One Account - Where Did The Thread Go?

itsjustjoe2

Where did the One Account Thread go?

This had 514 posts and 50,000 views.

Is there a wider conspiracy? Lets start a new thread if it doesn't come back.

itsjustjoe2

RBS faces backlash over refusal to give One customers full rate cuts

• Rupert Jones
• The Guardian, Thursday December 4 2008
• Article history

One of Royal Bank of Scotland's mortgage divisions has come under fire after refusing to pass on last month's interest rate cut in full, despite having "promised" to follow Bank of England base rate moves.
The decision has prompted an outcry among customers.
Holders of mortgages in the One account, formerly a joint venture with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin empire but now 100% owned by RBS, are worried they will also not see the full benefit of today's likely rate cut. Dozens of people have joined a Facebook protest group including Rowan Gormley, the former boss of Virgin Direct who developed the One account concept.
RBS and NatWest last month said standard variable rate (SVR) mortgages would be cut by the "full 1.5%" after the Bank of England base rate was cut from 4.5% to 3% on November 6. But One account customers have been told they are only getting a one percentage point cut.
Angry customers point out the gap between the base rate and One account rate has increased by a percentage point in the past year. Against a backdrop of falling interest rates, they were hit with a quarter-point rise in July. The Guardian has obtained a copy of a letter sent out by the division in May 2001, which states: "Our promise is that we'll follow the base rate and pass the benefits of interest rate cuts on to our customers straightaway."
Tony Wood, the former marketing director of Virgin Direct who is a One account customer, said RBS's behaviour was "a betrayal of all the principles we built the One account on in the first place". He added: "It's interesting to see how, as a majority taxpayer-owned business, they can even contemplate going back on such clear-cut promises, which was one of the main reasons for customers signing up in the first place. It makes particularly interesting reading in the context of the Financial Services Authority's 'treating customers fairly' rules."
Dozens of disgruntled mortgage holders have joined the Facebook group, said Wood, who now works as a brand and communications consultant.
RBS's decision to treat One account customers differently is potentially embarrassing because, when the division was half-owned by Virgin it made great play of how it passed on every rate cut to customers in full within 24 hours of each Bank of England announcement. In 1999, the then managing director of Virgin One, as it was called, said: "We have passed on every rate cut in full on the same day because that is how our customers expect to be treated - fairly and honestly."
RBS, which bought out Branson's stake in 2001, said: "The One account mortgage is a variable rate product and not linked to base rate or the RBS and NatWest SVR. The decision to cut flexible rates by one percentage point follows consideration of a range of factors such as the wider market environment, including the sustained increase in the cost of funding variable rate mortgages."
A spokeswoman said One account holders had benefited from a half-point cut effective last month. "The cumulative effect means this mortgage remains competitive. This movement is in line with the product terms and conditions," she said.

itsjustjoe2

Declaration by Enlightened Customers Against Mortgage Profiteering (DECAMP)

In our experience, certain UK mortgage lenders are increasingly abusing customer trust and loyalty in the way they apply their interest rate policies.
We believe that, by working together, informed customers have an important role to play in resisting this unwelcome trend in the pursuit of more consistent, equitable and transparent interest rate policies.
We will, therefore, leverage any advantage we have, as a group of like-minded individuals, in order both to advance our own interests and secure fairer treatment for all.

Why is this campaign so necessary?

Because UK banks cynically continue to use changes in the Bank Of England (BOE) base rate to exploit customer inertia in order to boost their profit margins on mortgage products. And the situation is getting worse not better...

On 6 November 2008 the BOE cut its base rate by an unprecedented 1.5% to 3%, the lowest level since 1955.
Following a good deal of pressure from the Government , and a media outcry, all the major banks and building societies very reluctantly (though with great fanfare!) passed on all - or in some cases most - of the rate cut to customers.

Or did they?

The mortgage interest rate of tens of thousands of ‘One Account’ (wholly owned by RBS) customers, has remained completely unchanged. Nor have customers received any form of communication from the One Account to let them know if / when their rate will be cut.

Sadly The One Account is far from the only culprit. This Facebook Group, ‘DECAMP’, has been set up to coordinate and give a voice to the hundreds of thousands – possibly millions – of customers who are losing out as a result of blatant profiteering on the part of RBS and many other big UK financial institutions. The impact of this behavior has never been greater than it is now, after such a big base rate cut.

We’re talking about serious amounts of money here. For example, for someone with a mortgage of £200,000, every single month that passes without the 1.5% cut being passed on, means that £250 which should be staying in their pocket, will go straight into the bank’s coffers…permanently.

The simple aim of ‘DECAMP’ is to persuade banks and building societies to pass on this, and future, base rate reductions to ALL customers with variable rate mortgages, not just those on their Standard Variable Rate (SVR). (Conveniently for the banks, it’s the SVRs that still tend to hog the media spotlight, even though these mortgages are far less popular than they used to be).

What if they fail to do so? Well, we might all just decide to…DECAMP.

itsjustjoe2

Will someone please repost all the press e-mail addresses?

Also join the facebook group:
Declaration by Enlightened Customers Against Mortgage Profiteering (DECAMP)

Lastly write to your MP
www.writetothem.com

Guardian article:
Thanks to people writing letters we got noticed:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/dec/04/rbs-one-mortgages-first-time-buyers#history-byline

tajima1

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1209517

Make sure you email the administrator with the link above to the previous thread and demand it is re-instated without delay. The administrator link comes up when you try to go to the link. I can only imagine it has been swamped and gone tilt.

Librettist

tajima1 wrote: »

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1209517

Make sure you email the administrator with the link above to the previous thread and demand it is re-instated without delay. The administrator link comes up when you try to go to the link. I can only imagine it has been swamped and gone tilt.

....or somebody posted something a bit over the top?

tajima1

Librettist wrote: »

....or somebody posted something a bit over the top?

Could they really take down a forum for that reason? I tought it was unmoderated and even then, surely only offending posts would be struck. Baffled? It must be technical.

itsjustjoe2

Joe

Islington
London

07000 00000
[EMAIL="joe@xxxxxxxxx.co.uk"]joe@xxxxxxxxx.co.uk[/EMAIL]
Thursday, 04 December 2008

Chief Executive Officer:
The One account
Woodland Place
Pinetrees Road
Norwich
NR7 9EJ

Re Mortgage Account Number: XXXXXXXX

Dear Sir/Madam,

I recently took a mortgage out with the One Account/RBS for £285,000. On the keyfacts document provided at the time of taking out this mortgage it names the mortgage lender as “RBS Intermediary Partners The One Account of Royal Bank of Scotland”.

In addition the keyfacts document states I am on a 0.56% discount to the variable rate which as at 1st Feb 2008 was 7.05%. After 2 years this will revert to the RBS Intermediary Partners The One Account’s Standard Variable Rate, (7.05% as at 1st Feb 2008) for the remaining term of the mortgage.

I will use the term “One Account” and RBS interchangeably in my letter as the “One Account” is listed as one of the RBS brands on your website in the “about us” section in the same way that NatWest is.

Looking on the RBS website at a recent press release it is quite clear that the failed institution now majority owned by the tax payer has cut is standard variable rate by 1.5% for all RBS and Natwest customers, yet I have only seen a 1% drop in my mortgage payments effective December 1st.

http://www.rbs.com/media03.asp?id=MEDIA_CENTRE/PRESS_RELEASES/2008/NOVEMBER/11_RATE
NatWest and RBS cut its Standard Variable Rate by a full 1.5 per cent

7th November 2008:

“NatWest and RBS today announce that its Standard Variable Rate mortgages will be cut by 1.50 per cent from 6.69 per cent to 5.19 per cent. The reduction follows a review following the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision to cut rates by 1.50 per cent yesterday and today's movement in LIBOR. The rate change is effective from 1 December 2008 for existing customers.”
RBS were recently named and shamed in the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/dec/04/rbs-one-mortgages-first-time-buyers#history-byline

“One of Royal Bank of Scotland's mortgage divisions has come under fire after refusing to pass on last month's interest rate cut in full, despite having "promised" to follow Bank of England base rate moves.

The decision has prompted an outcry among customers.”

“RBS and NatWest last month said standard variable rate (SVR) mortgages would be cut by the "full 1.5%" after the Bank of England base rate was cut from 4.5% to 3% on November 6. But One account customers have been told they are only getting a one percentage point cut.”

“The Guardian has obtained a copy of a letter sent out by the division in May 2001, which states: "Our promise is that we'll follow the base rate and pass the benefits of interest rate cuts on to our customers straightaway."

“Tony Wood, the former marketing director of Virgin Direct who is a One account customer, said RBS's behaviour was "a betrayal of all the principles we built the One account on in the first place". He added: "It's interesting to see how, as a majority taxpayer-owned business, they can even contemplate going back on such clear-cut promises, which was one of the main reasons for customers signing up in the first place. It makes particularly interesting reading in the context of the Financial Services Authority's 'treating customers fairly' rules."

Dozens of disgruntled mortgage holders have joined the Facebook group, said Wood, who now works as a brand and communications consultant.

RBS's decision to treat One account customers differently is potentially embarrassing because, when the division was half-owned by Virgin it made great play of how it passed on every rate cut to customers in full within 24 hours of each Bank of England announcement. In 1999, the then managing director of Virgin One, as it was called, said: "We have passed on every rate cut in full on the same day because that is how our customers expect to be treated - fairly and honestly."

Clearly there has been some mistake as to why the One Account have not passed this rate cut in full to all customers. I am therefore writing to you in anticipation of receiving a further 0.5% cut backdated to 1st December.

I also expect the 1% cut in base rate to 2% will also be passed on to all customers effective 1st January.
In an effort to assist your other 170,000 customers I am posting this letter on www.moneysavingexpert.com where there is a forum dedicated to customers who have been overcharged by the One Account/RBS which been viewed by nearly 50,000 internet users with 520 posts to date. I am sure you will appreciate reading further letters from your affected customers.

I will also be informing a number of other interested parties.

I urge Labour MPs cc’ed to resolve this matter in your state controlled bank as a matter of urgency otherwise I anticipate that the Conservative party will pick up on this matter and use it to highlight your failure to assist tax payers at this difficult time.

As for Tesco I urge you to reconsider your financial relationship with their failed bank, especially in light of this example of the customer service. Do you want to risk Tesco becoming tainted by association?

Yours sincerely,

Joe

itsjustjoe2

Parliamentry
Chancellor Alistair Darling, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Prime Minister Gordon Brown 10 Downing Street, London, SW1A 2AA
Rt. Hon. David Cameroon MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Rt. Hon. George Osborne MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Rt. Hon. Jeremy Corbyn MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

Regulatory
The Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR
The Financial Services Authority, 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS

RBS Board
Sir Tom McKillop, RBS Chairman, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB
Stephen Hester, Group Chief Executive RBS, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB
Guy Whittaker, Group Finance Director & Internal Audit RBS, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB
Miller McLean, Legal and Compliance RBS, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB

Tesco
Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco CEO, Tesco House Delamare Rd Cheshunt Hertfordshire EN8 9SL

RBS Non-Execs
Colin Buchan, RBS Non Exec, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB
Jim Currie, RBS Non Exec, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB
Lawrence Fish, RBS Non Exec, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB
Bill Friedrich, RBS Non Exec, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB
Archie Hunter, RBS Non Exec, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB
Charles 'Bud' Koch, RBS Non Exec, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB
Janis Kong, RBS Non Exec, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB
Joe MacHale, RBS Non Exec, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB
John McFarlane, RBS Non Exec, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB
Sir Steve Robson, RBS Non Exec, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB
Arthur (Art) Ryan, RBS Non Exec, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB
Bob Scott, RBS Non Exec, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB
Peter Sutherland, RBS Non Exec, 36 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2YB

Press
BBC Watchdog, MCG A6, Media Centre, Wood Lane, London W12 7TG.
[EMAIL="letters@guardian.co.uk"]letters@guardian.co.uk[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="ian.pollock@bbc.co.uk"]ian.pollock@bbc.co.uk[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="Martin@moneysavingexpert.com"]Martin@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="letters@dailymail.co.uk"]letters@dailymail.co.uk[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="news@dailymail.co.uk"]news@dailymail.co.uk[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="news.desk@express.co.uk"]news.desk@express.co.uk[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="web.help@express.co.uk"]web.help@express.co.uk[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="dtletters@telegraph.co.uk"]dtletters@telegraph.co.uk[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="fte.subs@ft.com"]fte.subs@ft.com[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="weekend.money@thetimes.co.uk"]weekend.money@thetimes.co.uk[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="business@thetimes.co.uk"]business@thetimes.co.uk[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="letters@thetimes.co.uk"]letters@thetimes.co.uk[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="letters@guardian.co.uk"]letters@guardian.co.uk[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="letters@observer.co.uk"]letters@observer.co.uk[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="talkback@the-sun.co.uk"]talkback@the-sun.co.uk[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="mirrornews@mirror.co.uk"]mirrornews@mirror.co.uk[/EMAIL]

Vancat

tajima1 wrote: »

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1209517

Make sure you email the administrator with the link above to the previous thread and demand it is re-instated without delay. The administrator link comes up when you try to go to the link. I can only imagine it has been swamped and gone tilt.

What's going on??? Has MSE been nobbled by RBS ?????:eek:

taurusgb

Very, VERY odd - never known a thread disappear like this before ----:mad::eek: