One Account rates cut

smarty_pants_4

Got my approval through for HSBC tracker just in time. .99% above base rate , no collar, unlimited overpayments allowed (Just can't get the money back out again.) Gonna save me about £80,000 of ther life of the mortgage.

They just upped it to 1.64% above base rate so very glad I made it. Good luck with the One account to those who are left.

flip-flop_3

I've sent an email to all of the publications listed above to bring RBS's disgusting behaviour to their attention.

itsjustjoe2

Martin - PLEASE HELP 170,000 One Account (RBS Owned) save £240million a year

Martin, ([EMAIL="Martin@moneysavingexpert.com"]Martin@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL])

Long story short...

The One Account is wholly owned by RBS.

RBS received the biggest bail out by the Government and has assured all customers on Standard Variable Rates they will benefit from the recent 1.5% reduction in base rate. The government is now the biggest shareholder in the bank.


However 170,000 customers of the One Account have not had this passed on. A recorded message on their answerphone says "Rates are currently under review".

A thread in the MoneySavingExpert.com forum has been viewed over 20,000 times and goes on to 10 pages.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help us. If this cut is passed on it will save me approx £250 per month and nearly 200,000 other customers would benefit with similar savings. Helping us on this matter alone would quite possibly save people more money than any other action of piece of advice you have given in the past. 200,000 customers at £100 a month = £240 MILLION per year to pay for bonuses and other benefits for executives and directors who have failed their customers, employees and shareholders.

Many thanks,

flip-flop_3

flip-flop wrote: »

I've sent an email to all of the publications listed above to bring RBS's disgusting behaviour to their attention.

This is what I sent, feel free to use it if you don't have time to compose your own (though cut'n'paste letters are probably less effective than unique ones):



Dear Sirs,

Could I please bring to your attention the fact that the Royal Bank of
Scotland are refusing to pass on any of the 1.5% cut in interest rates to
any of their customers whose mortgage is a One Account (formerly Virgin One Account) product.

This is despite RBS recently promising Alistair Darling that the 1.5% cut
would be passed on in full to ALL their customers.

Earlier this year they refused to pass on a 0.25% cut. They then raised
their rates on a whim, without warning, by 0.25%. The last 0.5% cut was
passed on after a delay. But it does not appear this 1.5% cut will passed
on - it's constantly "under review". Hence One Account customers are now
paying 2% more than we should be.

Despite them sending me lots of promotional literature stating that the One
Account is now an RBS product (since they bought it fully from Virgin), they
now say it isn't an RBS product therefore their promise to the Chancellor
does not apply.

And despite me having 8 year's worth of letters along the lines of,
"Good/Bad news! The Bank of England has reduced/increased its base rate by x% therefore we will follow suit with immediate effect", and lots of
promotional literature promising exactly the same thing, they now claim not
to be a base rate or LIBOR tracker.

A fuller picture of RBS's duplicitous misleading & backtracking can be found
in a discussion thread on Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert bulletin board -
which currently has over 20,000 views:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1209517&page=1

Anything your publication can do to name & shame RBS for their disgraceful
behaviour, and to force them into a U-turn to the benefit of tens of
thousands of taxpaying customers who have contributed to their £20billion
bail-out, would be much appreciated.

Yours faithfully,

MasterH

Hello… first time poster on this forum. I’ve had a One Account for just over a year now – at first it seemed like the ideal option, but now I am starting to wonder.

To me, the legal details of the One Account’s tie-in to BOE rates or LIBOR are largely irrelevant… the question I would pose to RBS is simply do you consider it a good thing for all of your customers of a particular product to be so unhappy and depressed simply because of inaction over a decision that should have taken hours and not weeks?

I don’t believe there is some conspiracy to force us all away from the offset / CAM products. I think they’ve had a look at the numbers and realised that if they implement the full cut then the product isn’t commercially viable anymore. Given that the proportion of One Account customers represents a mere fraction of RBS’ total mortgage book, the company should do the honourable thing and implement the full cut. If this means that the book has to be closed to new customers, it is simply a reflection of the current economic climate. Existing customers should not be made to suffer as we signed up for the product in good faith.

RBS should also remember that many of us have other products within the group, such as insurance policies with Direct Line. It should not be taken as a given that I, along with many others on this forum, will remain loyal simply as a result of laziness and inaction.

I will give them a chance to implement the cut at the beginning of December before I consider remortgaging. Remember that we haven’t actually been ripped off yet, as the RBS rate cut will only be effective from next month anyway as announced in the general media. But One Account managers should note that the indecision is hurting us badly. Even if the full rate cut is implemented next month, I think a lot of us will remember this treatment for a very long time to come.

Martin, I know you were never the biggest fan of the One Account, but I hope you can help us in whatever way you can.

leoleo73

I too think they are now taking the !!!! by not announcing a cut. As a minimum I expect their SVR to be cut to the same as RBS's SVR on the 3rd December (which would be slightly less that 1.5% IIRC).

RBS are now majority owned by the government and promised to set fair rates as part of the bail-out which we are all paying for. In light of this, I think it is the government that we should complain to. Pressuring them through the on-line chat facility and via telephone may also have some effect.

However, to be fair, it was never my understanding this was a tracker mortgage, nor was their 0.5% increase in margin over the last year "for no reason". Some reflection of the Libor spread situation is only reasonable.

leoleo73

Hmm,

Ins!!!!ate
Saltwater
Scuthorpe

Folio

Live chat transcript 5.40pm 27th November 2008

Paul: Welcome to our live chat service.
Paul: Before we go on, I'd like to tell you that I can't give you any advice, but what I can do is give you information on some of the One Account mortgages and protection products provided by the Royal Bank of Scotland group. I will also confirm this in writing for you.
Paul: We are part of the Royal Bank of Scotland and are a member of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group
Paul: We will share your information within our Group of companies for business and operational purposes. We will also share your information with other organizations for credit risk and fraud prevention purposes.
Paul: If you proceed, your terms and conditions will contain further details of how we and others use and share your information
Paul: Hello. How may I assist you?
Me: is there any news on interest rate cuts yet please?
Paul: The One Account variable rate remains under review. It is important to remember that while this product is not linked to the base rate, we are using the recent base rate decision to review our interest rates.
Me: I'm sorry but I think RBS are treating loyal customers abysmally. Whether or not they now cut the interest rate your customers will not forget how little response RBS has shown
Me: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1209517 almost 21,000 people have viewed this therad and monitor it daily. This web site has 7 million monthly users and 2.8million receive email detailing what is going on on the site. It would be a good idea if someone who has some authority actually took a look at what is being said about RBS
Paul: i apologies for how you feel, i am happy to log this as a complaint if you like, unfortunately i have no further information at this stage on the rates. and we are aware of the website you refer to.
Me: Are MANAGEMENT aware of the web site?
Paul: we are aware of the website you are referring to.
Me: yes so you said - but are RBS MANAGEMENT aware of it?
Paul: yes
Me: Please log what I have said. Thank you

Spud_2

flip-flop wrote: »

Could I please bring to your attention the fact that the Royal Bank of
Scotland are refusing to pass on any of the 1.5% cut in interest rates to
any of their customers whose mortgage is a One Account (formerly Virgin One Account) product.

It's important to get facts straight before making these complaints. They haven't yet refused to pass on the rate, they just haven't confirmed either way yet so we don't know. Don't get me wrong, I'm just as annoyed as everyone else on here with the sheer time they are taking, but we also need to keep level balanced heads in order for our case to be heard! No offence intended

Nikki29

I am so annoyed at the one account, I know that it is not a tracker mortgage, but it is owned by RBS, and for that reason I think that the rate should be reduced, but thats not why I have complained to them on numerous occasions over the last three weeks. All I want is to know what is going on, or at least when to expect to know, I dont think that that is unreasonable.
I think I have become their most annoying customer as I have been speaking to them (frequently) on the live chat, because today when I tried I couldn't get a response, I tried loads of times, but amazingly when I put in a different name and postcode I got an instant response! Great customer service!
When the person asked me if I wanted to log a complaint I asked what had happened to the previous complaint (after giving my actual name and postcode) It had been logged as not needing a response! So dont bother complaining because they dont seem to actually care.
I Have emailed Alastair Darling and my local MP, hopefully they might think that I am worthy of a reply.