One Account rates cut

sodamhall1

There margin on the product has increased but the profit for the bank was a few billon last year and this year minus a fair few billon. So fact is the bank is losing money and a bank losing money is not good for us the tax payer as we own 70% of this bank. You need to look at the overall picture not one product that they offer there are many products within the group of RBS that has also changed, the same with alot of other companies also. If things carried on in the same way before inc reducing rates in line with base rate like they did and lending to everyone god knows how thinks would look like now.

If the rate was going to increase that much then you could leave so there is no risk there. I feel the rate will always remain competitive and offer a great service and felxabilty that we want. Im sure they are aware of our comments and hopefully have changed the wording of the marketing material and how the rate is sold when opening an account.

Saran_2

sodamhall1 wrote: »

There margin on the product has increased but the profit for the bank was a few billon last year and this year minus a fair few billon. So fact is the bank is losing money and a bank losing money is not good for us the tax payer as we own 70% of this bank. You need to look at the overall picture not one product that they offer there are many products within the group of RBS that has also changed, the same with alot of other companies also. If things carried on in the same way before inc reducing rates in line with base rate like they did and lending to everyone god knows how thinks would look like now.

If the rate was going to increase that much then you could leave so there is no risk there. I feel the rate will always remain competitive and offer a great service and felxabilty that we want. Im sure they are aware of our comments and hopefully have changed the wording of the marketing material and how the rate is sold when opening an account.

No, you are right. They have screwed up so we should all put our hands in our pockets and help the poor bankers out. Wouldn't want them to run out of bubbly!

Greed, incompetence, followed by more greed...oh and we should just smile and take it? The FOS is there because the banks are not always right. Let's wait to see what they have to say.

Regardless, the market will recover, mortgages will become available at reasonable rates and then RBS will reap the rewards for its actions in the hard times.

sodamhall1

Come on lets get real mortgages are at good rates the best you have ever seen! You want rates even less than what they are at currently is that not greed. Why are you posting comments like that because in fact you are paying less now than you was. So you would have prefered to let the banks go bust?

thomasjp

The rates are the best I've seen but I still don't think that justifies RBS ripping us off by not passing on the rates, or using public funds to pay their bonuses. You are clearly happy with the One Account and the rates they provide which is good for you but many people are not. This thread is for them - if you find it boring, stop reading and contributing.

sparky99_2

I think the big question here is whether the BOE rate reductions are for the common mortgage holder or to widen the profit margins for the banks, personally I think the banks have been helped enough but like a lot of savers whose interest rates closely follow the base rate we are all being used to re-capitalise the banking system.

natwestripoff

Sodanhall - not all banks are bust and there is a fair argument that RBS should have been nationalized (it probably will be). So they have been given quite a bit of slack as it is.

Again you do make a fair point but if you add a caveat into business of any kind that sort of says well depending on how things go we will give some slack at the time to whatever we have agreed - it is very difficult to govern. Who decides when a situation is bad enough that previous obligations should be dropped?

If you had a quote for a new kitchen and once it had been completed the fitter added 20% because he was struggling and didn't have a lot of other work you probably wouldn't be that impressed. Or if you bought a car with air conditioning but it wasn't fitted because factory orders had fallen, I doubt you would just resign yourself to the fact you had a new car and thats not too bad. You might feel like that but to employ such a standard across industry that applies to all obviously opens up all sorts of problems. Who judges if the car manufacturer was justified or if the kitchen fitter really was in trouble?

Likewise members of the public should not have to make that call about RBS, they cannot be expected too regardless of how good the interest rate is historically.

Your heart is in the right place and your comments are not unreasonable but I believe are impractical. The banks are a business, they have already effectively been rescued from a situation for which they are mostly to blame(but not entirely), and other businesses are going bust because they cannot change there contracts or promises (like the kitchen fitter and car manufacturer) - how do we tackle them?

Do you work for RBS by any chance? No problem if you do but it would be interesting if this is the view of someone inside the banking industry.

sparkey1

Sodamhall1 - Do you work for, or are in receipt of any financial benefit or commission from an RBS Group Company. Im asking this as I notice that not only are you espousing a view of the RBS One Account contrary to the thread, but you have also recommended Direct Line Insurance, and RBS Mortgages in your other posts. Please be transparent with your answer. Thank you.

karanda

sodamhall1 wrote: »

Come on lets get real mortgages are at good rates the best you have ever seen! You want rates even less than what they are at currently is that not greed. Why are you posting comments like that because in fact you are paying less now than you was. So you would have prefered to let the banks go bust?

Let's get back to basics here. Those of us who have complaints lodged with the Financial Ombudsman have done so because of the lack of transparency and about-face of RBS - not because of interest rate rises per se. I have had a Virgin One/RBS One Account since inception. My rates over that time have gone up, and down. I never once entertained the idea of complaining because my rate went up. The account WAS operated honestly, and according to our collective understanding (ie customers) and also that of the bank. It was only when RBS began to operate the One Account erratically, and in my view, dishonestly, that customers began to complain.

A different take on this particular Bank, and the banking system in general, is welcomed. But it is the unethical behaviour of RBS which is in question. It is nothing as simplistic as interest rates alone.

Our collective complaints are entirely justified. All you have to do is look at the bonus back-tracking by the Government after massive complaints by the general public last week.

After all, our voices are the only weapons we have against dishonesty and corruption - in my opinion.

sodamhall1

The One Account has always been operated by the RBS but jointy held with Virgin. The RBS doing the banking Virgin being the marketing brand and image. I very much doubt just because the RBS now owns it is the reason behind what has happened. It was back in 2003 they took full ownership of the account and from this time till around mid last year it was at 1.1% above base but it was never tracking. At this time everything in the market was pretty stable this is was the rate was stable. The reason why things changed was the market changed if it didnt you would still have the same margin of 1.1% above base the T+C's stated the rate could change at anytime I guess to cover them if anything like this happened. The last thing bank wanted to do was change its rate and not follow the cuts but based on the situation it had to and still offers a good product at a good rate. It used the T+C already stated to do amend the rate.

red789

Hiya

I agree the one account is not a tracker, but it was tracking. I have a stack of letters at home going back 6 years which say .... "following the BOE base rate change", rates have changed in line. I also have a scan of a letter in 2001 before I joined where they "promised" to cut rates immediately the base rate cuts.

The rate is currently is probably about as high as RBS can set it without standing out too far from the competition, and all the banks are trying to increase margins wherever they can. Our job as customers is to get the rate as low as we can in return, traditionally, by taking our business elsewhere.

However as RBS have currently drifted by 2% off the traditional "tracking" rate, and cannot offer a convincing reason why, it does no harm to try and get them to account for their decision to break their previous "promise", especially when RBS have apparently recently apologised for their previous short-term profit driven behaviour to a parliamentary committee. Im taking it to the FO on that basis. Fuzzy, maybe, but worth a shot.

The FO recently awarded in favour of investors who lost money in a low-risk cash savings plan. The fund managers diversified in accordance with their rights under the T&C's, the FO ruled in favour of of the "Headline Description", so its not unheard of.