Birmingham Midshires

Birmingham Midshires is a savings brand that has stopped taking customers. Its own savings site states plainly that "Birmingham Midshires Savings is now closed to new and existing customers"¹. That single line shapes almost everything about dealing with it: there is no new account to open, no rate to compare, and no application to make. What remains is a book of existing accounts, a mortgage business, and a set of processes for people who need statements, old balances or a complaint answered.

Birmingham Midshires is a savings brand that is closed to new and existing customers, and it also appears among the trading names on the permission held by the firm behind Halifax and Bank of Scotland².

The brand also administered some Saga and AA savings accounts, so a reader may hold a Birmingham Midshires account without realising it, because the paperwork carries the Saga or AA name³.

What Birmingham Midshires offers: savings and mortgages

The brand's consumer-facing business is savings, and it is a closed book. Birmingham Midshires Savings no longer takes new or existing customers¹. Alongside its own accounts, it administered some Saga and AA savings accounts, which means some customers hold Birmingham Midshires products under another brand's name³.

The mortgage side is different. The firm behind Birmingham Midshires holds permission to enter into regulated mortgage contracts as lender, to accept deposits, and to enter into regulated credit agreements as lender². Birmingham Midshires appears among the trading names on that permission, so mortgage customers deal with the same firm as Bank of Scotland and Halifax customers.

There is no current account, no credit card and no insurance sold under the Birmingham Midshires name. If you are looking for a savings account today, the savings accounts guide sets out the types available and how they work, and the ISAs guide covers tax-free accounts. For borrowing, the mortgages guide explains the market, and the lenders directory lists who lends.

Because the brand is closed, the useful question for most readers is not what it sells but what happens to an account they already hold. That is covered below.

Savings and ISAs: how deposits, transfers and maturity work

Birmingham Midshires offered both easy access and fixed rate savings, including cash ISAs. Historical interest rate documents exist for its ISA easy access accounts and its easy access accounts, covering variable rate accounts that are now closed to new customers⁶. Those documents matter if you are trying to work out what rate an old account paid at a particular time.

For closed accounts, the bank will provide an annual statement, a certificate of interest, a data subject access request, the balance, the interest rate and the interest paid⁶. If you live at the same address you lived at when the account was closed, and your name has not changed, you can request these by phone on 0345 602 2828. Otherwise you need to write to the Savings and Investments Team at Birmingham Midshires Corporate Centre, Pendeford Business Park, Wobaston Road, Wolverhampton, WV9 5HA, with certified identity documents⁷.

On maturity of a fixed term account, the process is set by the individual account's terms rather than by a single brand-wide rule. Other providers show how much the detail varies: Coventry Building Society automatically re-invests a maturing fixed rate ISA into another ISA if the member does nothing, which is Option A on its maturity instructions form⁸. Anyone approaching maturity should read the instructions they were sent rather than assume.

ISA transfers work the same way at Birmingham Midshires as anywhere else: you approach the provider you are moving to, and it arranges the transfer. NS&I, for example, tells customers that to move an ISA balance elsewhere they contact the new provider, which arranges it⁹. Where current tax year savings are being moved, that part usually has to go in full, while previous years' savings can often be moved in full or in part⁸.

Birmingham Midshires mortgages: moving home, borrowing more and early repayment charges

Mortgage customers under the Birmingham Midshires name sit within Bank of Scotland's mortgage servicing. Bank of Scotland tells existing customers thinking about moving home to find out whether they can move their existing deal to the new property¹⁰. That process is called porting.

Porting a mortgage means taking the existing deal on the current property and transferring it to the new home¹¹. Most mortgages are portable, so the deal can move from the property originally borrowed against to the one being bought¹². Whether a particular borrower can port depends on the lender's assessment and their circumstances, and the lender's answer is the one that counts.

The alternative is to change the existing mortgage, and that is where cost enters. Bank of Scotland warns that early repayment charges may apply when a customer changes an existing Bank of Scotland mortgage¹⁰. Independent guidance puts the scale bluntly: these fees can add up to tens of thousands of pounds, so it is worth thinking about when you will next move home¹¹.

The same trap exists in later-life borrowing. With a lifetime mortgage, there may be significant costs involved in switching, including early repayment charges¹³. Anyone weighing up whether to move, port or repay early is comparing a charge they can quantify against a rate they would gain, and the charge is usually the harder number to find.

How applications are assessed and what a decline means

Any credit application under this permission is assessed using credit scoring. Bank of Scotland uses a system called credit scoring as part of the assessment process when customers apply for credit products, including mortgages, current accounts, personal loans and credit cards¹⁴. Information in the application is given a score, and the total indicates the level of risk involved, which helps ensure applications are assessed the same way and that the bank lends responsibly¹⁴.

The bank will usually contact one or more credit reference agencies as part of the assessment¹⁴. The scoring details themselves are confidential, for security reasons, including to prevent fraudulent applications¹⁴.

A decline is not a judgement about character. Bank of Scotland states that a decline does not mean it considers the applicant a bad payer, just that past experience suggests applicants in similar circumstances are more likely to experience payment problems¹⁴. There is a route to challenge it: a customer can appeal against a declined application, and although the bank cannot guarantee to reverse the decision, it will review any further supporting information provided¹⁴.

Two consequences are worth knowing before applying. The fact that the bank has reviewed a credit file may be recorded by the credit reference agency and may be taken into account by other lenders¹⁴. And incorrect details held by credit reference agencies can be corrected¹⁴. Customers can also re-apply in future, as circumstances change¹⁴. The credit scores guide explains how files are built and read.

Managing your account online and by phone

Birmingham Midshires accounts are run through online and mobile banking, with phone support for the things that cannot be done digitally. For closed accounts, the phone route is the quick one: if you live at the same address you lived at when the account was closed and your name is unchanged, you can call 0345 602 2828 to request an annual statement, a certificate of interest, a data subject access request, the balance, the interest rate or the interest paid⁷. If either detail has changed, the request goes in writing with certified documents to the Wolverhampton address⁷.

If you are trying to trace an account you have lost track of, the bank points customers to the My Lost Account service, where you complete a search form¹⁵. You can also send a completed unclaimed account application form¹⁶. Where an account is traced and a valid claim is made, all the money in the account, including interest, is paid back to you or the account owner¹⁷.

For customers who need extra help, there is a dedicated number: 0345 608 2828 for support due to a disability, and +44 1902 428311 if calling from abroad¹⁸. Age UK notes that banks generally offer help with online banking for customers who find technology difficult, which is worth asking about if the digital route is the obstacle¹⁹.

The Halifax brand is changing to Lloyds: what changes for customers

Halifax, a sister brand under the same parent, is changing to Lloyds²⁰. Halifax states that the Halifax brand is changing to Lloyds¹³. For Birmingham Midshires customers this is a change to a neighbouring brand rather than to their own accounts, but it matters in one practical way: the branch network and the staff who can help with paperwork are shared.

Birmingham Midshires accepts document certification from any employee in a Halifax, Bank of Scotland or Lloyds branch³. As the Halifax name moves to Lloyds, the branches a customer might walk into are the same ones, under a different sign.

Scams and fraud: what the bank will never ask and how refunds work

The rules here are consistent across official sources. You will never be asked for your bank details by text, social media, email or via links to click within a text or email²¹. Legitimate organisations will never ask you to pay fees in advance to release money, recover funds, or secure a loan²¹. The Bank of England states that it will never contact you about investments, refunds, fines or bank details, and will never ask for bank details, National Insurance numbers, ID or payments unless you are exchanging banknotes with it²².

Your bank or the police will never ask for your PIN or password, or ask you to transfer funds for fraud reasons²³. A bank will never phone out of the blue, ask for your PIN or password, or ask you to move money into a different account²⁴.

If a call claiming to be from the bank leaves you unsure, call 159. If your bank is signed up to the service, you are put through to its genuine customer service line²⁴. Wait at least 15 minutes before calling back, or use another phone²³. Age UK notes that scammers now use artificial intelligence to make fake calls more convincing, which makes verifying through a number you looked up yourself more important, not less²⁵.

If you think you have been scammed, contact the bank right away so it can guide you on what to do next²⁶. The scams and fraud guide covers the main types and how to report them.

Managing an account for someone else

Where an account is held jointly, the identification rules are strict and apply to everyone named. Birmingham Midshires requires all account holders on a joint account to each send their own identification documents, and it accepts documents addressed jointly or individually¹⁷. That applies across its account types, including savings¹.

For anyone managing money on someone else's behalf, the arrangements differ by provider. NS&I, for example, lets a person manage any of its accounts on behalf of someone else online, by phone or by post, with post only required where there is restricted authority, joint action is needed, or the account is its Investment Account²⁷. Birmingham Midshires does not publish an equivalent general power-of-attorney route in the material available, so a customer in that position needs to ask the bank directly what it requires.

The life events guide covers the wider set of money tasks that follow bereavement, illness and loss of capacity.

FSCS protection: one limit shared across the group's brands

Joint account holders get £120,000 each²⁸. Where a business partnership holds an account, the partnership is entitled to a single claim of £120,000, not one claim per business partner²⁹.

The important part for a reader with money in more than one place is aggregation. Anyone with accounts under different brands owned by the same firm is still only protected up to £120,000 in total³⁰. Protection applies at firm level and may be shared across brands under the same authorisation³¹.

That is why the brands matter more than the logos. The FSCS provides a checker so a saver can confirm how a particular brand is protected before moving money³¹.

Money spread across several brands that share one licence is added together before the limit is applied²⁹.

Contacting Birmingham Midshires and complaining

Complaints can be made by phone on 0345 602 2828, by post to the BM Savings Customer Relations Team at WV9 5HA, or by email to onlinecomplaints@birminghammidshires.co.uk⁵. The same phone number handles general account queries for closed accounts⁷.

If the complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, the next step is the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free to consumers. The consumer protection guide explains how the ombudsman works and what it can award.

For anyone struggling with debt rather than a service problem, free and impartial help is available from MoneyHelper and from debt advice charities, and the debt guide sets out the options and the protections that come with them.