Egg Savers - did you receive Rate Change Notification?

JohnAnt

As Egg Savers will know, Egg reduced their savings rate (the +bonus rate) by the full 1.5% on (I think) 14th November.
They didn't send me an email notification, which rather caught me hopping, as I remained in blissful ignorance for more than a week. They claim - rather curtly and tetchily - that they actually did send a notification. Now, I watch my Inbox like a hawk for banking/financial stuff, keep it all filed in Outlook Express, and never delete anything from anyone without reading it first. But of course it's just possible that by a freak accident the one email I was looking out for - and was of course pleased not to get - accidentally got itself deleted or was genuinely sent and just didn't arrive.

So, my question: Is there any other Egg Saver who might be reading this and who also did not receive an email notification of the new lower savings rates?
bw to all
J A

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid - but I have every reason!"

Mr_K

I don't recall any notification. Mind you I've got the 6.3% fixed rate account so that hasn't changed, but my cash ISA has, so I should have been told about that.

Jeannine

No I didn't receive an email...

apt

It's not a good idea for savers to rely on their bank or building society to tell them about interest rate changes. The Banking Code gives them upto 30 days to tell their savers of changes they have already made. Also they do not have to inform savers individually if the changes are just following base rate moves. I recall Britannia earlier this year trying to make a virtue of no longer informing savers individually of such changes - being environmental, responding (allegedly) to the wishes of members... What this hogwash really meant was (a) we'll save the costs of a mailing and (b) we'll hope for even more saver inertia. In early December savers should go through their variable rate accounts, see what the rates now are and decide whether they want to shift their money.

Mr_K

From their T&C:-
Whenever we change the Interest Rate on your Account, we will tell you within 30 days of the change.

Therefore since the rate changed on 14 November, they've got till the 14 December to tell you about a change. TBH they're more transparant than most about interest rates.

JohnAnt

It would have been a valid excuse for Egg to hide behind the 30 days notification delay, but Egg insisted (twice, in writing) that they DID send a notification. Today however they have informed me that they 'will' send a notification only 'within the 30 day notice period'.
So their previous repeated insistence that they had sent out notifications was untrue and misleading.
I do not call that transparent. It may not be deliberate, it may just be confusion or sheer incompetence, or remedially poor internal communications, but transparent it is not.
Also, I suggest that 30 day notice of lower rates is an anti-competitive practice that belongs in the Ark. First Direct (a bank I can never praise highly enough) manages to email all changes in rates within 24 hours.

Baldur

JohnAnt wrote: »

Also, I suggest that 30 day notice of lower rates is an anti-competitive practice that belongs in the Ark.

Can't say that I disagree with you but the latest Banking Code doesn't even specify 30 days.

Changes in interest rates
4.4 We will keep you informed about changes to the interest rates on your accounts and we will tell you about the ways we will do this.
4.5 When we change the interest rates on your accounts, we will update the information on our phone helpline and our website within three working days. To help you compare rates, the old rate will also be available on our website and our helpline.

Lokolo

Egg like to send rate cuts out as late as possible because then people don't realise and therefore don't leave. :cool: