services Authority (“FSA”). The Society is authorised and regulated by the FSA (Reg no: 158765) and is a member of the Building Societies Association and Council of Mortgage Lenders.
Our Investment Interest Rates leaflet, Investment Handbook and Investment Tariff contain important provisions affecting your account. Please read them carefully and keep them for future reference. We also have telephone-operated accounts - call Dunfermline Direct on 08457 33 66 88 for further details.
All communications with us may be monitored/recorded to improve the quality of our service and for your protection and security.
The following terms used in this website have these meanings:
Gross interest means the rate of interest payable before the deduction of income tax.
AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and illustrates what the interest rate would be if interest was paid and added each year.
Tax-free interest is the rate of interest payable where interest is exempt from income tax. ISA interest is tax free under present legislation. The current tax situation may be altered in the future.
Dunfermline Direct is a trading name of Dunfermline Building Society.