Lloyds TSB Plus vs Vantage

Paul_Herring

TheAnalyst wrote: »

what will !!!! you off a bit is that it was 6% AER until about a month ago :rolleyes:

Whereas what's !!!!ing off some of us who do 'have' the 6% account, is not getting 6% - see threads passim on the ability of LTSB to calculate interest.

fischer79 wrote: »

Which LTSB savings account pays 6%. Best I can find is that internet saver at 4.25% for 6k balance?

Back in June, for a few weeks, LTSB were advertsing a Classic account at 6% - which both current and new customers could apply for.

A substantial number of people upgrading from 4% to 6% have had problems getting the correct amount of interest (I figured, based on my interest payment for the month of July, they'd paid me roughly 1.7% AER instead of the 6% promised - I've had a couple of credits to correct this.)

Richard_Cocks

Does anyone else feel that their current advertising for their "Vantage" accounts is a little disingenuous? They are advertising that their rates for current accounts "don't melt away". [youtube.com]

Lloyds have a history of being the worst for this kind of behaviour, just 3 months ago I opened (Actually converted my existing lloyds current account) a "classic plus" which was advertised as 6% gross, an astonishing rate beating the 4% I was getting for their existing current account (again named "classic plus", albeit a totally different account!)

But look at their interest rate history pages and you get a better picture of their usual behaviour in this area

http://www.lloydstsb.com/rates_and_charges/current_account_rates_prev_page.asp#classicaccount

"These interest rates were correct from 09/06/2008 to 14/07/2008."

So that's what, just over a month of the advertised interest rate before it dropped from 6% to 4%.

Now I have no problem with constantly going in and converting my current account with them to the latest well-paying tariff but I find it ridiculous that lloyds tsb of all people should be claiming they don't drop off interest rates!

(And this is all ignoring the fact that the Vantage account has laughably bad interest rates for something that's being heavily advertised.)


I also have had problems getting interest after upgrading from 4% to 6%. Every month I get interest calculated at 0.1%, then a week or so later I get "interest adj" appearing on my statement with the amount to take it back up to what I should be getting.

Every month I go in and complain about the 0.1% interest, I don't know if this is triggering the adjustment or if I'd be getting it anyway.

The fact that lloyds has NO competitive savings products or current accounts suggests they don't want depositors, or that they deem their account holders as being very loyal indeed.

If my current account slips below 4% I'll switch, but as I transfer as much as I can into savings my current account doesn't earn enough interest to make it worth switching (The customer service I get from them has always been a lot higher than with other banks).

A year ago it was a different story, their internet saver paid a respectable but not table topping amount (only after a 12 month, then reduced to 6 month bonus of 1%), their regular saver paid 8% gross. Their ISA rates have always been rubbish though.

thecotswolds

The increase to 6% was clearly advertised as a short term promotion, the plus rates have been fairly consistent in the 3 or 4 years since they were launched.

Richard_Cocks

I realise the 6% was a short term promotion, but it's the cynical attitude of going from that promotion to an advert pretending that they don't do short term interest deals that irks.

Paul_Herring

Richard_Cocks wrote: »

I realise the 6% was a short term promotion, but it's the cynical attitude of going from that promotion to an advert pretending that they don't do short term interest deals that irks.

There is another thread on here pointing out that those who actually bothered signing up to the 6% rate aren't actually getting 6%. (I'd link but no copy/paste available in this internet cafe - if someone would be kind enough to link...?)

I'm in dispute with them over it at the moment, and I'm awaiting the interest calculation due <looks> next Wednesday/Thursday.

I'm vaguely aware of 4% customers also being affected by this issue.

Caratax

! IMPORTANT:

One thing to be mindful of when applying for Vantage or Plus:

If you have an existing Lloyds 'Added Value' current account such as Platinum or Gold - check to see whether or not you are paying a monthly fee. If you are not currently paying anything, this FEE will be added to your account i.e. you will be charged a monthly fee and you will NOT be able to revert back once Vantage/Plus has been added.

For me, the additional monthly fee incurred would more or less wipe out any interest earned so not worth having. Be warned.

shaf00uk

It took me 2 months to get the 6% from the day it was advertised. So was still on the 4% during that time. They could not tell me what my rate was over the phone...so when I went to the my own branch to get to the bottom of this it only took a few minutes and it was sorted.:T

Note that is offer was only for 12 months so come next June this will be reduced to 4% (AER), 3.93 (Gross), 3.14% (Net).

I bank online with ltsb so look at their homepage before logging on in case they had any offers.

The Vantage Account is TIERED and so is a losing account on balances from £1 to £5K. The wording may not be there but that is exactly what it means.

Have the Plus account 4% as you know exactly what you are getting (or move away to another bank altogether) and the rest in another account that offers a better rate.