One Account rates cut

Poj wrote: »

If you could just copy over the bits that weren't about the thread disappearing it would be useful. Otherwise if it has to be everything copied over, it could get confusing.

good point POJ...my brain really is frazzled!

From Telegraph article today

Link http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/interestrates/3551399/Banks-defy-Gordon-Brown-by-failing-to-pass-on-lowest-interest-rates-in-50-years.html

Banks will next week be summoned to a meeting at the Treasury to discuss their lending practices. Treasury officials are expected to start a number of detailed studies looking at the rates and fees charged by banks for a number of popular mortgages – including tracker deals.

Treasury officials have privately indicated that they will not hesitate to intervene if they discover that banks are behaving inappropriately.

Discussions with the banks are being led by Lady Vadera, a former aide to Gordon Brown who is now a business minister. The Government has begun considering contingency plans to nationalise the banking system if lending conditions do not improve soon.

Could it be if we maintain the pressure, keep alerting MP's etc that the OneAccount/RBS and Natwest Offsets would be considered in detail

Also worth highlighting to Shriti Vadera if anybody knows her contact details.

blisteringblue wrote: »

Don't forget there was a 0.5% drop before the 1.5% BOE cut and that was also never passed on

Sorry BB, but that's not correct - we got a 0.5% reduction on 3rd Nov.

Re the other two 0.25%s earlier in 2008 - if we compare against Bank of England rate then you're quite right; and longer-standing OA customers have a legitimate gripe about that, because they had a promise to track BoE, which wasn't followed in those two instances.

However, OA's cost of borrowing money is not BoE; it's more like 3-month LIBOR. If you compare their rate against that, it was quite consistent until 7th Nov, when LIBOR started to chase down BoE.

I joined OA this year, and I didn't get a promise to track BoE; personally, I'm "only" dissatisfied about the extra 0.5% margin which they're making after 1st Dec. But that's quite bad enough for me.

Regards

Chief Executive Officer:
The One account
Woodland Place
Pinetrees Road
Norwich
NR7 9EJ

Re Mortgage Account Number:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I recently took a mortgage out with the One Account/RBS for £285,000. On the keyfacts document provided at the time of taking out this mortgage it names the mortgage lender as “RBS Intermediary Partners The One Account of Royal Bank of Scotland”.

In addition the keyfacts document states I am on a 0.56% discount to the variable rate which as at 1st Feb 2008 was 7.05%. After 2 years this will revert to the RBS Intermediary Partners The One Account’s Standard Variable Rate, (7.05% as at 1st Feb 2008) for the remaining term of the mortgage.

I will use the term “One Account” and RBS interchangeably in my letter as the “One Account” is listed as one of the RBS brands on your website in the “about us” section in the same way that NatWest is.

Looking on the RBS website at a recent press release it is quite clear that the failed institution now majority owned by the tax payer has cut is standard variable rate by 1.5% for all RBS and Natwest customers, yet I have only seen a 1% drop in my mortgage payments effective December 1st.
:money:
http://www.rbs.com/media03.asp?id=MEDIA_CENTRE/PRESS_RELEASES/2008/NOVEMBER/11_RATE
NatWest and RBS cut its Standard Variable Rate by a full 1.5 per cent

7th November 2008:

“NatWest and RBS today announce that its Standard Variable Rate mortgages will be cut by 1.50 per cent from 6.69 per cent to 5.19 per cent. The reduction follows a review following the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision to cut rates by 1.50 per cent yesterday and today's movement in LIBOR. The rate change is effective from 1 December 2008 for existing customers.”
:money:
RBS were recently named and shamed in the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/dec/04/rbs-one-mortgages-first-time-buyers#history-byline

“One of Royal Bank of Scotland's mortgage divisions has come under fire after refusing to pass on last month's interest rate cut in full, despite having "promised" to follow Bank of England base rate moves.

The decision has prompted an outcry among customers.”

“RBS and NatWest last month said standard variable rate (SVR) mortgages would be cut by the "full 1.5%" after the Bank of England base rate was cut from 4.5% to 3% on November 6. But One account customers have been told they are only getting a one percentage point cut.”

“The Guardian has obtained a copy of a letter sent out by the division in May 2001, which states: "Our promise is that we'll follow the base rate and pass the benefits of interest rate cuts on to our customers straightaway."

“Tony Wood, the former marketing director of Virgin Direct who is a One account customer, said RBS's behaviour was "a betrayal of all the principles we built the One account on in the first place". He added: "It's interesting to see how, as a majority taxpayer-owned business, they can even contemplate going back on such clear-cut promises, which was one of the main reasons for customers signing up in the first place. It makes particularly interesting reading in the context of the Financial Services Authority's 'treating customers fairly' rules."

Dozens of disgruntled mortgage holders have joined the Facebook group, said Wood, who now works as a brand and communications consultant.

RBS's decision to treat One account customers differently is potentially embarrassing because, when the division was half-owned by Virgin it made great play of how it passed on every rate cut to customers in full within 24 hours of each Bank of England announcement. In 1999, the then managing director of Virgin One, as it was called, said: "We have passed on every rate cut in full on the same day because that is how our customers expect to be treated - fairly and honestly."
:money:
Clearly there has been some mistake as to why the One Account have not passed this rate cut in full to all customers. I am therefore writing to you in anticipation of receiving a further 0.5% cut backdated to 1st December.

I also expect the 1% cut in base rate to 2% will also be passed on to all customers effective 1st January.

In an effort to assist your other 170,000 customers I am posting this letter on www.moneysavingexpert.com where there is a forum dedicated to customers who have been overcharged by the One Account/RBS which been viewed by nearly 50,000 internet users with 520 posts to date. I am sure you will appreciate reading further letters from your affected customers. I will also be informing a number of other interested parties.

I urge Labour MPs cc’ed to resolve this matter in your state controlled bank as a matter of urgency otherwise I anticipate that the Conservative party will pick up on this matter and use it to highlight your failure to assist tax payers at this difficult time.

As for Tesco I urge you to reconsider your financial relationship with theis failed bank, especially in light of this example of the customer service. Do you want to risk Tesco becoming tainted by association?

Yours sincerely,

Joe