'Icesave... angry, frustrated and upset...' blog discussion

jaceytee

We shouldn't blame Martin at all but Pandini has a point - brand carries responsibility and Martin has created an image where he is trusted big time. The "Can you afford to not have the money for 6 months?" question would have been a real showstopper for me.

pedrosailor

I've got caught for £4,500 which I withdrew on Monday morning 7 Oct. When I checked on Tuesday on the Icesave website it had left but today, 9 Oct they have put it back in. I am staggered that it's legal (is it?) to do this but no point complaining to, still less sueing, an insolvent organisation
I haven't read the whole thread but I do want to disassociate myself from the criticism of Martin. What he did was to include Icesave in the list of best buys for savers. I put some money in it after doing some research about a bank that I had not otherwise heard of. Their history and accounts were there on their website for anyone to see. I forget when Landsbanki was founded but 1870 or something like that. And clearly they were an extremely strong bank under anything like normal circumstances - and this is probably not once in a century. So thank you, Martin, for pointing the way. And surely it's been clear for months a max of £35k in any one bank was prudent for a cautions saver?

oaponice66

MSE_Lawrence wrote: »

This is the discussion to link on the back of Martin's blog. Please read the blog first, as this discussion follows it.

Read Martin's 'Icesave... angry, frustrated and upset...' Blog.

Click reply to discuss below.

I did not go for icesave however I did save under the Goverments low earners scheme managed by Halifax and was the persuaded to put the money saved into a low risk shares ISA and have lost all the interest saved. oaponice

ThrobsBlackHat

Pandini wrote: »

Finally, he has allowed his advice to be mixed in with the MoneySaving Forums where anyone can be a financial expert and give further advice based on nothing more than opinion. (Check out all the "There's nothing wrong with IceSave" posts last week - right up until Monday)

Anyone who takes their financial advice solely from an unknown source on an internet forum needs their head checking.

And if anyone did take their financial advice from an internet forum they would have heard warnings for MONTHS to not have more than £35k in any one institution.

Is Martin to blame if I buy a cheap camera off the grabbit threads and find it is poor quality?

We are talking about grown adults making real decisions.

Martin does have responsibility to the public - which is why EVERY SINGLE email he says it is not financial advice.

ThrobsBlackHat

Pandini wrote: »

Perhaps now is the time for this site to continue with its pioneering work by finding a new way of recommending investing - one that takes risk into account as well as interest rates.

That is the job of a financial advisor - not an internet community.

This site has never recommended investing in anything. It merely stated which of the products had the highest return at the time, which is publicly available information and saved time for site users.

Risk is not publicly known, is subject to all sorts of fluctuations and is often based on opinion more than anything else. All a "best buy" table does is compare the "best buy" rates on accounts which are publically available.

BMJT

This is probably a pretty niave question, but what happens to the interest I have been accruing over the last year, which was soon to be deposited on the anniversary of opening the account? Do we get paid the balance as at the date of their insolvency, or how does it work if they're still technically solvent? ..sorry if this has been asked before, there's a lot to trawl through.

Thanks!

dazmb

Pandini wrote: »

But you can't get this popular without taking some responsibility.

And you can't make financial mistakes without having made a personal decision that you ultimately have to take responsability for!

Please stop shoving any part of this blame onto Martin. He did not create the worldwide financial meltdown, nor did he force at gunpoint anyone to invest in Icesave.

Martin does not ask anyone to treat his financial advice like the word of God! He makes us aware of the best deals in the marketplace. But we make our own choices ultimately!

dazmb

sandrapeace wrote: »

I don't expect anyone to have much sympathy for me but I (and my partner) have £750,000 invested in Icesave. We are not super wealthy, but as a result of lost confidence in conventional pension products over the years, decided to keep our savings 'liquid'. We now face the prospect of losing EVERYTHING. At best, we'll get £100,000 back -big deal!

Is there anyone out there is a similar position - I feel very alone at the moment!

Sandra, I hope very much that you are feeling better about things today. It looks like Mr Darling will guarantee your savings are returned. Here's hoping for you

Bagpuss741

Martins_A_Fraud wrote: »

Agreed!Martin Lewis is a fraud! He tells people to apply for credit and move their debt around and not actually tackle their debt problems.Martin Lewis was caught out on LK today this morning with his Finacial advice, I laughted my head off, His advice is so questionable it is almost unbelievable.Some of his advice breaks by-laws (look on the railways advice page he did) Martin got the most revenue from recommending ICESAVE, It might not have been the most secure bank but Martin recommended it because it come with the biggest kickback. The MSE'rs who fell for his poor advice are the ones loosing out, It is entirely Martins fault, He says this site is not for profit but he makes his cash from this site, he makes a living from this site and this is ment to be not for profit? hmm....

Actually Martin suggests moving debt around in order for the interest to be cheaper therefore tackling debt problems. None of this is Martins fault and anyone who thinks so is just looking for a scapegoat.

d.edna

ThrobsBlackHat wrote: »

That is the job of a financial advisor - not an internet community.

This site has never recommended investing in anything. It merely stated which of the products had the highest return at the time, which is publicly available information and saved time for site users.

Risk is not publicly known, is subject to all sorts of fluctuations and is often based on opinion more than anything else. All a "best buy" table does is compare the "best buy" rates on accounts which are publically available.

To be fair on Martins weekly e-mails it did say this

Martin Lewis of Shepherd's Studios, Rockley Road, Shepherd's Bush, London W14 0DA is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority

So Martin in effect is a IFA am I right?

Here is his registration on the FSA site

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register/firmBasicDetails.do?sid=157907