Nationwide Cuts Savings Rates

anglia105e

If you are an old Portman 50+Monthly Interest Iss Pt3 Monthly Saver account holder you need to very carefully check the letter dated August 2008 which you received from Nationwide regarding the change in Interest Rates. They cut the rate which was anyway a miserly 4.10% in half to a disgraceful 2.10% and this cut will be automatically actioned at the end of September unless you act. I sacrificed the 75 days Notice Period, withdrew all the fund, re-invested them at 7.05% at the Post Office and am still £ 135.00 better off. If your balance is in excess of £ 10K you need to take your passport to the branch office to close the account

RayWolfe

Nationwide have other products. Have you checked their interest rates?

Milarky

RayWolfe wrote: »

Nationwide have other products. Have you checked their interest rates?

There's a principle here, though. Nationwide could have brought Portman accounts into line with comparable Nationwide accounts (i.e. the ones they still offer) rather than sneakily downgrade to a 'dormant' account rate. Indeed, the best 'guarantee' was to convert all Portman accounts instead of leaving it up to customers to decide. NW aren't the only sinners, of course, and times are getting tough out there for the banks - but they shouldn't (no bank should) even be allowed to play this tacky little game - and any 'banking code' worthy of the title should by now proscribe the practice.

Cozworth806

The lesson is that Nationwide generally offer very poor savings rates in comparison to other places and that anyone who has their money with them needs to the rates carefully.

Taht said they aren't the worst but no where near the best.

RayWolfe

Milarky wrote: »

rather than sneakily downgrade to a 'dormant' account rate.

Don't agree.
The fact that providers write to customers and tell them what's happening can hardly be described as sneaky. The fact that many people cannot get off their b*m and do something about it is the disgraceful aspect. You know from your experience here the number of people who take no care over their finances. Unless people have died (and not even then) there should be no reason for customers to chose to have dormant accounts.
I do agree that NW could have changed the accounts to current issues and perhaps their quest to be different could have started there.

Cozworth806

I note that their fixed rate bonds have sunk to A: become tiered so that you have to invest more than £50k to get the best rate or B: have a flexaccount to be able to open an ebond.
The best "clean" rate now for £10k on a 1 year fixed rate is only 6.30%.
That compares to over 7% from quite a few others, and loads over 6.5%

Maybe NW don't need the savings badly at the moment.

opinions4u

Cozworth806 wrote: »

I note that their fixed rate bonds have sunk to A: become tiered so that you have to invest more than £50k to get the best rate or B: have a flexaccount to be able to open an ebond.
The best "clean" rate now for £10k on a 1 year fixed rate is only 6.30%.
That compares to over 7% from quite a few others, and loads over 6.5%

Maybe NW don't need the savings badly at the moment.

More likely they need the savings but don't need to pay rates that are effectively loss leaders. Thus protecting the longer term interest of everybody. especially their borrowing members.