Egg Savings: their service

cottager

Had to mention one of the most impressive and painless 'business' phone calls I've had in I don't know how long!

I've had a modest amount languishing in an Egg Savings account for literally years -- nothing added, nothing withdrawn, almost forgotten. Happened to check the interest rate yesterday and noticed it had taken a dive recently, so decided to close it.

Rang at about 6.15 this am (never called them before) and TBH expected the 5th degree and to 'do battle' -- why do you want to close, have you thought of this, and the typical sales pitch. Went through the auto-checks, all very efficient, chose the closure option at the end and got through to a very cheery (considering the time of the morning) and charming lady who from the auto-checks already knew what I wanted and who I was, put up none of the expected 'resistance' but just handled the matter in a helpful, willing and extremely efficient manner, checked where I wanted the money sent to then reeled off the account details to me for confirmation, and finished up by saying the payment would go out Monday and be in my account Wednesday. Job done, probably less than 2 mins.

If that sort of service and attitude is typical, and if it wasn't for the poor-ish rate, I'm almost sorry to leave them. Credit where it's due -- this was a really pleasant surprise. Well done, Egg!

johnoz

I have to say I agree with you entirely. I've closed 2 accounts over the phone, and in both cases have had excellent cheery and efficient help. Full marks to them for this!

Lavendyr

I have to agree that the phone service from Egg has always been great for me. The only downside is that for an internet-only account their website is down a little too often for my liking. I still have an Egg Money card and savings with them though (was lucky enough to open up the 6.3% fixed for a year account before it closed).

Lokolo

I have found it hasn't been down in quite a while? In the past I have found it irritating, wanting to check my bank balances in a drunken state at 2 in the morning, when they're doing work on it, but generally all good.

I keep my savings with them, my instant access one anyway, its only got £2k in it and I use it along the year for my rent so I am not really using it to maximise profit, just for a couple of £. So I keep it.

meggsy

I've been with them since they started up and not had any problems, and they are very quick to pick up on any fradulent activity and will ring to check any unusual transactions.

Lynt_3

I'd like to add my name to the list.
They have always been very helpful and efficient. I've been with them since they started too.
Good to hear some good news for a change.

I hope they keep going; I've got most of my savings in the 6.3% fixed.

Well done Egg, to have a positive thread :beer:

anna42hmr

i was considering closing this account too recently because of how low the rate has dropped (3.25%) so glad you have had no problems, i am just sitting it out for a little while to see what happens with interest rates with some of the other accounts i have to work out where i want it moved to or if any of the others drop lower at the moment its the lowest interest rate account i have so far

the other thing i was thinking was just doing an online transfer of all but a £1 and put the money into another account, then if the other accounts drop lower than this, i can move it back

Masomnia

Yeah I was thinking of closing my ISA, now at 4.5%, but apparently many more rates are going down in December so I'm holding fire until it's all evened out and we have a level playing field.

Really hope Egg come out of this one with competitive rates!

cottager

anna42hmr wrote: »

the other thing i was thinking was just doing an online transfer of all but a £1 and put the money into another account, then if the other accounts drop lower than this, i can move it back

I tend to do this, though it's only something I've started to put together in the last year or so. For the 'basic pot' of money (that is, forgetting for a moment whatever you might put into fixed rates, ISAs and so on as you go along) I have more than one e-savings account, each with payment instructions set up to the others and also to/from my bank current account.

I only had an Abbey e-saver where the basic pot had been for years, till starting to think a bit more about what could be more sensible. Not that I'd chosen Abbey particularly -- I'd been with N&P before they were taken over, and before that Burnley BS, going back to the year dot in passbook-only days.

Then opened a Nationwide eSaver and moved most there for a better rate. Now I also have a Yorkshire account, so a trio at the moment, but may still add another one in the future (I had one at Icesave, but enough said! -- we don't always get it right).

Then they 'revolve' -- maintain a small balance in the poorest to keep it open (it might improve and compare well in the future), and the most in the best.

Now, the 'best' may not have the highest rate you could get (it probably doesn't), or be the best you could do with the money by taking advantage of good fixed rate offers as they come along, or ISAs, or whatever else you choose to do; but at least you have a choice of homes for your funds when fixed rates expire and so on, while deciding what to do next. And with your bank current account in the loop and set up from each one as well, it covers those occasions when you need to take out of the basic pot and spend some of the money, or when a linked bank account is a requirement.

And, with a choice of several, one of the base accounts may have a very poor rate of interest, but another attractive product with the same bank/BS is offered, and you can take advantage of it relatively quickly (assuming it's something you can operate online) because you're an existing customer and don't have to go through the checks.

And yes, I know till Faster Payments becomes the norm between all types of accounts, you're losing interest for a few days in the transfer process, but unless you have very substantial amounts (which I don't) it's small change. It's not as if you're moving these amounts every week or even every month -- except possibly at the moment while everything's in flux!

Maybe it's not as sensible as I think it is -- I don't profess to be an expert in any way -- but it seems to work reasonably well for me

anna42hmr

thanks for that cottager, i am glad it seems to work for you, thats definatly making me think more seriously about it

i too have several savings accounts (some with more in than others, others with only a couple hundred in)

these are the ones i hold
Lloyds TSB - under £250 = 0.10, Over 250 =3.7% (as of 3rd November 08)
Tesco 6% (1.5 bonus until October 2009)
Egg 3.25% as of 14th November
Sainsburys Internet Saver 3.5%
Alliance and Leicester Esaver issue 2 = 5% (as of 24th November)
Barclays fixed monthly savings 7.75% (fixed until November 2009)
Skipton BS Xmas account 6.55%
Natwest ISA 6.19%

I cant pay any more into the isa as this years tax is already paid in, and i have already set up a standing order for the barclays monthly maximum, but it leaves me the others to play with

i didnt think of setting up multiple payees on each account that would actually save quite a bit of time in transfering from one account to current account and then to another, will look into that, i also will have to be careful not to put too much into the skipton and alliance and leicester accounts as withdrawals are penalised.

cottager

anna42hmr wrote: »

i didnt think of setting up multiple payees on each account that would actually save quite a bit of time in transfering from one account to current account and then to another

Well, that's two steps, and more transfer time with no interest. Depending how you can set up payments from a given esavings account, you can probably transfer direct from one to another in one step without involving the bank current account. The three I have all have their own sort codes etc, so it's not a problem to send straight to one of the others.

For your overall query, you would probably now be better starting a new thread on the board for more thoughts from others. This one began as a specific Egg comment and your details are rather 'buried away' under a topic title which quite likely won't be read by many.

Good luck!