Vida Bank

Vida Bank is a UK bank with two customer-facing sides. Vida Savings takes deposits through cash ISAs and other savings accounts. Vida Homeloans lends on residential and buy-to-let first and second charge mortgages, sold mainly through mortgage advisers¹.

For savers, the practical point is that deposits are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, and Vida states that it does not share its protection with anyone else, so the whole limit applies to money held with it³. For borrowers, it means a lender whose product switch process lets existing customers move to a new deal without documents, valuation or legal costs, provided their account is not in arrears⁴.

This page covers what each side of the business offers, how deposits and mortgage payments work, what the fees are for, how to switch to a new rate when a deal ends, how to complain, and what happens to an account when someone dies.

What Vida Bank offers: savings accounts and mortgages

Vida Bank runs two customer-facing brands. Vida Savings takes deposits through cash ISAs and other savings accounts. Vida Homeloans lends on mortgages. The FCA Register lists the firm's permissions as entering into a regulated mortgage contract as lender and accepting deposits, and its current trading names as Vida Savings, Vida Homeloans and Vida Bank⁵.

The mortgage side covers residential and buy-to-let first and second charge mortgages². Second charge means a loan secured on a property that already has a mortgage on it, and it sits outside the product switch process described below⁸. Buy-to-let lending has its own terms and conditions, including a separate Scottish version⁹.

Deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, and Vida provides a copy of the FSCS information sheet every year, with every account application, and across its website, customer portals and application system³.

If you are comparing what is on the market more widely, the site's guides to savings accounts, ISAs and mortgages set out how each type works and what to check before choosing.

Vida Savings accounts and how deposits work

Vida Savings accounts are funded by electronic transfer only. Deposits must come from your nominated bank account, which must be in your name, or from an existing Vida Savings account¹⁰. You can pay in by Faster Payments, CHAPS or standing order, and for an ISA you can also transfer in from another ISA provider¹¹.

Every payment needs a reference: your Vida Savings application number, or the 13-digit account number set out in your welcome letter. Without the correct reference the money cannot be allocated to your account and is returned to you. Payments below the minimum initial deposit are returned in full, as are payments that would take you over the maximum balance permitted¹¹.

On timing, Vida says a deposit can take up to two business days to show on your account, but interest is paid from the business day the payment is received¹¹. When you pay in, the money goes to Vida's Barclays account first and then into your Vida account¹¹.

The accounts differ in how flexible they are. Easy access accounts, defined access accounts, notice accounts and the easy access and defined access ISAs let you add money at any time once the account is open¹¹. Fixed Rate Bonds and Fixed Rate ISAs work differently: you have 21 calendar days from your application request to make as many deposits as you like, and after that no further deposits are permitted¹¹. The 1 year fixed rate ISA follows the same 21 day pattern¹².

Vida Homeloans mortgages: residential, buy-to-let and second charge

Vida Homeloans lends on residential and buy-to-let first and second charge mortgages². The residential terms and conditions run to a separate Scottish version, so borrowers in Scotland are on a different document with the same broad structure. Buy-to-let has its own terms and conditions, again with a Scottish version⁹.

Two features of the terms are worth knowing before you borrow. First, where two people borrow jointly, each of you is liable together and individually for the full amount owing, and Vida can pursue the full amount against either of you individually¹³. Second, Vida can use money it holds for you, including money in any accounts you have with it, to make a missed mortgage payment¹³. That right of set-off means a savings balance with the same firm is not ring-fenced from a mortgage arrears problem.

Vida can also transfer its interest in your loan and mortgage to another person, and the buy-to-let terms allow it to sell, transfer, assign, charge or otherwise dispose of its interest at any time without your consent⁹. In practice this means the firm you owe money to can change.

The terms also carry the standard warning: "Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage."

Mortgage fees and charges: how the tariff works

Vida Homeloans publishes a Tariff of Mortgage Charges, which is the list of standard fees. It is provided with the mortgage terms and conditions, is available on the Vida Homeloans website, and a copy is provided at least once a year when changes are made¹³. If you are in arrears, Vida may charge reasonable administration fees and legal costs, and these are displayed in the same tariff¹⁵.

The tariff covers both the costs of setting up a mortgage and the costs of changing or ending one. A re-valuation, needed if another valuation becomes necessary after the full valuation, is £110².

An early repayment charge, where one applies, is a percentage of the amount you repay and varies by product². Product fees are charged on some mortgages and vary by product².

Switching to a new Vida Homeloans rate when your deal ends

If you do nothing when a fixed or discounted deal ends, you move onto the lender's variable rate, and independent guidance notes that this usually means monthly repayments increase¹⁶. Vida's variable rate loans are calculated by reference to the Vida Variable Rate, which Vida may vary at any time for the reasons set out in its terms, and it may reduce that rate at any time without notice to you¹³.

Vida runs a product switch process for existing borrowers. You can use it if your current fixed or discounted variable rate has already expired or is due to expire within the next 6 months, and your account has no mortgage arrears⁴. You do not need to supply any documents, Vida will not re-underwrite your mortgage, and there are no legal or valuation costs⁴. You can either use the online Product Switch portal yourself, which is an execution-only route, or go through a mortgage adviser, and only one application can be in place at a time⁴.

The mechanics matter if you are close to your deal ending. All product switches happen on the 1st of the month, and Vida needs your offer acceptance 10 working days before the end of the month to process the switch⁴. If an offer is accepted in the final 10 days of the initial rate term, the new rate does not take effect until the 1st day of the month after next, so you pay the variable rate for at least a full month before the switch rate applies⁸. Your offer is valid for 14 days⁴. Vida sends a letter confirming your switch date within five days of receiving your offer acceptance, and a completion letter on the switch date⁴.

There are exclusions. You cannot use the process if you have any personal insolvency proceedings, if your mortgage is in the name of a limited company that has insolvency proceedings, if there is a possession order, if your mortgage is a second charge, if you are in financial difficulty, if there is an imminent change of circumstances, or if you have been subject to a bankruptcy order or individual voluntary arrangement since taking out the mortgage⁴.

Who can get a Vida mortgage and the ID you need

Vida Homeloans is a lender that works mainly through mortgage advisers, and its product switch portal is the self-service route for existing borrowers⁴. For new borrowing, the practical question is what the lender needs to verify who you are.

Vida says it will usually attempt to verify an applicant's identity and address electronically, and will ask for documentary evidence where that is not possible or where the underwriter needs more information¹⁷. The documents it accepts as proof of identity include a valid UK passport, a valid UK driving licence photocard, full or provisional, a valid non-UK passport or national ID card, an HM Forces or police warrant card, and a current firearms licence or shotgun certificate¹⁸.

For the product switch route specifically, the eligibility conditions are narrower than for a new mortgage: no mortgage arrears, no personal insolvency proceedings, no possession order, not a second charge mortgage, not in financial difficulty, no imminent change of circumstances, and no bankruptcy order or IVA since taking out the mortgage⁴.

If you are at the start of the process rather than switching, the site's guide to buying a home covers how a mortgage application works from the beginning, and credit scores and credit reports explains what a lender sees when it assesses you.

Struggling with mortgage payments: the help Vida offers

Vida's own guidance is to contact it as soon as possible if a change could affect your ability to keep up your mortgage payments, because earlier contact means more support and more options may be available¹⁹. That is consistent with what independent advice services say: speaking to your lender early may allow it to reduce your payments for a period or change the way the mortgage is paid, for example to interest only²⁰.

Vida says it may be able to reach a new payment plan, such as extending the term of the loan and so reducing your monthly payments, changing the way payments are made, or changing the payment due date¹⁵. Where your payment amount is changing, the residential terms say Vida will tell you not less than 10 working days in advance and confirm when the first amended payment is due.

Two practical points from the wider advice sector. If you are getting help from a debt adviser, tell your mortgage lender²¹. And if you are having or facing difficulty making mortgage payments, the Help to Stay scheme may be able to provide finance²².

Free, impartial help is available from MoneyHelper and from debt advice charities, and the site's guide to debt sets out the options and your rights.

Making a complaint to Vida Savings or Vida Homeloans

The two sides of the business have separate complaints routes, and both end at the same place if you are not satisfied.

For Vida Savings, you can complain by secure message through the customer portal, by phone on 0345 6460 460, by email to enquiries@secure.vidasavings.co.uk, or by post to Freepost VIDA SAVINGS⁶. A member of the team aims to get back to you within three working days of your complaint being received. If the complaint cannot be resolved quickly, Vida writes within five business days to confirm it is being investigated, and a final response is provided within eight weeks from the date it receives the complaint⁶.

For Vida Homeloans, existing customers contact the Customer Services Team on 0344 892 0155, write to Vida Homeloans at Second Floor, 1 Belle Vue Square, Broughton Road, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 1FJ, or use the online route, which is not available to limited company customers⁷. The Customer Services line is open Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm⁷. If a complaint is resolved by the end of the third business day after it is received, Vida sends a Summary Resolution Communication⁷. Intermediaries have a separate route through the V-Hub on 03300 246 246 or v-hub@vidahomeloans.co.uk, open Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm and Friday 10am to 5pm⁷. Customers calling from overseas can dial 0044344 8920155 or 00441756 776385⁷.

If a complaint takes over eight weeks, or you are unhappy with the final response, you may be eligible to ask the Financial Ombudsman Service for an independent review⁹. The ombudsman service's own guidance is to talk to the lender first, give it the chance to put things right, make a formal complaint, and contact the ombudsman after the final response if you are still unhappy²³. You can reach it through its website or by post at The Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR¹⁴. The service is free.

If you have been the victim of an authorised push payment scam and sent money, Vida Savings asks you to contact it immediately on 03456 460 460. It will assess the claim and, if valid, reimburse within five working days, though in some cases this can take up to 35 working days depending on complexity²⁴. The ombudsman service can also look into complaints about the bank or payment service provider that received the money, considering the steps taken to recover it and whether it should have had concerns about its customer's account²⁵. Independent guidance is blunt about the limits: your money is not protected unless you pay by credit card or Direct Debit²⁰.

What happens to a Vida account when someone dies

For a joint Vida Savings account, Vida removes the name of the person who has died once it has seen the death certificate, and the account then continues in the surviving account holder's name²⁶. The death certificate can be sent by post to FREEPOST VIDA SAVINGS or by email²⁶.

For a sole account, the process depends on size. If the total balance is under £50,000, Vida asks for a Small Estates Closure Form. If the balance is over £50,000, it needs a copy of the Grant of Probate and ID for the executor²⁶. More generally, where an account was in the person's sole name, no one can touch the money until the estate is sorted out²⁷, and a bank may temporarily stop access to the account after a death while still releasing money for funeral costs²⁸.

A Vida ISA keeps its tax-free status for up to three years and one day after the account holder dies, and no new money can be added during that period. After three years the ISA must be closed and the funds paid out, because it can no longer earn tax-free interest²⁶. For comparison, a Lifetime ISA ends on the date of death, with no charge to withdraw the funds or assets²⁹.

On the mortgage side, Vida's bereavement guide gives its registered office as 1 Battle Bridge Lane, London, SE1 2HP, and confirms the firm's Financial Services Register firm reference number as 738741 and its company number as 09837692⁵. The site's guide to life events covers the money tasks that follow a death, and joint accounts explains how joint ownership works day to day.

How your money is protected with Vida Bank

Vida Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority⁵. It appears on the Bank of England list of banks incorporated in the UK authorised to accept deposits, with firm reference number 738741³⁰. Companies House records the company as active, incorporated on 22 October 2015³¹.

Savings with Vida are protected up to £120,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the UK's depositor guarantee scheme³². Vida states that it does not share its protection with anyone else, so the full limit applies to money held with it³. It also warns that savings over the value of £120,000 are unlikely to be covered³. The FSCS limit is per person per firm, so if you hold more than that across Vida accounts, the excess sits outside the scheme.

Vida states it shares this protection with no other brand, so you do not need to split a balance across Vida Savings accounts to stay within it³.

Mortgages are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the way deposits are, and the protection a borrower has comes from the regulatory rules and the ombudsman service rather than a compensation limit. The Financial Ombudsman Service can look at complaints about mortgage arrears charges, and its guidance notes that lenders must give borrowers the chance to put things right first³³. If you want to check whether a financial service has followed the rules, Citizens Advice sets out how to do that³⁴.

The site's guide to consumer protection explains how the FSCS, the ombudsman service and the regulator fit together, and regulation in the UK covers who makes the rules.