Savers Rights: Name & Shame Accounts which hide interest rates

munk

Not sure why people are praising A&L, the times I've spent looking for their interest rates I've never found the correct rate because there are so many different issues of the same account over time it's impossible to work out which one yours is - and I've not come across the 3 digit account checker either although will have a look for that...

Still why didn't they tell me about that when I asked them directly what my interest rate was (to which they just said 'check the website' :rolleyes:). Very poor, though not surprising given it's in their best interests to keep savers in the dark about how much they're really earning in interest.

Petition signed, thanks.

Trying_to_be_good

PRAISE - Nationwide Regular Saver account - online banking shows the rates for each of the past months as it's dependent on the increase in the balance as well as prevailing rates.

SHAME - Barclays (was looking for the Tax Haven ISA rate just a couple of days ago). Just another thing they're REALLY bad at...

BruceyBonus

PRAISE - Bank of Scotland Instant Access Savings Account (and Reward options) - online banking shows interest rate at top of transaction screen. Historic rates are also available on internet banking.

PRAISE 2 - National Counties BS - Statement showed all their rate changes alongside the Bank of England rates for the same period.

SHAME - Barclays Tax Haven ISA - relative who managed to set this up has received nothing other than a welcome letter. Annual statement should be arriving shortly.

DCurrer

Birmingham & Midshires show the current interest rate right in the mini-statement for each savings account or bond - excellent! Coventry Building Society, in contrast, offers only a link to a VERY long list of similarly named accounts - one of your nightmare providers, Martin!

buzzablinio

Signed - good idea. I've started checking my interest rates regularly now, and for the ones that I've been able to find online, I bookmark for quick future reference, however, the URLs are often changed so this doesn't always work.

Other banks change and rename accounts so often, its extremely difficult to work out what rate applies to your account, and often these rates on defunct accounts are buried away on a PDF document.

This is a great idea to have your exact interest rate printed prominently on your statement or on the screen for online banking.

What I've started to do, is split my savings across several institutions that all pay monthly interest. As I have the same amount in each account and the interest goes to another account it's very easy to see who is paying what, as the different monthly payments can be compared on a like for like basis.

arjar

Might I suggest that it should be mandatory for all statements to show clearly the rate has been used to calculate interest for any particular period. I had a very bad experience with Abbey a little while ago when they applied the wrong (lower) rate to an account and then kept on telling me that I'd got it wrong, not them. They eventually accepted their mistake and coughed up the difference - but it took months of correspondence. The point is that it is very, very difficult to calculate yourself what interest rate has been applied, especially when rates have changed, if it isn't shown on the statement.

Philippa65

Lloyds doesn't appear to post the interest rate for an old account called Internet Saver, probably because they're ashamed of the very poor rate compared with the newer E-saver.

gssellars

I couldn't agree more and Lloyds TSB are nearly as bad with a minefield of a list of different accounts. Try ringing them and after the customary "your call is important to us" for 10 minutes, if your lucky, or "we are very busy at this time" (short-staffed more like) you can't get a definitive answer because they have no record of if you've got a bonus!

nzseries1 wrote: »

EGG - shame! When you visit the "interest rates" page, you are met with literally hundreds upon hundreds of accounts (if you opened between this date and this date, if it was this product or this product, if it was a Friday or a Monday). Why can't they just tell you what your interest rate is on a separate internet banking screen? Martin's right - because they're trying to be deceptive. In their defense, they do send you a letter, but usually only weeks after the rate change.

TESCO - they send letters too but are usually more prompt. Plus they only have one interest rate across the board, you just have to remember whether or not you have a bonus rate as well.

iansoady

Praise to Smile - all current interest rates as well as historic ones for a year, with dates of change and applicable base rate are 1 click away from the home page.

blondedate

As far as I am concerned, they are ALL guilty of this:rolleyes: and it's ironic that this email came today as I had read something in the paper about checking when fixed accounts were coming to an end as the interest could fall from 5% to as little as 0.1% without much warning. But I was also aware that, even trying to search the internet for rates on Halifax etc, they are a maze and I can never fathom out what the rate is. When I ring (and am on the phone on stupid 0845 numbers for 20 minutes!):mad: trying to find out what the current rate is for my account , it is ALWAYS different to the one I thought it was. If the PM is reading this PLEASE PLEASE get this sorted to give us savers a fair deal at least.