Natwest/RBS 2.85% esaver

buffman

My Natwest e-Saver was opened on 15 October with the first bonus paid on 30 Nov. I assume that bonus was for the period 15 Nov to 30 Nov. Can someone please confirm that I will receive the bonus for the balance up to Nov 14th 2011 (being paid on Nov 30th). Thanks

ScarletBea

The bonus has always been paid monthly, you must see 2 entries for interest each month, one corresponding to the regular interest and another for the bonus.
What you see now is just the amount since the last monthly payment...

Mary_Ta

Given the history of this account and the mess over its T&Cs its difficult to be 100% certain about when the bonus finishes, but:

1. I called my branch and they couldn't tell me, but put me through to online banking
2. Online banking stated my bonus would finish on the 4th Oct 2011 - which is the anniversary of my account opening
3. The T&Cs says the following "[FONT=Verdana,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]If you opened an e-Savings account between 29 September 2010 and 20 October 2010 then [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]you qualify for a bonus of 1.85% Gross for 12 months." which I interpret as meaning the 4th Oct for my account[/SIZE][/FONT]
4. [FONT=Verdana,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Online, on the interest rate page (sorry I am not allowed to post the link by the forum) it still states the bonus is still operational, but I suspect this is subject to terms and conditions [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Therefore from the above I would expect the bonus to finish on the 12 month anniversary of opening, although in the back of my mind I thought originally the end date was Nov 15th 2011. The final bonus payment will not occur until the end of October.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Does anyone disagree with the above? I don;t have a copy of all the original paperwork so can't be 100% certain?[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Most banks/bs's normally write to you in advance of the end of a bonus period asking you whether you want to roll your savings into another bonus account or an alternative. Nat West have not done this for me, has anyone been sent a letter suggesting a roll-over account, alternative?[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Thanks,[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Mary[/SIZE][/FONT]

alanq

The account didn't start to earn a bonus until the 15th of the month so to earn the advertised interest rate for 12 month you SHOULD get the bonus until 15th October paid on 31st October. But why wait to find out? Unless you relish an argument with NatWest move most or all of your money out to an account paying a better rate of interest. There are many accounts paying better than 2.89% let alone 1%.

This is not an account coming to an end. There is no roll-over. You were informed at the start that the bonus was for a fixed period (albeit with a lot of confusion as to what that period was!). The account is still on offer. So in effect the "roll-over" is an eSavings account without a bonus paying just 1%.

Sceptic001

Yes, I agree with alanq. My understanding is that an account opened in October 2010 should pay the bonus from 15 November 2010 to 14 November 2011. But this account has been such a shambles that I will be moving out well before that. I cannot be bothered to contact Natwest as it is clear from this thread that no definitive answer is available from them. :mad:

Mary_Ta

Because of the mess over the account I ended up taking Nat West to the FOS, so my interest was backdated from 15th Nov 2010 to 4th Oct 2010 when I opened the account - I think on the basis of the argument I put forward to the FOS that the bonus interest started from the day I opened the account, I think I probably have no right to claim the interest continues to 15th Nov 2011. I will close my account on 4th Oct 2011.

Devonjem

Well I have finally received the FOS assessment of my complaint. They say Natwest agree with all the FOS findings.

The FOS finding is that Natwest should pay 2.82% for 12 months from the date the account was opened. Natwest's advertisement of the account on these issues was misleading. In regard to Natwest's attempt to vary the rate from 2.82 to 2.28, the FOS said this was unreasonable.

So this has all come to an end on the exact anniversary of the account opening date.

Goodbye Natwest.

fizzypop

The last day of Sept and no sign on their website that a new 2.85% is going to be offered. This account was useful for instant access and upto £10K faster payments with monthly interest payments.
Can anyone recommend a replacement with similar facilities?

opinions4u

Tesco 2.90% last time I looked.

psychic_teabag

tesco has the same 10k faster payments stuff. Used to be the same interface but I think they've changed it recently. Not sure if it offers monthly interest.

Don't the new rules kick in soon to ensure that all payments are faster ?

Have you got your Lloyds vantage current accounts set up ?