This week I answer your questions on different addresses on your credit report, what interest you’ll get with Starling, how to meet minimum deposits on new current accounts and more.
I love hearing from you, whether it’s on the blog, social media, YouTube or on email. Often you’re asking me questions about your finances, and I’m always glad to help if I have the time.
But I realised that my answers could also be useful to other followers. So I’ll be putting my responses to the best questions into regular articles here on the blog.
Right over to the latest questions…
Can I have different addresses on my credit report?
My husband and I have been saving to buy our first home and fingers crossed will be in a position to be homeowners this/next year. I wondered if you could help me with a few questions –
Over the last few years we have done a mix of living with parents & housesitting for friends/family. My bills/paperwork are registered at my Mum’s address however as she lives on her own so benefits from single allowance on council tax/TV licence, she understandably doesn’t want me registered to vote at hers. Does it cause problems/issues with my credit rating if my bills/paperwork are registered at her address but I register to vote using my in-laws address?
I currently have a part-time job with a charity which I love, however it’s unlikely they’ll be able to increase this to be full-time which I’ll need to help with getting enough for a mortgage. Does it affect my mortgage changes if I have say 1 full-time job or 2 part-time jobs (earning the same total as the f/t job)?
Emma, via email
Hi Emma.
Hmm, so there’s no easy answer. You really should have the same address for everything so you would ideally register to vote at your mum’s house.
But you’re not allowed to register at a property you don’t live at. So that means you have to register at your in-laws. And then move all your accounts to there too.
However when you do this it could hurt your score temporarily too (as you’re now at a new address) – but I’d expect that’s better than not registering to vote at all. And you’ve got time for this to right itself.
On the second point, it’s all about total income. So two jobs earning the same as one shouldn’t really make any difference.
Would negative interest rates affect my fixed savings?
I’d be interested to know how negative interest rates would work with fixed/term/notice accounts or premium bonds.
David, via YouTube
If an account is fixed then negative rates won’t change what you get. If it was to happen it could mean notice accounts change the rate they offer (but you’d be able to withdraw the cash immediately). Premium Bonds could also reduce the win rate.
Will Starling Bank pay me interest?
Hi Andy I’m a big fan of your YouTube channel and was just wondering if you wouldn’t mind to give me some advice…
I’ve got roughly £25,000 in the Santander 123 current account however I’m aware the interest rate will drop to 0.3% pretty soon…
I have my direct debits in this account, savings and wages all in this one account…
I was thinking of switching it all to the Digital Starling account as it had 0.5% interest up to £85,000 and just keeping saving in that account…?
Would that be advisable as I have a very poor knowledge of banks and savings accounts and the interest rate at this time is really poor..!
Hope this message finds you well and please keep up the good work you do.
kind Regards
Anon via Facebook
Hi,
Tthe Starling rate is actually 0.05% – so it’s not the place for savings (though it is a good account for banking).
You could keep using Santander for your bills etc, but move to the cheaper 123 Lite, then put your savings in a separate account
The best of the current lot are here, or you could look at Premium Bonds
Should I skip autosaves on Chip?
@AndyCleverCash Hi mate. Hope you’re well.
— Sadio Manny (@MSJ_LFC) February 25, 2021
I opened my Chip +1 account three months ago today. I got a reminder on my phone today to “Skip Autosave”. How do I go about doing this on my Chip +1 app and would I need to do this every 3 months?
Cheers
Sadio via Twitter
Hey Sadio. If it’s asking you to skip autosaves then you’re on the paid ChipAI tier (they made the fee mandatory in early December). If you want to avoid this £1.50 every four weeks then move it down to the free ChipLite. You’ll only earn interest on £2k but that’s probably best.
That’s because after the fee you’re really getting around 0.86% on the full 5k. But if you treat the extra 3k as separate it’s less than 0.6% – which you could beat with a Club Lloyds account (and also get free movie rentals/magazine subscription and access to a 1.5% regular saver).
Here’s more about Chip+1.
What direct debits count for a bank switch offer?
Both my wife and myself have opened our individual accounts [for Virgin Money]. This might be a silly question, but are incoming direct debit payments acceptable towards qualifying for the wine deal ?
Thomas, commenting on the blog
Hi Thomas. They’ll need to be direct debit payments out, so things like your energy bill, membership, charity donation or credit card payment
Will I still get TV if I get rid of Virgin?
My aerial is through virgin box will it work with now box without arial
Lorraine, commenting on the blog
Is it just the cable TV input? If so that won’t work with Freeview. If you also have a roof aerial though for terrestrial TV it’ll work with your TV or a Freeview recorder.
But that shouldn’t matter. NOW TV is all about signal coming via your broadband. So it doesn’t use an aerial at all (there were some older boxes that had this feature but they’re no longer available).
I don’t earn enough to pay into a new bank account for the bonus
Hi. I am thinking of opening another current account as I only have 1. I didn’t know you could have multiple different ones. But I don’t think I can use the switching to get more out of it as I only have a low paid part time job. I see a lot of accounts you have to put so much in each month. I don’t earn anywhere near enough to do that. I just want a separate one from my main one to use online and shopping but won’t be a disaster if I get hacked, etc. Any idea which account would be best for that?
Jacqueline via the Facebook group
You can get around the minimum monthly deposits quite easily. Say it asks for £1,000. You don’t have to put in £1,000 in one go, and you don’t have to keep it in there. You could for example, transfer over £250, then transfer it back to your other account, and repeat it another three times. You can even set this up as standing orders so it’s done automatically!
Will Sky give me a better deal?
Hi Andy. You probably get a million questions and I apologise in advance.
My parents have sky HD multi room and paying the maximum with an increase due. I know if they change to Sky Q they will get a good deal but their internet is not fabulous and they are elderly so no good with technology if it goes offline.
If I call Sky do you think they would do a deal with their existing HD boxes please?
Thank you for your time. You are fabulous. My Daughter has just opened a free business bank account thanks to you.
Best wishes
Jeanette, via Facebook
Hi Jeanette, It’s always worth haggling with Sky to see what deal they’ll give. If you say you’re planning on leaving you tend to get the best deals – even if you don’t actually intend to go.
It’s always harder with older parents – my folks wanted to stick with BT so they pay a little more as a result, but I still managed to haggle them a better deal.
How to ask me questions
The best ways to get in touch is in the Andy Clever Cash Facebook community
Just post your question any time, or ask me live in my weekly Q&A each Thursday (which is also on Instagram).
You can also comment on individual blogposts and videos or ask me questions via these channels:
- Twitter @AndyCleverCash
- Instagram @AndyCleverCash
- Email Andy[at]BeCleverWithYourCash.com
I can’t promise I’ll be able to answer all questions but I’ll do my best.