Terms & Conditions

1.0 Definitions

1.4 Manchester Building Society Group means Manchester Building Society, MBS (Mortgages) Limited, MBS (Property) Limited, PMP Network Limited.

1.5 You / Your / Yours means the Account holder(s).

1.6 ISA Regulations means the Individual Savings Account Regulations 1998 as amended or replaced from time to time.

1.7 ISA Manager means persons (including companies) approved by HM Revenue & Customs to manage ISAs.

1.8 A Bank Working Day is any day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or English bank or public holiday.

1.9 Day of Deposit is the Bank Working Day between 9am and 4pm on which funds are received for the credit of your Account. For deposits received after 4pm, the day of deposit is treated as the following Bank Working Day.

1.10 CHAPS means Clearing House Automated Payment System and is an electronic process for bank to bank same day payments made within the United Kingdom.

1.11 United Kingdom (UK) means England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It does not include the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

2.0 General

2.1 These Terms and Conditions apply to You if You have one of Our savings Accounts or cash ISAs.

2.2 These conditions, the special conditions applying to Your Account as detailed in the Key Product Features, Your Application and the Society’s Rules, comprise the agreement between Us. This agreement is governed by the law of England and Wales.

2.3 The agreement will commence on the day We are in receipt of a valid application, Your first deposit or subscription and satisfactory evidence of identity, or, where You are transferring an ISA to Us from another ISA Manager, on the day We are in receipt of a valid transfer application form, the proceeds of the transfer from Your previous ISA Manager and satisfactory evidence of identity.

2.4 Where there is a difference between the Key Product Features and these Terms and Conditions, the Key Product Features will apply.

2.5 It is important that You read and understand these Terms and Conditions. Should You have any queries please contact Us.

2.6 The Terms and Conditions may be changed from time to time. If there is a change to the Terms and Conditions We will notify You by writing to You at the address You have asked Us to use for correspondence.

2.7 The Terms and Conditions, the special conditions applying to Your Account as detailed in the Key Product Features, Your Application and the Society’s Rules, will be made available to You before You open an Account and copies can be obtained at any time by contacting Us.

2.8 All correspondence and communications in relation to Your Account will be in English.

3.0 About Us

3.1 Manchester Building Society is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. We are entered in their register under number 206048.

3.2 Our Head Office and Registered Address is 125 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 4QD.

3.3 You can contact Us by telephone on 0161 923 8065, via Our website www.themanchester.co.uk, by post to PO Box 4256, Manchester, M60 3AX, by email to savings@themanchester.co.uk, or in person by calling into Our branch at 24 Queen Street, Manchester, M2 5HX, or one of Our agencies. Full details of Our agency network are available on request.

3.4 We are a member of the Building Societies Association and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

3.5 We may monitor and record phone calls to or from Us. We may do this to check any instructions You give Us over the phone and to help train Our staff.

4.0 ISAs

4.1 A cash ISA is a scheme of investment managed in accordance with the ISA Regulations by the ISA Manager under the terms provided here.

4.2 The value of any of the cash ISA tax benefits depends on Your own personal circumstances. The tax benefits of cash ISAs may be changed in the future.

4.3 The tax year runs from 6th April to 5th April.

4.4 We will satisfy ourselves that any person to whom We delegate any of Our functions or responsibilities under the terms agreed with You is competent to carry out those functions and responsibilities.

4.5 You must be resident and ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom for tax purposes to open a cash ISA. (If You are unsure of Your residency status please contact either Your own tax office, or if You do not have a tax office, telephone 0845 070 0040). If You cease to be resident in the UK You must advise Us immediately.

4.6 The cash ISA must be held in Your sole name only. You cannot open a cash ISA as a joint Account, or for or on behalf of a charity, club, business or other organisation.

4.7 The cash ISA will be and must remain in, Your beneficial ownership. You cannot assign Your rights in the Account or use a cash ISA as security for a loan.

4.8 The cash ISA will be operated in accordance with the ISA Regulations which may be varied from time to time by the government.

4.9 When You open a cash ISA with Us You are subscribing to a cash ISA for the current tax year and each subsequent tax year in which You subscribe to the Account.

4.10 You cannot subscribe to a cash ISA if You have already subscribed to any other cash ISA, or subscribed Your entire ISA allowance to a stocks and shares ISA in the same tax year.

4.11 Applications cease to be valid at the end of a tax year in which You do not make a subscription. Therefore if You do not pay into Your cash ISA in a tax year You will need to complete a new application form in order for Us to be able to accept deposits in a later tax year.

4.12 If You wish to cancel a transfer to Us from another ISA Manager, but would like to retain the benefits of a cash ISA, subject to fulfilling the conditions of the Account, You will have the option of transferring it back to the original ISA Manager (if they agree), or to another ISA Manager. Alternatively You may instruct Us to withdraw any money transferred to Us and pay this to You together with any gross interest earned. If You instruct us to withdraw You will lose the tax benefits of a cash ISA.

5.0 Account Opening

5.1 We only offer savings Accounts and cash ISAs to individuals who are resident in the UK. Please note that we will not open an Account for You if You do not reside in the UK, or if You are applying for or on behalf of a charity, club, business or other organisation.

5.2 You can apply to open an Account in person at Our branch or one of Our agencies, or by post.

5.3 You must be 18 years of age or older to open a savings Account or a cash ISA with Us.

5.4 When You apply to open an Account You will need to provide Us with a fully completed application form.

5.5 If Your Account does not meet Your requirements, You have the right to cancel Your Account within 14 days of opening. Please note however that this condition does not apply to fixed rate Accounts. You will need to notify Us in writing and We will return your funds along with any interest earned. Please note that where the initial deposit was made by cheque, We will not be able to return Your funds for 6 Bank Working Days. If You cancel Your cash ISA within 14 days of opening, You can still open another cash ISA during the tax year. If You cancel your cash ISA outside this period, You will be deemed to have subscribed to a cash ISA during the tax year preventing You from subscribing to another cash ISA in the same tax year.

6.0 Identification Requirements

6.1 When You apply to open an Account, We are required by law to verify Your identity and address. This helps to protect Our customers and members of the public against fraud and misuse of the UK banking system. We will not open an Account for You until We have verified Your identity and address.

6.2 We will carry out an electronic search to verify Your identity. If We are unable to verify Your identity through an electronic search, We will contact You and ask You to provide documents to verify Your name and address.

6.3 An electronic search involves checking the details You supply against those held on any database the credit reference agency We use has access to. This includes information from the electoral register and fraud prevention agencies. We will use this information to verify Your identity. We may also pass information to financial and other organisations involved in fraud prevention to protect ourselves and Our customers from theft and fraud. If You give false information and We suspect fraud, We will record this and share this information with other organisations.

6.4 We have an obligation to maintain up to date identification for all Our customers. This means that We may require additional identification from time to time even for customers who have held Accounts with Us for some time.

6.5 A separate leaflet is available on request or on Our website, which explains Our identification requirements in more detail.

7.0 Joint Acconts

7.1 A joint savings Account can be opened in the names of two people. Please note however that a cash ISA must be held in Your sole name only.

7.2 You should only open a joint Account if You understand the commitment You are entering into. The terms of the Account will apply to each of You separately as well as both of You together.

7.3 You may choose the order in which Your names are registered on the Account. Only the first named Account holder will be a member of the Society which means that they alone will have the benefit of membership rights.

7.4 Unless you indicate differently on the application form, You should be aware that any one Account holder can withdraw the entire balance of the Account. Please note that where an Account can be operated on the basis of “any one” signature, any one signatory can request the Account be transferred to an “all” signatories basis.

7.5 If one Account holder dies, We will treat the survivor as the only person entitled to the balance held on the Account.

7.6 A separate leaflet is available on request which helps to explain the implications of holding a joint Account. Information can also be found on the British Bankers Association website (www.bba.org.uk).

8.0 Interest

8.1 Interest accrues on a daily basis and is paid either monthly or annually as detailed on the Key Product Features.

8.2 Usually interest can be credited to Your savings Account or ISA or paid out to Your bank Account. The Key Product Features will specify how interest can be paid on the Account.

8.3 Interest on savings Accounts will be paid after deduction of tax at the appropriate rate required by legislation. However interest can be paid gross subject to receipt of the completed relevant HM Revenue & Customs form. These forms are available on request from Us or from HM Revenue & Customs.

8.4 Interest on cash ISAs will be paid without the deduction of income tax.

8.5 A cash ISA will cease to qualify for tax exemption from the date of death of the Account holder. Interest will be paid gross up to and including the date of death, thereafter interest will be subject to tax at the appropriate rate required by legislation.

8.6 If funds are deposited by cash, electronic transfer or standing order, interest accrues from the day of deposit.

8.7 If funds are deposited by cheque, interest accrues from the second Bank Working Day after deposit.

8.8 Interest accrues on the amount withdrawn up to and including the day prior to withdrawal or closure.

8.9 Interest will be paid at the rate(s) specified in the Key Product Features for Your Account.

8.10 Interest rates are variable unless otherwise indicated in the Key Product Features. Where interest rates are variable they can be altered at Our discretion.

8.11 We will notify You about changes to Your interest rate by updating the information in Our branch and agencies and on Our website. In addition We will put a notice in at least two national daily papers or We will write to You. Where there is a reduction in interest rate which is considered material (in line with industry guidance) We will write to You in advance of the change.

8.12 Details about prevailing interest rates can be obtained at any time by contacting Us.

8.13 An explanation of how interest is calculated on Your Account will be supplied on request.

9.0 Deposits

9.1 Subject to the conditions of Your Account, deposits may be made by cheque, cash, electronic transfer or standing order.

9.2 The initial deposit to Your Account must be made by cheque unless You are transferring an ISA to Us from another ISA Manager.

9.3 Deposits made by cheque must be made from a Bank or Building Society Account held in Your name, or a joint Account where You are one of the joint Account holders. All cheques must be made payable to the Account holder(s).

9.4 We reserve the right to limit or prevent deposits on Accounts where We reasonably consider it necessary to do so.

9.5 Deposits by cash, electronic transfer or standing order can be drawn against immediately they are credited to Your Account.

9.6 Cheques paid into Your Account can be drawn against from the sixth Bank Working Day after the day of deposit. For cheque deposits made at an agency, the day of deposit is treated as the following Bank Working Day.

9.7 The amount that can be deposited in cash in any one day is limited to £250.

9.8 Post dated cheques and cheques dated more than 6 months previously will not be accepted.

9.9 We do not accept foreign currencies, cheques not denominated in Sterling, or cheques from Banks not based within the UK.

9.10 If a cheque is returned unpaid, the value of the cheque will be debited to Your Account.

9.11 Subscriptions into a cash ISA are restricted to the limits as prescribed in the ISA Regulations as amended or replaced from time to time. You can only subscribe to one cash ISA in each tax year. Subscriptions only count towards the subscription limits for the tax year in which they are received. Where You do not subscribe the maximum in any tax year, the balance cannot be made up in any other tax year. Once the subscription limit has been reached for the tax year, You may make no further subscriptions regardless of withdrawals.

9.12 If you have been issued with a passbook for your account, this will provide details of any transactions on your account. These details will include the date and amount of the transaction, a reference, and the amount and breakdown of any charges. If you have not been issued with a passbook, these details will be provided within your annual statement. This information is also available on request.

10.0 Withdrawals

10.1 On receipt of Your written instructions and within a time stipulated by You, all or part of the investments held in Your cash ISA and any interest earned will be paid to You.

10.2 Withdrawals can be made by cash, cheque or CHAPS subject to the withdrawal conditions detailed in the Key Product Features.

10.3 Cash withdrawals can only be made in person and are limited to £250 per day.

10.4 Withdrawals by CHAPS are available on request subject to a charge as detailed in our Tariff. Please note that CHAPS withdrawals are not available from cash ISAs or from Immediate Access Accounts. In normal circumstances, the CHAPS transfer will be carried out on the Bank Working Day it is requested as long as the request is received before 12pm. In extreme circumstances, the maximum execution time for a CHAPS transfer is 3 Bank Working Days from the day the request is received. The funds should arrive in the Account of the recipient on the same Bank Working Day on which it was sent.

10.5 In order to request a withdrawal by CHAPS Your request must be made in writing and signed by the Account holder(s) or signatories to the Account, and be accompanied by the passbook where You have been issued with one. You will need to specify that you require the payment to be sent via CHAPS and quote the sort code and account number of the account the funds are to be sent to, along with any applicable reference and the amount, to enable Us to make the transfer. Should incorrect information be provided there may be a delay in sending the funds or a loss of funds. We reserve the right to refuse a request for a CHAPS withdrawal if We believe it has not been correctly authorised.

10.6 Should You wish to cancel a request for a CHAPS You should contact Us by telephone by the end of the Bank Working Day before the day on which the payment is due to be made. Once a payment has been sent via CHAPS it cannot be stopped or recalled. Should You wish to amend Your instructions for a CHAPS withdrawal, this must be provided to Us in writing.

10.7 If We carry out Your instructions for a withdrawal from Your Account incorrectly, You will be entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount withdrawn.

10.8 Withdrawal or closure requests on Accounts where there is a notice period will automatically be deferred until the notice period has expired. If an immediate withdrawal is permitted as detailed in the Key Product Features, and required, this should be specified on the withdrawal request. Where an immediate withdrawal is permitted and requested, there may be a loss of interest as detailed in the Key Product Features. If the interest accrued at the time of withdrawal is insufficient to cover an interest penalty, the penalty will be deducted from the Account balance.

10.9 Withdrawals are subject to cleared funds being available in Your Account. You are not permitted to make a withdrawal from your Account if Your Account would be overdrawn following the withdrawal. If Your Account goes overdrawn, You will be required to repay the amount that you owe Us immediately.

10.10 All withdrawal requests must be made in writing and be signed by the Account holder(s) or authorised signatories, and be accompanied by the passbook where You have been issued with one. Faxed, emailed or photocopied requests cannot be accepted.

10.11 We will not issue a payment to a third party from Your Account. Payments will only be made payable to the Account holder(s) or authorised signatories.

10.12 Once You have subscribed the maximum permitted for a current tax year into a cash ISA, if during that tax year You then withdraw an amount, You cannot pay it, or a portion of it back into Your Account during that tax year.

11.0 Account Closures

11.1 You have the right to close Your Account at any time subject to any notice or penalty period which may apply.

11.2 We can repay to You part or all of Your monies at any time, however We will not close Your Account until We have given you 30 days written notice except in exceptional circumstances, for example where We have a legal obligation to close Your Account.

11.3 If You close Your cash ISA during a tax year in which subscriptions have been made, You will not be able to invest in another cash ISA until the next tax year.

11.4 Your cash ISA will be closed if it no longer satisfies the ISA Regulations. We will notify You if You fail to satisfy the provisions of the ISA Regulations thereby causing Your cash ISA to become void. A cash ISA can only be made void on instruction from HM Revenue & Customs.

12.0 Transfers of Account

12.1 If You have a cash ISA You may give Us written notice to transfer at any time current tax year subscriptions in whole, or previous tax year subscriptions in whole or in part to another ISA Manager, with all rights and obligations to be held in another cash ISA and / or stocks and shares ISA (subject to agreement from the new ISA Manager).

12.2 On receipt of a written request to transfer funds from Your cash ISA to another ISA Manager, the cash and information will be sent to the new ISA Manager within 5 business days, unless You specify that You wish to serve notice (where applicable) on Your cash ISA in which case the cash and information will be sent within 5 business days from the day the notice period expires.

12.3 You may transfer the balance of Your Account, in whole or in part to another in Our range, subject to fulfilling the conditions of Your existing Account with regards to any notice or penalty due, and meeting the conditions of the new Account. Interest is not credited to Your Account on transfer. Interest will next be credited as specified in the Key Product Features of the new Account. The new product conditions will apply from the date the transfer is carried out.

13.0 Charges

13.1 We may make charges for items relating to the operation of Your Account and deduct these charges from the balance of Your Account. Details of Our charges can be obtained on request by contacting Us.

13.2 Charges may be changed from time to time at Our discretion. We will notify You in writing in advance of any changes.

14.0 Passbooks

14.1 If You have been provided with a passbook, it will remain our property and must be returned to Us on request.

14.2 If You have been issued with a passbook and You lose it, please inform Us immediately by telephone. If you report a passbook missing We will issue You with a new one.

14.3 Where You have been issued with a passbook, You must produce this for each withdrawal or to close Your Account.

14.4 Entries on the passbook can only be made by Us or Our agents.

15.0 Security

15.1 You should take all reasonable steps to protect Your Account(s). If You change any of Your personal details such as Your name, address or telephone number, you must let Us know immediately in writing. We may require evidence of a change of name or address.

15.2 If you have not been issued with a passbook for your account, your annual statement will provide details of any transactions on your account. You should check this statement carefully and, if there is a transaction you do not recognise, you should let Us know immediately, or in any event within 13months of the date of the transaction you do not recognise, in writing, if anything appears to be incorrect. If you do not inform Us within 13months, we may be unable to rectify your account.

15.3 If you have been issued with a passbook, we recommend You check this on a regular basis and if there is a transaction you do not recognise, you should let Us know immediately, or in any event within 13months of the date of the transaction you do not recognise, in writing, if anything appears to be incorrect. If you do not inform us within 13months, we may be unable to rectify your account.

15.4 If You act fraudulently or with gross negligence, You will be responsible for any losses on Your Account. If We need to investigate a transaction on Your Account, You must cooperate with Us, Our professional advisors and the police if they are involved.

16.0 Confidentiality

16.1 The Data Protection Act 1998 protects individuals from improper use of information held about them. All the personal information You provide to Us will be treated as private and confidential even when You cease to be a customer.

16.2 The Data Protection Act entitles You to receive details about the information We hold about You and to have any inaccurate details amended. If You wish to receive this information, You should put your request in writing. Please note that there may be a charge for this service as detailed in Our tariff.

16.3 We reserve the right to pass data about You or Your Account to third parties for administrative purposes, fraud prevention or where We are required to do so by law.

16.4 We may contact You in the future by mail, email, or telephone about products and services (including mortgages) available from Manchester Building Society Group.

16.5 We are required by law to return information on cash ISA holders and savings Account holders to HM Revenue & Customs.

17.0 Complaints

17.1 Although We are committed to quality of service, mistakes are occasionally made. A leaflet is available which provides details of Our customer complaints procedure, this will be sent to You on request or if You make a complaint.

17.2 If You wish to make a complaint please contact Us.

17.3 If You are not happy with the resolution of Your complaint once Our complaints procedure has been exhausted, You may be able to take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service to investigate further. Their address is available on request.

18.0 Financial Services Compensation Scheme

18.1 Manchester Building Society is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS can pay compensation if We are unable to meet Our financial obligations.

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 Us, including your share of any joint account, and not to each separate account.

Your accounts with us will be covered by the scheme unless you are:

• A large company
  
  
• A large partnership
  
  
• A large mutual association
  
  
• A local, provincial or municipal authority
  
  
• A person whose claim arises from transactions relating to a conviction they have recieved for money laundering.

For further information about the scheme (including the amounts covered and eligibility to claim) please refer to the FSCS website or call 0800 678 1100.

19.0 Membership

19.1 If You open a savings Account or cash ISA with Manchester Building Society You become a shareholding member of the Society and therefore benefit from membership rights.

19.2 If You have a joint account, only the first named Account holder will be a member of the Society which means they alone will have the benefit of membership rights.

19.3 Shareholding members with less than £100 in their Account, or who are under the age of 18, have limited membership rights.

20.0 Charitable Assignment

20.1 From 1st June 2000, Manchester Building Society introduced a new condition as part of the declaration for new members applying to open a savings Account or cash ISA. We introduced this condition to prevent speculators disrupting Our normal business activities. Speculators hope that in the future the Society will become a public limited company resulting in windfall payments. We believe that better service and interest rates can be offered to savers by remaining mutual.

20.2 This condition means that any members joining the Society after 1st June 2000 must agree to donate any potential windfall payments resulting from conversion, to the Charities Aid Foundation. This condition does not affect any of Your other membership rights.

20.3 Further details regarding the charitable assignment scheme are given on the application form.

21.0 Tariff

CHAPS transfer £35

Data Protection Subject Access Request £10