Boots/ Mothercare/ TSB Children's Mutual Child Trust Fund (CTF) Reviews

Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: good information
Bad Points: slow in sending vouchers as promised 
First reviewed on 30 June, 2009 by Joanne
Informative in all info given and reading material which was the main reason I went with them but was required to chase a number of times to receive mothercare vouchers as promised. When I phoned to enquire about the vouchers, I found that the staff I spoke to were not particularly helpful or friendly and I was told the vouchers would be sent out and they were not so it meant I had to ring back and it took a number of calls to finally get them. Since then the company have kept me up to date and sent an annual statement about my investment.
Joanne's Golden EggNest Rating (3 out of 5): 

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points:
Bad Points:
First reviewed on 12 July, 2009 by Maryam
I think this is agreat svaings plan by the government. As they help you to start off with a £250.00, it encouraged me and my husband to set an account for my daughter as well start regular savings for her
Maryam's Golden EggNest Rating (4 out of 5): 

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: The voucher and website were very easy to follow and puttuing the voucher into the account was simple and took no more than 5 minutes.
Bad Points: It took a while to receive the conformation through the post.
First reviewed on 08 July, 2009 by Naomi
Overall i have been pleased with the account and the set up process. The offer of mothercare vouchers strongly influenced my choice of account for the voucher.The bonus has been the mothercare vouchers when you open up the account!It has been easy to set up the direct debit to reguarly put money into the account
Naomi's Golden EggNest Rating (4 out of 5): 

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: They are easy to ring if you have any questions you need answerin
Bad Points: Most of the people who you ring for quiries don't know what we are talkin about so you end being moved around
First reviewed on 05 July, 2009 by Catrina
Catrina's Golden EggNest Rating (5 out of 5): 

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: Easy to set up Quality annual statements
Bonus vouchers
Bad Points: Not always an immediate response to enquiries
Low returns to date
First reviewed on 30 June, 2009 by Hannah
In general am very happy with this company. I chose partly because of the Boots vouchers and partly because it advertised widely so I considered it a safe company. Direct debits are easy to set-up, and it's also very easy to pay in extra cheques - I don't always follow their instructions to the letter (eg addressing the cheque to the child rather than to the company on behalf of the child) but everything goes through fine. Am pleased with the information that comes through. Latest annual statement shows a considerable loss, but I think a lot of places will have done this due to the world's financial troubles - and this is of course a long-term investment. Only had one problem where they didn't respond to an email, and they wrote to me a few days later about the issue (obviously having not read the email) - but this may have been a one off glitch. Overall I would recommend it, but I may change my mind if finances don't turn around in a couple of years.
Hannah's Golden EggNest Rating (5 out of 5): 

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: Easy to set up. Clear information which was easy to understand.
Bad Points: May not actually see any gain due to current economic climate
First reviewed on 22 June, 2009 by Jane
I researched as to where top place our daughter's voucher for a while as it is hard to know what to do in the current climate and also whether it is worth investing extra or simply put some under the mattress!!! I decided on The Children's Mutual and found it so easy to set it all up on line and will wait to see what the outcome is before thinking of increasing the monthly direct debit. I will enjoy the £30 vouchers that I can claim - although it is a bit odd that one has to invest more that £10 so I guess one could set the dirct debit up for just over that amount.
Jane's Golden EggNest Rating (4 out of 5): 

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: Good customer service Easy to set up Grandparents and friends can pay in too.
Bad Points: As it's shares you could lose your money
First reviewed on 15 June, 2009 by Georgina
I've been with The Children's Mutual now for about 5 years, the service is very easy to set up and use and they have very good customer service. I like the fact that they send you out statements so you know how much money you've either lost or gained over the year. Another great point is they send out these little tear off slips to give to friends and family with all the account details if they want to put some money in for a birthday or even monthly.
My only real qualm is that you never know how much your child will have at the end of it as it's all in shares!
Georgina's Golden EggNest Rating (2 out of 5): 

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: I have found the Childrens Mutual to be very good. After the birth of my 2nd child I immedialtely invested the voucher with them. And have since had regular statements along with offers if I add to the value every month. There really are some great incentives. I also intend to invest my 3rd childs voucher with the childrens mutual too.
Bad Points: The only bad point I have to make is not due to the childrens mutual in any way, but I would have loved to add more money to my childs investment but with the economy the way it has been means that there is little poing adding more as there is now less in the account than when we started.
First reviewed on 1 June, 2009 by Alison
Alison's Golden EggNest Rating (2 out of 5): 

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: Easy to use.
Bad Points: Once money in the account, cant change your mind.
First reviewed on 21 May, 2009 by Michelle
After 9 months of thinking about what to do with my babys child trust fund voucher i have just put it into the childrens mutual stakeholders account. The website was very quick and easy to set up the account. I am a bit unsure of what to do when my child turns 13 however i am sure i will know better once i have recieved the welcome pack from them. When you set a direct debit of over £10 a month you recieve the £30 mothercare vouchers which is also useful. I am looking forward to recieving the yearly statements to see how the child trust fund is performing for my baby's money. This is a well known child trust fund accound which is why i thought it would be safer to put the money in this account for my son. Hopefully it will prove to have been the best choice for him..only time will tell!!
Michelle's Golden EggNest Rating (1 out of 5): 

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points:Free £20 Boots Gift Vouchers! Great for a month's supply of nappies!!! 
Bad Points: NONE!
First reviewed on 21 May, 2009 by Nicola
We took out a Boots CTF and have had no probs. Would definately recommend!
Nicola's Golden EggNest Rating (5 out of 5):   

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: Lots of freebies, this account encourages friends and family invest. great web site, easy to apply online.
Bad Points: Hanv't found any yet!
First reviewed on 6 May, 2009 by Jo
Lots of freebies from setting up this account. thay also encourage your friends and family to invest in your child future, which is excellent. The web site looks great and easy to understand all the info, as this topic can be a bit confussing. The online application was really easy and quick to apply for the account. i read lots of info on other compare sites and leaflets but this is the one that kept popping up. all information pack were well informed and easy to read.
Jo's Golden EggNest Rating (4 out of 5):   

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: Good, clear information provided. Customer services team reply prompty you your questions.
Bad Points: The fund is performing terribly at the moment. I have invested quite a lot into the account over the last year, and was shoked to find that on the latest statement the value of the account had risen by pence. Would have been better off sticking the money in a sock!
First reviewed on 24 April, 2009 by Craig
Craig's Golden EggNest Rating (4 out of 5):   

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: Quick process and all information supplied to read at leasure.
Bad Points: Once we said we didn't want to up our monthly instalments they lost interest!!
First reviewed on 23 April, 2009 by Claire
We have chosen another company for our other children.
Claire's Golden EggNest Rating (3 out of 5):   

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: Quick & easy to set up, Mothercare vouchers if you set up a direct debit of more than £10 a month
Bad Points: It seems silly that the direct debit can't be £10 but must be more than (e.g. £10.01!).
First reviewed on 21 Jan, 2009 by Naresh
Having read all the information which came from the government about Child Trust Funds I decided that the type of fund which I wanted for my son was the Stakeholder variety. It seemed to be the best option for gaining a good return without quite as much risk as the pure shares ones. I particularly wanted a fund which would only invest ethically and so having consulted the chart in my information pack I narrowed it down to three or four different funds. On checking with various review websites I found that the Children’s Mutual had good reports from both customers and IFAs, so I settled on it.  When applying the website was easy to use and the procedure simple to follow. I had previously sent off for one of their information packs, which includes a pre-addressed envelope in which to send the voucher to them so even that was easy. I was also pleased to set up a monthly direct debit and am therefore entitled to £30 of Mothercare vouchers.
Naresh's Golden EggNest Rating (4 out of 5):   

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Commented by Anon on 21 Jan, 2009
Having read all the information which came from the government about Child Trust Funds I decided that the type of fund which I wanted for my son was the Stakeholder variety. It seemed to be the best option for gaining a good return without quite as much risk as the pure shares ones.  I particularly wanted a fund which would only invest ethically and so having consulted the chart in my information pack I narrowed it down to three or four different funds. On checking with various review websites I found that the Children’s Mutual had good reports from both customers and IFAs, so I settled on it.  When applying the website was easy to use and the procedure simple to follow. I had previously sent off for one of their information packs, which includes a pre-addressed envelope in which to send the voucher to them so even that was easy.
I was also pleased to set up a monthly direct debit and am therefore entitled to £30 of Mothercare vouchers.
Anon's Golden EggNest Rating (4 out of 5):

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Commented by Craig on 9 September, 2008
I took out a "Baby Bond" with the Children's Mutual (then Tunbridge Wells Equitable Society) when my daughter, Sophie, was born. I did a lot of research into these Bonds, which had performed well in the past compared to the usual Building Society Account. I found helpful articles about this on www.moneysavingexpert.com. I opened the Bond with £500. It was extremely easy to open the Account and I get yearly Statements from them detailing the performance. I have since read negative articles (particularly in the Mail on Sunday Financial Mail) about the way these Bonds are performing (not very well, it seems!) but am leaving things as they are for now. I haven't added any more money to it since but again, may well do so in the future. I would recommend the Children's Mutual from the customer service point of view and that you do know what's happening with your Bond.
Craig's Golden EggNest Rating (3 out of 5):

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: Environmentally sound product.
Bad Points: It didn't appear to be as well known as the other Baby Bond products - I had to ask the adviser specifically for the Ethical Baby Bond.
First reviewed on 17 Aug, 2008 by Rebecca
There are not many ethical products on the market so it made choosing one a lot easier. I wanted one that was ethical in terms of the environment and impact upon it . This stakeholder product invests in the CIS UK FTSE4Good Tracker Trust which is a fund that only holds shares in companies showing real commitment to the environment and human rights eg, they can't be involved in environmentally or socially damaging activities such as nuclear power or manufacture of weapons. Additionally all CIS UK FTSE4Good licensing revenues go to UNICEF which helps children around the world. It feels important to me to invest in something that does good and is good for the world that my daughter will ultimately inherit. It was easy and quick to set up over the phone and all I had to do was post in the voucher.
Rebecca's Golden EggNest Rating (4 out of 5):   

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: You can eran more money than you put in. Friends and family can add money The send you vouchers when you increase payment and when you open it. The send statements.
Bad Points: You can loose money depending share prices and the account you choose to have.
First reviewed on 04 Aug, 2008 by Charlene
i chose my child trust fund through lloydstb. They gave me the leaflet to open one with Childrens Mutual. Once you set up a direct debit of a minmum of £10 a month you get £20 worth of boots vouchers. They send you a statement so you know how much you have saved and it also shows you how much your child will get when they reach 18. After you have been with them for so long they send you another letter to increase your diect debit if you do this they then give you nother lot of £20 boots vouchers. Not all places give boots vouchers they give mothercare or other places. You also get cards so you can give them to your family and they can put money for birthday and xmas presents. I think the trust fund is a good idea because when they get to 18 you can encourage them to spend it on uni or getting a car, that way they get the best start when they leave school and college. Also depending on what account you choose to have you could actually earn more money than you put in depending on share prices when your child is 18. But you choose the risk you want to take either low or high. You can put up to a maximum of £1200 a year in to your childs account.
Charlene's Golden EggNest Rating (3 out of 5):    

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: Easy to apply for account. Mothercare vouchers for opening account Easy to make additional payments
Bad Points: It is a risk and amount paid in maybe more than final outcome. 
First reviewed on 09 Jul, 2008 by Dawn
I opened this trust fund 2 years ago for my son. The application process was easy and the mothercare vouchers arrived with no hassel.  The account enables other family members to pay in money as they desire, additional payments can be made via post and internet and a direct debit option is available for regular payments.
Statements are received to inform us how account is progressing and receipts are sent when additional payments have been made. There is a risk as the final outcome is not always as positive as what has been paid in however over the 18 year period this will hopefully improve. I will be looking at opening the same account again for my daughter when she is born this month.
Dawn's Golden EggNest Rating (4 out of 5): 

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