Ready Steady Save!

Whether you're a new or existing Chelsea saver, it's easy to open an account.

Important information
Please read and print the information listed below so that you can proceed with your application. We also need you to tick the box below as confirmation.

I confirm I have printed and read the information listed above.

How to apply

Complete all the relevant sections of the downloadable application form below, print it off and sign it. If you are an existing Chelsea saver and want to transfer from an existing Chelsea account, please also complete, print and sign the transfer form.

Application form (new and existing savers)	Transfer form (existing savers only)
Ready Steady Save application form (PDF 57KB)	Transfer form for existing savers (PDF 43KB)
These forms are PDFs and may take a few minutes to download. The file size is detailed to give you a guide as to how long it may take on your system. You will need the free Adobe® Reader® software and weblink plugin to view these documents. If you do not have these, you can download them using the button below Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat Reader are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

Application form (new and existing savers)

Transfer form (existing savers only)

Ready Steady Save application form (PDF 57KB)

Transfer form for existing savers (PDF 43KB)

These forms are PDFs and may take a few minutes to download. The file size is detailed to give you a guide as to how long it may take on your system.

You will need the free Adobe® Reader® software and weblink plugin to view these documents. If you do not have these, you can download them using the button below

Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat Reader are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

You can return your application to us by post or at your local branch. Just follow the instructions below:

By post	At a branch
Make sure you have the following items: completed forms cheque (minimum £1)* identification (if required) Send to: Chelsea Building Society Savings Department Freepost SW3414/4 Thirlestaine Hall Thirlestaine Road Cheltenham GL53 7BF You don't need a stamp as we pay the postage for you.	Make sure you have the following items: completed forms cash deposit or cheque (minimum £1)* identification (if required) Take to your local branch
* Please ensure that cheques are written clearly and made payable to Chelsea Building Society followed by your name. This will help us to prevent fraud. You should draw a line through unused space on the cheque so unauthorised people cannot add extra numbers or names. If you are transferring from an existing Chelsea account, you won't need a cheque but you will need to provide your passbook (if applicable).

By post

At a branch

Make sure you have the following items:
- completed forms
- cheque (minimum £1)*
- identification (if required)
Send to:
- Chelsea Building Society
- Savings Department
- Freepost SW3414/4
- Thirlestaine Hall
- Thirlestaine Road
- Cheltenham
- GL53 7BF
You don't need a stamp as we pay the postage for you.

Make sure you have the following items:
- completed forms
- cash deposit or cheque (minimum £1)*
- identification (if required)
Take to your local branch

* Please ensure that cheques are written clearly and made payable to Chelsea Building Society followed by your name. This will help us to prevent fraud. You should draw a line through unused space on the cheque so unauthorised people cannot add extra numbers or names.

If you are transferring from an existing Chelsea account, you won't need a cheque but you will need to provide your passbook (if applicable).

When your account is opened you will be given a passbook as a record of your savings. Please keep this safe and present it whenever you wish to withdraw money.

Proving your identity

Before you open an account with us, we will ask for proof of your identity. This is no reflection on you – it’s to ensure compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations that apply to every bank and building society.

Asking for proof of identity also makes it more difficult for criminals to use stolen identities, helping to prevent financial crime and protecting you from fraud.

Proving your identity is simple and can be done by post or in person at one of our branches. The documents provided must be originals unless indicated otherwise. They must show your full name and either your residential address or your date of birth. Once we have taken a record of the relevant information we will return them to you.

Existing customers may also need to provide us with additional information – we will let you know if this is the case

Acceptable documents

If you want to apply at a branch

If you are aged 10 or over you can open Ready Steady Save in your own name at a branch with your opening deposit, one of the documents listed in section A and a document from either list B or list C that contains your address and has been sent to one of your parent(s)/guardian(s):

A	Your passport (if you have one) or your birth certificate.
If you are under 10, in addition to identifying you we will also need to see identification documents for your parent(s)/guardian(s) acting as trustee(s) and will need to see the following documents:
B	One of the following for EACH parent/guardian who is acting as a trustee: bank or building society, credit card or credit union statement showing your current address (no more than 3 months old) HM Revenue and Customs Notice of Tax Coding or Demand (issued within the last 12 months) current full driving licence or current valid passport (branch applicants only, please don’t post these to us) evidence of entitlement to state benefit, state pension or tax credit (issued within the last 12 months).
And
C	One of the following further items for EACH parent/guardian who is acting as a trustee: domestic utility bill – gas, water, electricity, telephone – NOT mobile (no more than 3 months old) mortgage statement (no more than 3 months old) council tax bill (current year).
If you want to apply by post Ready Steady Save accounts opened by post must be operated on a trustee basis only. We will need: A completed cheque drawn on the trustee’s personal current account for the opening deposit or part of the opening deposit. One item from section B and one item from section C for each parent or guardian who is acting as trustee And two identity documents for the young saver from section D
D	One of the following documents: Photocopy passport Photocopy birth certificate Photocopy NI card Photocopy NHS medical card Original Child Benefit or Child Tax document

If you haven’t got some of the identification items listed above, give us a call and we will try to help you to find an alternative.

Items such as library tickets, bus passes and other similar documents that are easily obtained and do not offer a reliable means of proof of identity can’t be accepted.

Please be aware that before you operate your account, our staff may ask you to prove your identity. You may therefore be asked to produce the above items before making a withdrawal.

Charitable assignment
It is a condition of opening an account that new members must agree to assign any future windfall conversion benefits to Chelsea Building Society's Charitable Foundation.

This requirement applies to anyone who opens a share account with Chelsea unless that person:

has been either a shareholding member or a borrowing member of Chelsea continuously since 19 March 2000 or
belongs, at the date of application, to one of the classes of exempt customers (a list of the classes of exempt customers is available on request - the reason why some individuals are exempt is to avoid unfairness)

The agreement to assign any windfall conversion benefits will last for 5 years. Charitable assignment has been introduced to avoid disruption to normal business caused by the action of speculators whose main objective is to receive conversion benefits.

Chelsea Building Society Charitable Foundation is a registered charity, constituted so that a majority of its trustees are independent of Chelsea Building Society. It provides financial assistance in the form of grants to registered charities.