Instant Access Savings Accounts Article Discussion Area

Newbold

I phoned ING to tell them what I thought of the lousy rates they're now offering, and why I was shifting my savings elsewhere. They put me through to what appears to be some sort of business retention department, and the guy there told me they were now offering a couple of better rate products. I've put the details below (you can only access them from within the secure area of the website because they're only available to existing customers). It was very clear that they are getting a lot of calls from hacked off customers who now feel ripped off by ING. the new accounts are a desperate measure to try to keep them from defecting. So far as I'm concerned, ING is now a seriously damaged brand, and I won't be back again.



What is the ING Direct Web Saver ?

It’s a great account if you wish to put your money aside in order to receive a higher variable rate of interest. The ING Direct Web Saver can only be opened and managed online and at present it’s only available to existing ING Direct Savings Account customers. It currently offers a high variable rate of 5.25% AER*. Please note that in any calender month in which you make a withdrawal you will lose all of the interest on the entire account balance in that month.

What is the ING Direct Fixed Rate Savings Account?

The ING Direct Fixed Rate Savings Account is perfect if you can put your savings away for a 6 month term in order to receive a high fixed rate of interest, currently 5.3% AER*. You can open between one and 10 fixed rate accounts with anything from £1 to £49,999 in each account. This account is only available to existing ING Direct Savings Account customers.

If you close your ING Direct Fixed Rate Savings Account before the end of the 6 month term, you would incur a loss of interest. We would deduct 90 days gross interest from the interest you have earned. Or, if you’ve earned less than 90 days interest, no interest will be paid to you.

Got a lump sum you’re happy to put away? Call 0800 587 7688.

koru

Those ING deals are still not competitive. Lower rates than the best instant access accounts, yet ringed with conditions. ING have obviously built up a big customer base and are now hoping to start milking it, without losing too many of those customers. I suspect, however, that if people could be bothered shifting to ING in the first place, they will make the effort to shift elsewhere.

Glowwww

save on the Monthly Savers (8.00% AER) the website here states you do not need to be a regular saver on the Classic Plus Account and can put in a £1 to activate it, in order to save in this high monthly savers account. You actually need to put in £1,000 per month in the Classic Plus Account, acording to Lloyds/TSB website.
Has anyone else experienced this? Shame as monthly savings account great and just changed bank accounts

Prudent

Glowwww wrote:

save on the Monthly Savers (8.00% AER) the website here states you do not need to be a regular saver on the Classic Plus Account and can put in a £1 to activate it, in order to save in this high monthly savers account. You actually need to put in £1,000 per month in the Classic Plus Account, acording to Lloyds/TSB website.
Has anyone else experienced this? Shame as monthly savings account great and just changed bank accounts

I have this account. I think it is possible to take out a couple of hundred and then simply re-deposit it to amke your monthly deposit total.

MrsGrey

2am wrote:

I have just come across the Northern Rock Silver Savings instant access online account paying 5.46% AER for folk over 50 with £1 minimum balance .. looks attractive but I have not yet seen any reviews. Comments welcome.

Yes that 5.46% is not an "Introductory Bonus figure and looks OK : Guaranteed to be at Base Rate until 2010. However that is still not as good as IceSave's guarantee of 0.25% above base rate. However I saw this rather ominous note on the N.R. account:
We will notify customers at least six months in advance of any change to the guarantee, if the change is to their disadvantage.
What kind of guarantee is that?! Do all banks say that?
Need to check what IceSave say....

koru

I like the new idea from Martin about the index linked tax free savings.

But bear in mind that the current monthly RPI of 4.4% is unusually high and the Bank of England is going to be doing everything it can to bring that rate down, sharpish. So, you are unlikely to get that rate for the whole 3 year term of the investment.

I had a quick look at the Government Statistics office website and the average RPI over the last 17 years has been 3.25%. So, it might be more realistic to expect to earn 3.25+1.15=4.4% in total, over the minimum three year investment period. That's tax free, so for a higher rate tax payer that's equivalent to a taxable interest rate of 7.3%. Still not bad, but a fair bit less than the 9.25% rate being touted by National Savings.

webwiz

Re NSI Indexed Linked Bonds

4.4%+1.1% is what you would have got if you had invested 12 months ago (although you would not be able to access it for another two years.) Anyone can pick winners in yesterday's races. Nobody knows what interest these bonds will pay to someone investing today.

koru

webwiz wrote:

Re NSI Indexed Linked Bonds

4.4%+1.1% is what you would have got if you had invested 12 months ago (although you would not be able to access it for another two years.)

No. The interest rate varies on a monthly basis, based on the monthly RPI. This is currently equivalent to an annual rate of 4.4%, but the rate has been lower than that for most of the last 12 months, so you would have earned less than 5.5% if you had invested 12 months ago.

5.5% is what you will have earned in a year's time if the RPI stays exactly the same as it is this month. Maybe it will do. Maybe it will go even higher. But the Governor of the Bank of England is going to be in big trouble if inflation isn't brought down pretty quickly. I think it is misleading advertising for National Savings to emphasise the current very attractive rate which will almost certainly last only a few months, on a product that locks you in for 3 years. OK, they do mention that the rate may vary, but it isn't given the same prominence.

webwiz

Well spotted koru. You are right but my point remains valid: the current inflation rate is a historical figure and shows what earlier investors have received but is not what someone investing today will get.

Complete_Banker_2

I have been an advocate of ICICI but no more and would like to warn others about treating an account as instant access. I have been banking with them since day one in 05, recently I tried to get money out of the account only to be told they had frozen it due to inactivity. They have now taken three weeks to respond to my repeated requests to reactivate the account with an email that says this will take a further three working days at least. I have never heard of or had experience of a bank treating an account as inactive after such a short period of time. Anyone else had this?