Changes to our Terms and Conditions

We are making some changes to the Bank’s Terms and Conditions documents for savers.

• Terms for Personal Savers
• Terms for Organisations
• Terms for Personal Savers (Ethical Easy Access Account)
• Terms for Organisations (Ethical Easy Access Account)

From the 27th of February 2025, here’s what is changing:

Removal of Direct Debit service to fund your account

We shall no longer be offering the service to fund your account regularly by Direct Debit, however you will still be able to fund your account (should the specific additional terms for your account allow) by cheque and electronic transfer (Faster payment, BACS and CHAPS). You can also set up a standing order from your nominated account to make regular payments to your account with Charity Bank. This allows you more control and flexibility over the management of these regular payments, as you can amend or cancel a standing order as and when you like. We believe this is more beneficial to our savers that the current Direct Debit service we manage, as it is limited to the date we specify.

Therefore, the below clause will be removed from documents, Terms for Personal Savers, Terms for Organisations.

Payment into your account by Direct Debit

6.3 Where the specific Additional Terms for an account allow, you can arrange to deposit regularly with us (from your nominated account) by setting up a Direct Debit with your UK bank or building society. The Direct Debit form can be downloaded online or is available upon request.

And this variation from document; Terms for Organisations (Ethical Easy Access Account)

Payments into your account by Direct Debit

6.3 The specific Additional Terms for an Ethical Easy Access Account allow you to deposit regularly with us (from your nominated account) by setting up a Direct Debit with your UK bank or building society. The Direct Debit form can be downloaded online or is available on request.

If you accept these changes, you do not need to do anything. However, if you are unhappy, with any changes, you have a period of 60 days from this notification, where you can let us know and you can switch or close your account without notice, charge, or loss of interest.

If we do not hear from you by the 28th of March 2025, we will take this to mean you have accepted the changes. If you seek to close your account after this date, standard closure terms shall apply.

Addition of how your money is protected against fraud

Following new banking rules that came in effect on the 7th of October 2024, we shall be updating our Terms and Conditions documents with details of how your money is protected against APP (Authorised Push Payment) fraud. The changes will include details of what you should do if you are a victim of APP fraud and how we’ll refund money lost within 5 working days, through a new faster industry-wide process. You may recall we shared information regarding this in our communication to you on the 7th of October. To be reminded of this please visit our website post at www.charitybank.org/news/protecting-your-money-against-fraud/.

From 27th of February 2025 the following clauses will be included in our Terms and Conditions documents:

If you’re tricked into sending money by bank transfer to a fraudster

10.3       You may claim a refund if you’re a victim of Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud. This is when you believe you have been tricked into sending money to us, but in fact suspect you have sent payment by bank transfer to a fraudster.

• If you are entitled to a refund, we shall usually make payment of this within 5 working days up to a limit of £85,000* provided.
• The claim is made within 13 months of the fraud occurring.
• The fraud occurred on or after the 7th October 2024.
• Payment was made by bank transfer.

If we need more time to investigate your claim, we shall ‘stop the clock’ as permitted within the rules and take no longer than 35 days to reach a decision before payment can be made. 

We reserve the right to deduct a £100 excess from the refund, unless you’re a vulnerable customer. We shall advise you in advance of any payout if this is the case.

* This limit is subject to review by regulators and may change from time to time.

Reporting a fraud or suspected fraud on your account

10.4       Report an APP fraud by contacting us by email: [email protected] or phone: 01732 441 944. We shall advise of any information we require to investigate your claim.

Please advise us even if you have not fallen victim to the scam or making a claim, so we can help protect others.

When an APP fraud claim may not be covered

10.5       Each claim is accessed on a case-by-case basis reviewing its merit and the law. To support a successful claim you must;

• Tell us about the suspected fraud as soon as you become aware of it.
• Provide us with any information that we reasonably ask for to allow us to investigate your claim.
• Allow us to report the fraud to the police on your behalf (or you must report it to the authorities, if we ask you to). If you don’t, this could affect whether you are entitled to a refund.

We may not refund all claims. We will not provide you with a refund if any of the following apply:

• You have made a payment from your account to another account in your name.
• On payments made before the 7th October 2024.
• Claims made more than 13 months after the fraud took place.
• If you have acted with gross negligence, such as by ignoring direct warnings from us or another bank or making further payments after reporting the fraud.
• If a claim includes false information or there’s attempted fraud by the sender.
• You are involved in the fraud in question.
• Payments sent or received by credit unions, municipal banks and national savings banks.

We will always consider all the relevant facts, including your personal circumstances, when deciding how to deal with a claim for a refund.

Keeping your money safe against fraud

10.6       These frauds can be complex and convincing. To learn more about keeping your money safe, visit our fraud page on our website at www.charitybank.org/fraud-scams/ and our security page at www.charitybank.org/security/.

Here are some keys things we will never ask you to do;

• Request payment of any type, for example fees, by debit or credit card.
• Request you issue payment of any type to a third party in any situation.
• Email a link to update your nominated bank account details held with us.

Always be vigilant, if you suspect any possibility of fraud, contact us directly by email: [email protected] or phone: 01732 441944 to validate the request.

When these changes become effective in February, you will be able to view our updated Terms and Conditions documents in full via www.charitybank.org/savings-accounts-document-library/#terms or you can contact us by phone: 01732 441944 or by email: [email protected] to request a copy be sent you.