Nationwide eSavings rate increased to 4.8% (w.e.f. Sep 1)

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Nationwide giveth with one hand and taketh with another.

Speculator

The only good thing about Nationwide and the reason I don't want them to demutualise is that they are the only financial organisation that offer commission free atm withdrawals overseas. Saved me a fortune during my 3 month holiday in HK earlier this year.

Stonk

Mr_Mumble wrote:

Nationwide had 55 variable rate savings accounts and tiers to change.
49 of these accounts/tiers have failed to match the base rate rise.

Nationwide: proud to be different!

Yep. Not happy with their treatment of savers this time round, or at all recently. All 3 of the remaining variable rate accounts I have with Nationwide have increased by only 0.15%, and consequently I shall be closing 2 of them, leaving them looking after a total of £250 of my money, compared to nigh on £50,000 I held with them 6 months ago.

I hope someone at Nationwide reads this.

:mad:

isasmurf

GW65 wrote:

Given that this is a Tessa-only product, I'll be amazed if anybody "benefits" from the top tier at the moment....

Why? You can transfer all your cash ISA savings into it.

GW65

isasmurf wrote:

Why? You can transfer all your cash ISA savings into it.

Erm, no you can't.... If you read the T&Cs you'll see that you can only open a Tessa Maturity ISA Bond by transferring from a maturing TESSA (no longer possible) or from another TOISA -i.e. not from a general cash ISA. In addition, once opened you can't make further deposits from another TOISA (unless you want to go to the hassle of converting the bond to a regular TESSA Maturity ISA, transferring in the other TOISA, and then opening a new bond...)

So, assuming the best case of having 2 TESSAs mature, and then transferring them in as one lump, you'd have started with £18K (since you could only transfer in the capital and not the interest). Hard to see how that could have grown to £25K in the (few) intervening years!

mystic_trev

I don't know what you're all complaining about! I put the proceeds of the sale of my house into a Fixed rate bond last December 5.1% I'm well happy.

Sapphire

mystic_trev wrote:

I don't know what you're all complaining about! I put the proceeds of the sale of my house into a Fixed rate bond last December 5.1% I'm well happy.

Not everyone wants to be tied to a fixed rate - or other conditions associated with a fixed rate bond. Different ball game if you are saving in the shorter term and are not sure if you will need the money relatively quickly.

Moreover a fixed rate bond is presumably taxed, whereas ISAs/Tessa ISAs (discussed above) are not.

Also, you could get a better rate on a savings account than on a fixed rate bond - 5.30% from the Post Office Savings Account, which is where I have transferred a sizeable portion of money from my Nationwide eSavings Account due to Nationwide's paltry rates.

Milarky

GW65 wrote:

They've also pulled the "new tier" stunt yet again. So for the Tessa Maturity ISA Bond they've only increased the rates by 0.15%, and then added a £25,000+ tier that increases the rate by 0.20%.

This really takes the biscuit for cynical marketing. Given that this is a Tessa-only product, I'll be amazed if anybody "benefits" from the top tier at the moment....

The thing about the tiers with the Tessa ISA is that you can only possbly have £9,000 in one in the first place - due to the funding restrictions and the fact that maturity 'TESSA' interest must be paid out. Thus to get out of the bottom tier you need at least £1000 reinvested 'TOISA' interest. Some people could have generated this amount by now (TOISAs have been out since 1999 remember) but many will not - or will not have fully funded their TESSAs in the first place. Also Nationwide could (but does not) offer a joint 'Members' ISA and Tessa account rather than require (as they do but need not) separate TOISA and ISA balances. So you could be in the bottom tier on two distinct accounts (< £10K in each) whilst holding a Joint balance considerably in excess of the first tier. I don't say that Nationwide planned this but they are benefiting from it - and it stinks!

isasmurf

GW65 wrote:

Erm, no you can't.... If you read the T&Cs you'll see that you can only open a Tessa Maturity ISA Bond by transferring from a maturing TESSA (no longer possible) or from another TOISA -i.e. not from a general cash ISA. In addition, once opened you can't make further deposits from another TOISA (unless you want to go to the hassle of converting the bond to a regular TESSA Maturity ISA, transferring in the other TOISA, and then opening a new bond...)

I suggest you read paragraph 11.2 of HMRC's Guidance notes to PEP & ISA Managers. In fact here's the relevant bit for you

However, previous years’ subscriptions to a cash mini ISA can be transferred to another cash mini ISA, the cash component of a maxi ISA, or even to an account that had been opened as a TESSA-only ISA.

A TOISA is (and always has been) a cash ISA. The last ISAs marked as TOISAs ceased to exist in April 2005 as the TOISA label was only given to the ISA during the year it was opened. Nationwide will have no idea that any ISA being transferred was a Cash ISA or a TOISA (if they still did exist). All they get to see are funds being transferred in the cash component.

MiserlyMartin

Ok so it looks like nationwide are in breach of its own rate guarantee by not backdating the rise. Can we take this to the financial ombudsman with a reasonable case?

I remember they did this with their Base Mortgage Rates some years ago and the Building socities Ombudsman ruled they would have to backdate and compensate.