FAQs

We may change our interest rates to respond to changes in the Bank of England base rate or changes in law, to meet relevant regulatory requirements, or to respond to changes to codes of practice or changes in our costs.

If our interest rates go up, we will tell you about it by putting notices in our Branches and here on our website. If rates go down, and your balance is over £100, we will send you a personal notification to tell you at least 14 days before we make the change.

You can view our full range of personal savings interest rates here.

The easiest way to manage your savings account online is by using Bath Online or via the Mobile App.

Bath Online and the Mobile App allow you to manage your account, view your balance, make payment requests, update personal information and apply for additional accounts 24/7.

Head to the How To Use Bath Online FAQ page to find the answers to some of the more common questions our Members ask us about Bath Online.

To make an electronic payment into your account you can follow these steps:

Please note when sending funds please use Bath Building Society as the account name, your bank will then recognise and confirm you are sending funds to Bath Building Society. This is in relation to Confirmation of Payee and should only need to be done once.

Payments are processed between 9:00am and 3:30pm on working days and take one working day to be deposited into your account. Here are some examples:

•      If you make a payment before 3:30pm on Monday, it will be deposited by 5:00pm on Tuesday.
•      If you make a payment after 3:30pm on Monday, it will be deposited by 5:00pm on Wednesday.

We offer a next day faster payment service. The payment will leave your account on day one and reach the beneficiary no later than close of business the next working day.

In a hurry? For a charge of £3 you can take advantage of a same day faster payment service provided the request is made before 3.30pm. The payment will leave your account on day one and reach the beneficiary by close of business the same day.

For larger payments, a telegraphic transfer (often know as a CHAPS) payment can be arranged if you provide the necessary information on the morning of the transfer. There is a £9 charge for this facility which will be charged and debited from your Bath Building Society account.

Yes, it is possible to make a transaction by calling our customer service team.

You can also register for Bath Online or the Mobile App to manage your account online and make transactions to a nominated account.

It is a faster, simple process to send funds to your account electronically. You can set your Bath Building Society account up with your bank so you can transfer funds to your savings account as you wish (see how do I make an electronic payment above).

However, if you need to pay in a cheque to your account, please make it payable to yourself. For example, if your name is Jane Smith, make the cheque payable to Jane Smith and not Bath Building Society.

You can pay in a cheque at any of our Branches, or by post to the customer service team at our Head Office address.

The frequency and amount you can withdraw from your account will vary depending on the account type. Please refer to your account terms and conditions or contact our customer service team.

Cheques paid into your account are normally reflected in your balance and will start earning interest from day one. But you may not be able to withdraw these funds until the cheque is cleared. This can take up to six working days.

Interest on the majority of our accounts is paid on 31st December annually, however please check the key product information for your account for more details.

Interest will be added to your Bath Building Society account.

The address that you give us on your application will be the address we will use for all correspondence with you unless you tell us otherwise. Please tell us if you change your address:

• If you are registered for Bath Online, you can change your address by sending us a secure message.
• You can also update your address by completing our change of customer details form available from the download forms section of the website. Then email or post to our customer service team at 15 Queen Square, Bath  BA1 2HN or by visiting one of our Branches.
• It is also possible to change your address by calling the customer service team.

In exceptional circumstances it is possible to authorise a friend or family member to transact on your behalf as a short-term solution. We call this a third party withdrawal and you can find out more information and what to do next here.

If you’re looking for a long term solution for help using your savings account visit our Accessibility & Specialist support pages to learn about giving Power Of Attorney to someone you trust (see next question).

We are proud to support the Digital Power of Attorney initiative. All we need is a valid access code and in most cases we can accept the documentation through this platform. For details on how to create a valid access code please visit the government website.

You’ll find more information in our Accessibility & Specialist Support section, or please read our Power of Attorney and Deputies brochure click here.

For our Power of Attorney Registration Form please click here.

If you have any questions please contact our customer service team.

We are proud to support the Digital Power of Attorney initiative. All we need is a valid access code and in most cases we can accept the documentation through this platform. For details on how to create a valid access code please visit the government website.

You’ll find more information in our Accessibility & Specialist Support section, or please read our Power of Attorney and Deputies brochure click here.

If you lose your passbook please contact our customer service team immediately and we will register it as lost or stolen. You will need to complete a Lost Passbook form and return to us with two forms of identification and then a new passbook will be issued. This may be subject to a £5 fee.

There are various ways to close your account. If you manage your account via Bath Online or the Mobile App, you can follow online instructions to close the account. If you have an email authority in place you can email instructions to our customer service team to close the account, or you can write to us at our Head Office address.

If you need information on the interest credited to your accounts within a tax year, you can request a summary through secure message on Bath Online or via the Mobile App.

All our customers deserve the same excellent, personal service, so we are committed to offering accessibility support for those who need it. Click here for details on how Bath Building Society can offer additional assistance.

The easiest way to get a statement of your account is to register for Bath Online or the Mobile App. Both are simple to do and are available 24/7. Alternatively contact our customer service team.

Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about our tax free savings products:

Instant ISA

Junior Cash ISA

Lifetime ISA

Fixed Rate ISA

Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about our Bond products.

When someone dies, the administration can be overwhelming.  If you are dealing with a Bath Building Society savings account, we will do all we can to make the process as simple as possible for you.

Contact us to let us know about the death of a Savings account holder.  Our customer service team will offer support and practical guidance to help you through this difficult time.

For more information, please read our Bereavement Guide.

We have a Branch in Oldfield Park and a Branch in Wood Street, Bath.

Normal opening hours are:

Monday – Friday: 9am-5pm (9.30am start on Wednesday)

Saturday: 9am-1pm

You’ll find more information about our Branch opening hours here.

For details of our current Savings Interest Rates please click here.

Here you can view the terms and conditions for all our savings accounts.

There are normally no fees associated with the general operation of a savings account with Bath Building Society. There are charges made for some additional services and these can be found in our tariff of charges.

The Personal Savings Allowance was introduced in 2016 so most people no longer have to pay tax on their savings income. The allowance is £1,000 of savings interest per year for basic rate taxpayers and £500 of savings interest per year for higher rate taxpayers (there is no allowance for additional rate taxpayers). Interest from ISAs doesn’t count towards your Personal Savings Allowance because it’s already tax-free.

At Bath Building Society we do our best to provide a first-class service. Occasionally, however, things can go wrong. If they do, our staff are here to try and put them right.

Please read our formal complaints process, or request a copy from our customer service team.

Should we be unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you may be able to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS was set up by Parliament to resolve individual complaints between consumers and financial service businesses, and is free to consumers. More information can be found on the FOS website – www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk