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I take it all back: just noticed that the Coventry Poppy 11 is a Fixed rate Bond for 1 year, so no withdrawals in that year. Have to look again. Still a good rate for a one year bond, and better than some 3 year bonds.0
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Intelligent Finance (if.com) pay 2.49% AER Variable on their online account with unlimited withdrawls. They are part of RBS so pretty much government owned. Their rate always seems to be pretty competitive.0
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Just got a letter saying my 3.2% rate with the AA is ending soon. Just checked the MSE website for a replacement....is 2.5% really the best right now?? That is terrible.
Apparently you can have 3 Lloyds TSB Vantage accounts, which'd be much better at 3%. Just keep £3-5k in all of them and transfer £1k between them all once a month.0 -
The spread between risk-free returns and returns with some risk are HUGE right now, much wider than historically. I used this as my queue to move up the risk spectrum, which is working fine so far but might be a nasty trap!I am not a financial adviser and neither do I play one on television. I might occasionally give bad advice but at least it's free.
Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.0 -
gadgetmind wrote: »The spread between risk-free returns and returns with some risk are HUGE right now, much wider than historically. I used this as my queue to move up the risk spectrum, which is working fine so far but might be a nasty trap!
Fear must be overpowering greed, with some justification I think.
But I don't know which is right.
Warren Buffet has said be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. But thats an oversimplification that has not been true for every scenario. Sometimes its been right to be fearful.“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” --Upton Sinclair0 -
julianhodgearepants wrote: »I opened a Halifax online saver for my mum last year which is due to lose its bonus next week. I rang them up to ask what is the best account they have to transfer her balance to. She is retired and does not pay tax. To my surprise I was told to open another online saver. I have done so and will be moving the funds over on the due date. Is this something that everyone except me is aware of?
I'm fed up opening new Halifax / Bank of Scotland savings accounts every year, I have about seven now with less than a £1 balance.
The t&cs seem to have changed to need to leave a balance of £1 minimum or close the account by telephoning a branch.
I'll just leave a £1 in it and they can post me eight statements every year.
Next month my 2.30% drops to 1.80%, or open a new account again ( with credit checks again ) to achieve 2.05%.
Instead I'm moving my ( less than £20k ) money to Nationwide and won't be bothering any more with HBOS.
If they carry on like this with customers they will go bust..............oh wait. :eek:0 -
Wendell_Pierce wrote: »I'm fed up opening new Halifax / Bank of Scotland savings accounts every year, I have about seven now with less than a £1 balance.
The t&cs seem to have changed to need to leave a balance of £1 minimum or close the account by telephoning a branch.
I'll just leave a £1 in it and they can post me eight statements every year.
Next month my 2.30% drops to 1.80%, or open a new account again ( with credit checks again ) to achieve 2.05%.
Instead I'm moving my ( less than £20k ) money to Nationwide and won't be bothering any more with HBOS.
If they carry on like this with customers they will go bust..............oh wait. :eek:
That's not just a Halifax thing - all the good rates, from all banks/building societies, operate the same way, and drop after around a year.
Why don't you just close the accounts?
I believe you may now be able to redesignate one Web Saver account at Halifax into the latest rate, meaning that just a quick phone call will get your account up to the current rate, without having to close & open a new one.
There are no credit checks for opening savings accounts, so don't worry about that.
It's a trade off. If you're fed up with keeping track of your money, then don't bother, and accept that you'll get low rates. If you'd rather get the most competitive rates that you can, then you'll have to put a small amount of effort in. But when opening a Halifax web account takes a matter of seconds for an existing customer, you can't complain too loudly.0 -
Wendell_Pierce wrote: »I'm fed up opening new Halifax / Bank of Scotland savings accounts every year, I have about seven now with less than a £1 balance.
The t&cs seem to have changed to need to leave a balance of £1 minimum or close the account by telephoning a branch.
I'll just leave a £1 in it and they can post me eight statements every year.
Next month my 2.30% drops to 1.80%, or open a new account again ( with credit checks again ) to achieve 2.05%.
Instead I'm moving my ( less than £20k ) money to Nationwide and won't be bothering any more with HBOS.
If they carry on like this with customers they will go bust..............oh wait. :eek:
I have opened and closed an online AA account over the last year (which is Lloyds/HBOS) and found they made things very easy and convenient - probably the best I have encountered.“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” --Upton Sinclair0 -
Why don't you just close the accounts?
I believe you may now be able to redesignate one Web Saver account at Halifax into the latest rate, meaning that just a quick phone call will get your account up to the current rate, without having to close & open a new one.
There are no credit checks for opening savings accounts, so don't worry about that.
I haven't bothered closing the accounts because of...
" If however, you decide you would rather close your account, please make an appointment in your local branch. You need to do this between ( dates ) as any closures made after this date will be subject to the terms and conditions applicable to your account. "
I know it says minimum balance to keep open £1, but I have no idea about the other T&Cs if I close it, and I don't want to talk to anybody in a branch.
I thought there were credit checks because last time I opened a Reward Saver account it warned there could be credit checks, not that this is a problem, except I am old fashioned probably in thinking too many credit checks goes against you.
I'm probably wrong though.
I didn't know I could redesignate one Web Saver account with Halifax up to the current rate. I will have a look, thanks.
I have been with HBOS for twenty odd years so to be honest didn't realise they all move savings accounts to lower rates, it is a nuisance though. :cool:0 -
Wendell_Pierce wrote: »I haven't bothered closing the accounts because of...
" If however, you decide you would rather close your account, please make an appointment in your local branch. You need to do this between ( dates ) as any closures made after this date will be subject to the terms and conditions applicable to your account. "
Just write a letter asking to close accounts with account numbers A, B, C, etc. Put it through a branch letterbox or post it to them. Quick & easy.Wendell_Pierce wrote: »I thought there were credit checks because last time I opened a Reward Saver account it warned there could be credit checks, not that this is a problem, except I am old fashioned probably in thinking too many credit checks goes against you.
I'm probably wrong though.
The credit check would have been an identification one for new customers. It's not visible on your credit report to any other potential lender, and so is 100% harmless.0
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