Savings FAQs

The opening process may vary across our different account types. Please refer to each individual product page for accurate information.

Each of our six branches are available to open an account at. You can book an appointment online using our Appointment Booker or by contacting the branch directly to request an appointment. Contact details for each branch can be found on our Branch
Finder.

Withdrawals can generally be made in branch, over the phone or online. Specific restrictions will apply depending on the type of account. Please refer to each individual product page for accurate information about the types of withdrawals you can make.

Deposits can generally be made in branch by cash or cheque or by bank transfer. Specific restrictions will apply depending on the type of account. Please refer to each individual product page for accurate information about the types of deposits you can make.

If you need to make a one-off electronic payment or set up a Standing Order, please use the details below:

Account Name: As it appears on your Vernon account

Account Number: 10920320

Sort Code: 20-55-34 

Reference: Your 10-digit account number

Payee account type: Personal

You must always include your Vernon Building Society Account Number as the reference for any payment, to let us know that the money you are sending is for your specific account. If your payment does not include the correct reference, it may be returned.

Please refer to our ID Requirements guide.

From the date the cheque is deposited, it will take seven working days to fully clear and be available in your account.

Make the cheque payable to the name of the account holder(recipient) of the cheque.

You can head into any of our six branches or download our Account Amendment Form and return it by emailing to info@thevernon.co.uk or post it to your nearest branch.

Please book an appointment at one of our six branches to provide a copy of the death certificate. This could be the original copy, a copy certified by a solicitor, a death certificate verification form (from your solicitor) or a coroner’s interim certificate.

More information can be found in our Bereavement Guide.

If you wish to register yourself as an attorney for one of our account holders, please book an appointment at one of our six branches and bring a completed copy of our Power of Attorney Registration Form, the original or certified copy of the Power of Attorney document and a form of acceptable ID. Please refer to our ID Requirements.

If you’re looking to register Enduring Power of Attorney, if the document has not been officially registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, we will need the express permission of the account holder for this to be added to their account.

An account may show as inactive if there have been no transactions within the last 48 months. A transaction is defined as:

• Making a withdrawal

• Making a deposit in one of our branches

• Getting your passbook updated in one of our branches

In this event, our system will automatically apply an ‘inactive’ status to the account as a security measure to prevent fraudulent activity.

To remove this, you will need to reconfirm your identity in one of our six branches and provide an acceptable form of ID from our ID Requirements.

Your Personal Savings Allowance (PSA) is the amount of interest you can earn free of tax. Any interest above the PSA will be subject to income tax. The allowance amount is dictated by your tax status:

• Basic rate taxpayers will pay tax on all interest earned over £1,000.

• Higher rate taxpayers will pay tax on all interest earned over £500.

Any interest paid to a Cash ISA does not count towards your Personal Savings Allowance. You can find more about this allowance by visiting: www.gov.uk/apply-tax-free-interest-on-savings

Let us know as soon you can, so we can prevent any unauthorised use of your account if your book has been stolen.

We can issue a replacement passbook at a cost of £10 each time, so make sure your book isn't simply mislaid before requesting a new one. 

If your interest rate is reducing, we will inform you at least 14 days before it changes. You will have a period of time in which you are able to close your account without notice or penalty. If your rate is increasing, we will update our website and display our new rates in each of our six branches. More information can be found in Section 10 of our Terms and Conditions for Savers.

Vernon Building Society are part of the Financials Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which means that your deposits are protected up to a total of £85,000 (£170,000 for joint accounts) by the FSCS.

Learn more about How FSCS protects your money.

We are committed to maintaining our status as a mutual building society, as we believe this is in the best interest and long-term benefit of our members.

There are some speculators that open accounts in the hope of gaining windfall benefits should the Society be taken over. To prevent this, new savings customers from 1st January 2025 will need to assign any potential windfall payments to the Vernon Charitable Foundation (1204548) which was founded in 2024. This assignment will apply for the first 5 years of membership. 

You can find out more about this scheme here.