Frequently asked questions

Where are your branches?

Please see our branches page where you can see full addresses and a map to help you find your nearest branch.

What are your opening hours?

You can see a full list of the opening hours for all of our branches here.

How can I find your branch via public transport and where can I park?

Please see our parking and public transport page for the latest information.

Can I arrange to book an appointment?

You can arrange an appointment during the week (Monday to Friday) by calling our Customer Services team on 03451 221122, who will arrange for the branch to contact you to book a convenient time.

How can I get help with a general account enquiry?

If you’re registered to access your account online, please login using your User ID and password. Once logged in, you’ll be able to see your balance, transactions and what rate your account is currently earning.

Alternatively, please call our Customer Services team on 03451 221122 or visit a branch where our teams will be able to help.

How do I make a withdrawal in branch?

You’ll need to provide your passbook when requesting a withdrawal, you may also be asked for additional photo identification.

Branches are able to process a cash withdrawal for branch based accounts only, the daily limit for cash withdrawals is £500 per day per account.

Cheque withdrawals can be processed in branch for up to £99,999.99.

Nominated Accounts - by providing us with details of your nominated account, you can transfer funds by electronic transfer to a linked bank or building society account in a secure manner. Please visit one of our branches with your passbook, proof of the nominated bank account and photo identification, or alternatively you can call our Customer Services team on 03451 221122, where we’ll attempt to verify the bank details electronically.

How do I give you feedback about a branch?

We always welcome feedback about our branches, so we can recognise where we did well and where we can improve our service.

To provide your feedback online please go to tellkentreliance.com. To give us feedback over the phone, please call 0800 011 9079 and enter the PIN corresponding to the appropriate branch below:

How do the current changes from the Bank of England affect me?

Please visit the Bank of England website for further information.

What is a nominated bank account?

A nominated bank account is a current account with another UK bank/building society held in your name that has been registered and verified by us. Your nominated bank account is where all electronic payments (apart from internal transfers) out of your Kent Reliance account must be made.

Does the nominated bank account have to be solely in my name or can it be a joint account?

Your nominated bank account can be a sole or joint account. Any current account that you’re named on can be used as a nominated bank account.

Do I have to have a nominated bank account?

In order to send an electronic payment out of your account we require a nominated bank account to be registered and verified by us before the payment request is received.

Where will my interest be paid?

For any account opened from 30 August 2019, if you’ve requested for your interest (if payable) to be paid away from your Kent Reliance account, this will be sent to your nominated bank account.

For accounts opened before 30 August 2019, if payable, interest will be paid into the account you’ve requested when opening the account (or subsequently changed), which may be different to your nominated bank account.

I received a negative interest payment?

Negative interest will be applied to an account for one of the reasons below:

• A withdrawal from or closure of your account resulted in a “loss of interest” in line with the product specifics T&Cs. The accrued interest earned on your account up to the withdrawal/closure did not exceed the amount of lost interest and so negative interest was applied to your account. For example, if you have a 60 day notice account that allows immediate access and you wish to withdraw funds without providing us with the full 60 days’ notice. This withdrawal will result in 60 days of loss of interest on your account as set out in the product specific Ts & Cs.

• A withdrawal from or closure of your account has been made after our systems calculated the monthly interest due for that month. Our systems calculate monthly interest payments on the working day prior to the last working day of the month. If a withdrawal or closure is made after this it may result in us overpaying interest to you. If the amount of accrued interest remaining in the account is less than the amount of overpaid interest, negative interest will be applied to the account.

• When calculating monthly interest, we do so on the basis that each month last 30.416 days (365 days divided by 12 months). This means that in some months, for example February which can have 28 or 29 days, you would receive the same amount of interest as you would in March which has 31 days. This can result in a negative interest being applied if a withdrawal or closure is processed within the first few days of a new month and our system calculates that we have paid interest to your account for more days than we have actually held your funds.

Can I change my nominated bank account?

Yes. You can write to us, call us or visit a branch.

If you are making a withdrawal and opt to change your nominated bank account it will take one working day to validate your new nominated bank account electronically and for the update to take effect.

If you are just changing your nominated account this will take up to 5 working days.

However, if electronic validation is not possible, we may ask you to send us an original Bank/Building Society account statement no more than three months old showing the account details. Until such time the update takes effect, withdrawals made from your account(s) will still be credited to your existing nominated bank account.

How do I set up a nominated bank account?

You must provide details of a valid UK bank/building society current account for your nominated bank account. We’ll electronically verify that this account is held in your name (or in the name of the first applicant in the case of a new joint account application) and you may be requested to provide additional evidence (e.g. an account statement) if we’re unable to verify this information electronically.

Can I have multiple nominated bank accounts?

No. Each customer may only have one nominated bank account. This will be used for withdrawals/payments on all accounts held with us.

We have a joint account, can each of us have our own nominated bank account?

Yes. When opening a joint account, the first applicant must be named on the nominated bank account for the identity verification purposes. Once set up, additional account holders of a joint account may also have a different nominated bank account associated with the joint account.

How soon will I receive my money once I make a payment request?

This depends on the, day and time you submit your withdrawal/payment request. Please refer to our withdrawals page on our website.

How do I contact Kent Reliance?

Please visit our support page for more information.

If you can't help me, can you recommend an adviser?

We cannot recommend a mortgage adviser for you, however the website unbiased.co.uk provides a list of mortgage advisers in your local area.

I have seen a great mortgage on your website. How do I apply for it?

Kent Reliance accepts mortgage applications from mortgage advisers only. If you have a mortgage adviser we suggest you speak to them about our range of mortgages. If you do not have a mortgage adviser, you’ll find a list of mortgage advisers in your local area at unbiased.co.uk.

Can I speak to a mortgage adviser?

Kent Reliance does not have in-house mortgage advisers, so we would suggest speaking to your own mortgage adviser about our range of mortgages. If you do not have a mortgage adviser, then the website unbiased.co.uk provides a list of mortgage advisers in your local area.

Can I speak to someone about mortgages?

Kent Reliance does not have in-house mortgage advisers, so we would suggest speaking to your own mortgage adviser about our range of mortgages. If you do not have a mortgage adviser, then the website unbiased.co.uk provides a list of mortgage advisers in your local area.

What is life assurance?

Life assurance is a simple form of protection. It will provide a lump sum in the event of the death of a policyholder during the term of the life assurance policy. The lump sum can be used to repay the outstanding debt of a mortgage.

For more information please visit the Money Advice Service website at moneyhelper.org.uk or speak to your adviser. If you do not have an adviser then the website unbiased.co.uk provides a list of advisers in your local area.

What is critical illness assurance?

Critical illness policies are designed to pay out a lump sum if a policy owner suffers a specified illness that they survive. Examples of critical illness include heart attack, cancer and stroke. The lump sum can be used to repay the outstanding debt of a mortgage.

For more information please visit Money Advice Service website at moneyhelper.org.uk or speak to your adviser. If you do not have an adviser then the website unbiased.co.uk provides a list of advisers in your local area.

How do I transfer my ISA to Kent Reliance from my existing ISA provider?

Please find our full details here. 

How to I transfer my existing Kent Reliance ISA to a new ISA provider?

 Please find our full details here. 

How do you define ‘personal data’?

We will receive personal data about you from a variety of sources including from you, information we collect about you when you use our banking services online, information we receive from other sources including from applicants or account holders, persons who represent or advise you including a person appointed under a Power of Attorney, your bank or building society, fraud prevention agencies, the Cash ISA Transfer Service, persons working on our behalf and providing services to us, marker researches, government, tax and law enforcement agencies and other companies within the OSB Group.

We will also receive and create personal data about you during the course of the application for, and our administration of, an account, for example from emails, telephone calls, letters and other documents. We may also obtain data about you that is publicly available, such as from the Electoral Register and the Internet.

What are the ‘special categories’ of personal data?

Some personal data for example data about your health, racial or ethnic origin is subject to additional rights and are described as “special category data”.

We will not routinely ask for or record special category data but we may record details about your health if it is necessary and relevant for the management of the account(s) (e.g. so we can make reasonable adjustments to assist you in accessing and managing your account(s), which may include sending you information in braille or large print, or if we think you are experiencing circumstances which may lead you to be financially or otherwise vulnerable).

We will only do this if you have confirmed your explicit consent to us doing so, or where we are legally permitted or required to process this information without seeking your consent. Where we have obtained your consent to us processing special category data in this way, you are entitled to withdraw your consent to this at any time.

Please contact us if you wish to do so but that may affect our ability to manage your account in the most appropriate way for you. If you withdraw your consent, we will not continue to process this information for these purposes, but it will not impact the validity of any processing undertaken before you withdrew your consent.

What does ‘processing personal data’ mean?

Data protection law requires that we meet certain conditions before we are allowed to use your data in the manner described in this privacy notice. We rely on the following legal grounds in order to process your data:

Processing of your data is necessary for the performance of a contract you are party to or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract

When you open an account with us, you enter into a legal contract under which we provide banking services to you. We require certain personal data in order to establish a contractual relationship. For example, you provide information about yourself in application forms, without which we would be unable to identify you or verify your suitability for the services requested.

Processing of your data is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation which we are subject to

We are required to process certain personal data in order to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations including UK anti-money laundering regulations, for the purposes of ongoing fraud detection and reporting and to ensure the fair treatment of vulnerable customers.

We have obtained your consent

We may process certain information where you have provided your consent for us to do so. For example, you may provide us with your explicit consent to process certain special category data such as health data (for example, to inform us about hearing difficulties) where this assists us in providing services to you.

Where we rely upon your consent in order to process your personal data you may withdraw this consent at any time.

We may also provide you with certain marketing information including third party services or products where you have provided your consent for us to do so.

Processing your data is necessary to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another person.

In exceptional circumstances we may also process information where this is necessary to protect you or another person and where you are physically or legally incapable of providing consent.

Processing of your data is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us or by a third party, except where such interests are outweighed by your interests, fundamental rights and freedoms

Personal data is processed where it is necessary for our legitimate interests including to help us manage our business and to analyse, assess and improve the viability and popularity of our products. It is also processed to enable us to respond to queries, complaints and for the establishment and defence of legal rights.

Personal data is shared with external Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs) and Fraud Prevention Agencies (FPAs).

Why do you need to process my data?

• consider your application for a savings or other account, to provide and administer the account and any other products and services you have or apply for with us
• identify and prevent financial crime
• comply with our legal, contractual and regulatory obligations, codes of practice and to run our business
• develop and improve our products and services
• undertake analysis, produce models, statistics, reports and forecasts
• investigate and respond to queries, complaints, disputes and where necessary to bring or defend legal claims

Where’s my personal data held and do you transfer my data outside of the UK?

We may share your personal information with any member of OSB Group, which means any subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and its subsidiaries, as defined in section 1159 of the UK Companies Act 2006.

We will only disclose your information to:

• business partners, suppliers and sub-contractors for the performance of any contract we enter into with them or you;
• providers of payment services such as Worldpay (privacy statement available on website);
• third party suppliers and service providers including providers of services in respect of anti-money laundering, fraud, verification, etc.;
• our affiliates and selected third parties so that they can contact you with details of the services that they provide, where you have opted-in/consented to the disclosure of your personal data for these purposes;
• providers of analytics that assist us in the improvement and optimisation of our services;
• any investor, potential investor, funder, purchaser in or of our business or any part of our business (including your mortgage) and their advisers;
• organisations involved in any finance transaction which we undertake or intend to;
• our regulators, law enforcement, credit reference agencies or fraud prevention agencies, as well as our legal advisors, courts any other authorised bodies including for the purposes of investigating any actual or suspected criminal activity or other regulatory or legal matters, etc.;
• UK tax authorities, who may pass it on to other tax authorities in line with international agreements or treaties that may be in force tax authorities, who may pass it on to other tax authorities in line with international agreements or treaties that may be in force.

We may disclose your personal information to third parties: 

• if you require us to;
• in the event that we consider selling or buying any business or assets, in which case we will disclose your personal data to any prospective sellers or buyers of such business or assets; 
• if we, or substantially all of our assets, are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data held by us about our customers will be one of the transferred assets;
• in the event of any insolvency situation (e.g. the administration or liquidation) of OSB GROUP PLC or any of its group entities;
• in order to enforce or apply our website or service terms;
• to protect the rights, property, or safety of us, our staff, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of staff and customer safety, crime prevention, fraud protection and credit risk reduction; and
• if we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation or regulatory requirements, or otherwise for the prevention or detection of fraud or crime.

What types of personal data do you process?

We may process a wide variety of data about you, where necessary, for the purposes set out in the “How We Use Your Data” section, including data about:

• you as an individual
• people connected to you
• your finances and the finances of any business you own or run
• your accounts, products and services you have with us
• your communication preferences
• your technology
• your profile and how you use our products and services
• your preferences
• your correspondence and documents we hold
• the results of checks we are required by law to undertake and any relevant criminal convictions

How long personal data is kept for?

We will retain information about you for the period necessary to fulfil the purposes for which the information was collected. After that, we will anonymise or delete it. The retention period may vary depending on the purposes for which the information was collected.

Where a specific legal or regulatory requirement applies to your information we will retain it for at least the period of time specified in such legal or regulatory requirement. In the absence of a specific legal or regulatory requirement, we will usually retain your information for up to seven years following the end of your relationship with us or, in relation to certain mortgage lending, the closure of a specific mortgage account. However, we may occasionally be required to extend a retention period if the information is required for ongoing litigation, regulatory, tax or accounting purposes.

Please also note that FPAs can hold your personal data for different periods of time, and if you are considered to pose a fraud or money laundering risk, your data can be held for up to six years.

How we use your personal data to make automated decisions?

Sometimes we may use your personal data to make an automated decision (applicable to certain products only). These help to ensure that our decisions are quick, fair and efficient based on the data we have about you. The type of automated decisions we may make are:

• to check whether you meet the conditions required to open the account you have applied for;
• to check your identity; or
• to decide whether we will offer additional products and services or the opportunity to vary existing products or services and the terms of any such products, services or variation. 

These automated decisions may also take into account details of any products you already have with the OSB Group.

You may ask us not to make automated decisions about you by contacting our Data Protection Officer, or ask us to review any automated decision that we have made taking account of any additional information you wish to provide to us.

What are identity theft and identity fraud?

Identity theft:
Identity theft happens when fraudsters access enough information about someone’s identity (such as their name, date of birth, current or previous addresses) to commit identity fraud. Identity theft can take place whether the fraud victim is alive or deceased.

Identity fraud:
Identity fraud can be described as the use of that stolen identity in criminal activity to obtain goods or services by deception.

Fraudsters can use your identity details to:

• Open bank accounts
• Obtain credit cards, loans and state benefits
• Order goods in your name
• Take over your existing accounts
• Take out mobile phone contracts
• Obtain genuine documents such as passports and driving licences in your name.

It’s worth noting that stealing an individual’s identity details doesn’t, on its own, constitute as identity fraud. But using that identity for any of the above activities does.

The first you know of it may be when you receive bills or invoices for things you haven’t ordered, or when you receive letters from debt collectors for debts that aren’t yours.

What is phishing?

Phishing is an attempt to trick someone into giving information over the internet or by email that would allow a fraudster to take money from them and/or steal their identity.

What is vishing?

What is smishing?

Smishing is when fraudsters obtain personal details of victims by SMS (text message). Texts will usually contain a link, which will redirect to a website that’ll either download a virus to your smartphone or ask you to input personal details.

What are copycat websites?

Unfortunately, fraudsters go to great lengths to try and trick people into parting with their hard earned money and that includes creating websites that look very similar to that of genuine organisations.

There are some things that they don’t get quite right though so if you find yourself visiting a website through an email or text message and you have a feeling something is wrong, make sure you do your research first. Here are some tips:

Spelling mistakes: These can be very small and even appear in the website address which could be easily missed - if you’re not sure, consider searching the internet for the exact name of the business you’re dealing with, and double check that you end up at a website with the same address.

Call the company: If you want some extra reassurance, call the company you think you’re dealing with. They’ll be more than happy to help you get to the right place and grateful for the report if the website you have found is a copycat.

Check for scam websites: Through Citizens Advice, you can check if something might be a scam online or if you’d prefer to speak to somebody, you can get in touch with a scams advisor.

If it’s a financial services provider that you’re trying to identify as legitimate, like a savings provider for example, you should always check the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) register to make sure that they’re authorised to provide the service they’re offering.

The FCA register also provides a link to the firm’s official website which means you can be sure that you’re in the right place.

What will fraudsters say?

Fraudsters of this kind will often pretend to be from your bank – or any other company you do business with. They’ll usually claim there is a problem with your account or tell you that urgent action needs to be taken to ensure you’ll not be charged or have your account closed.

They’ll then either ask you for your details directly, ask you to follow a link or to download an attachment. Depending on the scam, these links may either download a virus to your device or lead to a website asking you to input your details which they’ll in turn steal.

Protecting yourself from fraud and cyber crime

To stop yourself becoming a victim of identity fraud, you can follow these tips to help keep your personal information safe:

1. Don’t give out personal information (name, address, bank details, email or phone number) to organisations or people before verifying their credentials
   
   Always question unsolicited calls, texts or emails requesting your personal or financial information
2. Make sure your computer has up-to-date anti-virus software and a firewall installed. Ensure your browser is set to the highest level of security and monitoring to prevent malware issues and computer crimes.
   
   Installing, or enabling, antivirus software on your laptops and computers will protect them from viruses and hackers.
   
   If you receive an email or SMS that looks odd – Don’t open any links or attachments. These can put a virus on your phone or computer.
3. Many frauds start with a phishing email. Remember that banks and financial institutions won’t send you an email asking you to click on a link and confirm your bank details. Don’t trust such emails, even if they look genuine.
   
   You can always call your bank using the phone number on a genuine piece of correspondence, website (typed directly into the address bar) or the phone book to check if you’re not sure.
4. Destroy and preferably shred receipts with your card details on and post with your name and address on. Identity fraudsters don’t need much information in order to be able to clone your identity.

What should I do if I suspect a call, text or email is fraudulent?

If you feel you may be a victim of a phishing, vishing or smishing scam, contact us (or the business in question) immediately to ensure no fraudulent activity has occurred and report it to Action Fraud. To alert us to any suspected fraud or scam, please email us at customer.security@krbs.co.uk or call us on 0800 077 8210 and we’ll be happy to help you.

If you have a call that you suspect is an attempt at fraud, hang up and call a number that you know is genuine from a different phone from the one you were previously talking on.

For more information on Fraud and how to protect yourself:

• FFA UK – Shopping online
• FFA UK – Banking online
• Action Fraud
• Citizens Advice
• Age UK
• Cyber Aware

How do I make a complaint with Kent Reliance?

Please visit our complaints page.

Is my business eligible to open a Business savings account online?

To open a Business savings account online, your company must be a Private Limited business registered in the UK with fewer than three Directors and major Shareholders.

Your details must also be registered and up to date at Companies House.

Who is an Authorised User?

An Authorised User is an individual who is designated to operate the Business savings account on behalf of the Company. At account opening, every Director and major Shareholder of your Company must be set up as an Authorised User so that the necessary identification checks can be conducted on each of them as part of the application.

A maximum of three Authorised Users may operate the accounts of a Company at any one time.

What happens if my Company has more than three Directors or major Shareholders?

Unfortunately if your Company has more than three Directors and major Shareholders, you are not eligible to open a Business savings account with Kent Reliance.

What happens if my Company has major Shareholders who are not also Directors?

Unfortunately if your Company has Shareholders who are not Directors, you are not eligible to open a Business savings account with Kent Reliance.

Do I need to send in any evidence of identification for my Company or for the Authorised Users to open my account?

Details about your Company and its Authorised Users will be retrieved and verified from Companies House. Once you have submitted your online application, before allowing you to fund the account, we will check the identity and address of each Authorised User. These checks are carried out electronically to make it as easy as possible for you. Sometimes we are unable to carry out the checks electronically and we may ask you to send in some additional evidence of identification by post. We will let you know if we need any additional information at the end of your application.

Details about your Company, Directors and major Shareholders retrieved from Companies House will not be editable within your application.

What happens if the information retrieved from Companies House about my Company is incorrect?

If inaccurate or incomplete information is retrieved from Companies House, before submitting your application, you will need to contact Companies House and correct your details.

How long will Companies House take to correct and update my details?

Companies House should tell you how long it will take to correct and update details held on their systems; however this is usually 2-3 working days.

What is a nominated bank account?

Your Company will need to have a valid UK Bank or Building Society current account held in the Company's name. The account must allow transfers to be made and received electronically and will be known as the nominated bank account. We will need the sort code and account number for the nominated account to complete the application. All deposits into and withdrawals from your Kent Reliance account must be from or to the nominated account.

Will you inform me once my opening deposit has reached my new Kent Reliance business savings account?

Yes, as soon as your opening deposit has reached your Kent Reliance Business savings account, an email and SMS (if a mobile number has been registered) will be sent to each Authorised User confirming receipt of funds.

A letter confirming that the new account is open will be sent to the trading address of your Company once the initial deposit has been received.