MARTIN LEWIS on "It pays to watch" says we may NOT be paid interest (ICESAVE)...

nanker

No, vigesimal, I don't want anyone to suffer due to this. That is the point I am making! I said it WOULD be cruel of me to wish that, and so I SHAN'T. You even quoted me - jeez.

I am not greedy for wanting my interest up to the point when the bank went insolvent. It is money owed to me. If your employer elected not to pay you for work done then you would not be happy about it - what's the difference?

Seems to me that all you people moaning about us wanting what we are owed are jealous. Simple as that.

jetfighter

Post Office savings accounts come with a foreign guarantee - how many UK savers have accounts held with the Post Office? Loads, I expect.

If that foreign guarantee failed to pay out in the event of the Post Office going bust, and the government promised to repay those savers out of UK taxpayers' money, would people really be saying people were unwise and greedy to "invest in Ireland" and they deserve what they get?

I think not! :rolleyes:

This argument keeps going around in circles. Some people contributing to this thread don't seem to understand that we're not investors - we're just everyday people putting our hard-earned cash into a decent savings account. Name me a leading British bank with no foreign investments!

nanker

I am a British tax payer too, and don't understand your problem. We all pay in and have no say in how it is paid out. I would never complain if one of your loved ones needed an NHS operation but "my tax" would pay for it.

If you don't like how your taxes are spent then use your vote, run for Government or clear off somewhere else. Some people!

meester

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

So you just put money in a high interest, high risk, place and leave it there without ever checking again? You don't read the papers? Don't listen to the news? Don't log back into this site and see all the warnings from people?

All the warnings?

You mean the ones where a lone poster said Icesave were unsafe, then numerous people mocked and ridiculed them, and told them to stop being nutty conspiracy theorists, stop running Iceland down, and the one where Martin Lewis said in the 'Safe Savings Guide' that 'Accrington Stanley were more likely to win the FA Cup than a bank go under'?

You're very wise after the event aren't you? Didn't see you commenting before.

GeorgeHowell

RikA wrote: »

This attitude of "well, you took a high risk - it's your fault" that some people seem to have is a bit unfair, IMO. Specifically, saying that saving money in Icesave was 'risky' is vague, at best. What 'risk' do you honestly think people were taking?

I knew that Icesave was more likely to go under than (say) Barclays, but what I thought was at stake was some inconvenience in seeking compensation, and some lost interest during that period (or, at a push, lost interest over a longer period). And of course, I expected the likelihood of this to be unlikely. That is the risk *I* thought I was taking, not that the Icelandic government might then renege on their guarantee and leave me without any of my original capital. I'd suggest that most people were of the same understanding - at least up until very recently!

Don't get me wrong, I can see why the average tax-payer finds it hard to bear the brunt of this, but don't have a go at the people who put their money with Icesave - they (or at least I) did so against the promise of the Icelandic government. That's where the true anger should be directed.

I do wonder whether people read the papers. When Icesave first appeared it looked great, as did a number of other foreign banks. Give our tight-a***d, profiteering UK banks a run for their money we all thought. But then Northern Rock failed, talk of a credit crunch began, rumours of other banks being in trouble at home and abroad surfaced, the complications of the FSCS scheme emerged and the FSA issued a warning, Iceland in particular started being talked about as risky, maybe not able to meet their obligations, despite their denials. It is difficult to conceive how anyone exposed to all of this could not have foreseen some degree of risk in staying with foreign based banks, especially the Icelandic ones.

I totally agree that anger should be directed at the Icelandic con-men, who appear to make most of our bankers look cautious by comparison - and that's saying something. Nobody should be angry with our savers who have had a worrying time and who still might lose some interest on their savings. The only thing that makes me angry is people still harping on about how safe the foreign based banks are within the £50,000 limit, despite everyhting that has happened. I think some of these posters are just wind up merchants trying to get a reaction from the rest of us to be honest.

SephirothX

bignoise wrote: »

So, as it stands, I'm perfectly content, and grateful, to be getting anything back at all. I think that demanding "lost interest" and such would be, in a word, ungracious, and asking too much. (I know that the MSE culture is very much "Demand your rights! Consumer revenge! Screw the banks!" but now is not the time and place for that kind of attitude, in my opinion.)

How can it be ungracious? It's money IceSave owe us, just like they owe us our original deposits. While the government intend to pay us our original deposits they will get the money back one way or another so overall it shouldn't be a loss to the tax payer. The same would be true for interest. It's IceSave/Iceland's debt to the UK.

I would think it was wrong for the UK tax payer to pay the interest if the money couldn't be reclaimed but as I say it's IceSave's debt and the government will sue and sell assets to claim every penny back of what they owe our country. Considering this it makes sense for our government to pay us rather than us all having to sue Iceland.

Someone mentioned NS&I's ISA is down to 4.4%. That disappoints me. It was over 6% when I opened mine last year. Now I have to worry about transferring to a new ISA as well as finding a new savings account. Sometimes it makes you wonder if all the hard work is worth the interest you get.

As an unrelated note what's up with this forum? I shouldn't have to type in HTML for line breaks.

Happysaver_3

MrsMillar wrote: »

Yes - I would like all the interest too. But given that this time yesterday it looked like I could completely lose out on the 16K that Iceland were supposed to sort out, I'll be very happy just to get my capital back and chalk the loss down to experience.

Although i understand why some people would be upset at losing a little interest , i must admit that i am very, very relieved that out goverment has taken such a strong stance against iceland and when i get my money back i'll not care a jot about any interest , still each to there own .

silverchair

Happysaver I agree with you totally.
Im just very relieved & thankful that the goverment has stepped in & that my savings are safe.
I do not expect the tax payer to pay for the interest that I have lost as well.

Well done on our goverment not being a walk over this time!

StevieJ

GeorgeHowell wrote: »

I do wonder whether people read the papers. When Icesave first appeared it looked great, as did a number of other foreign banks. Give our tight-a***d, profiteering UK banks a run for their money we all thought. But then Northern Rock failed, talk of a credit crunch began, rumours of other banks being in trouble at home and abroad surfaced, the complications of the FSCS scheme emerged and the FSA issued a warning, Iceland in particular started being talked about as risky, maybe not able to meet their obligations, despite their denials. It is difficult to conceive how anyone exposed to all of this could not have foreseen some degree of risk in staying with foreign based banks, especially the Icelandic ones.

I totally agree that anger should be directed at the Icelandic con-men, who appear to make most of our bankers look cautious by comparison - and that's saying something. Nobody should be angry with our savers who have had a worrying time and who still might lose some interest on their savings. The only thing that makes me angry is people still harping on about how safe the foreign based banks are within the £50,000 limit, despite everyhting that has happened. I think some of these posters are just wind up merchants trying to get a reaction from the rest of us to be honest.

Do you know something we don't? I thought we were all getting our money back (with interest).

JohnnyJet

Why should I be made to feel guilty for wanting all my money back including interest. It wasn't my fault that this bank was so poorly managed that it went bankrupt. I took out a 1 year bond almost 12 months ago an I was 2 weeks away from getting my interest and putting all of the money towards a new house that me an my family are in desperate need of. Monday night I was thinking that I may have lost all my money and any hope of a better future for my family. I do not feel guilty but I do feel grateful towards Mr Darling, at least my plans won't be totally ruined.