Norwich and Peterborough BS current account changes from January 2011

premierfella

Some interesting changes to their current accounts from January.

Of particular note will be the new overdraft usage fees, removal of overseas transaction fees, new low usage/underfunding fees and the Sentinel Gold benefit on the Gold Classic account.

[STRIKE]I'm not sure whether the changes are good or bad for existing "basic" bank account customers (of particular interest might be whether they will be "upgraded" in January to Gold Classic by crediting £500 per month from next month).[/STRIKE]*

No faster payments service with N&P and not great for overdraft users, but otherwise the revised accounts look to step firmly onto Nationwide's turf in terms of building society current accounts.

http://www.nandp.co.uk/current-account/changes-to-your-current-account/

*Edit: having now seen the letter sent to a friend with the basic bank account version of the Gold Current account, I see that basic bank account customers will go onto Gold Light and were not offered the option of upgrading to Gold Classic automatically by meeting the £500 monthly deposit requirement.

BenL

hhhmmm, looks overall for me to be a bad move by them.

Sometimes I ever so slightly dip into my arranged overdraft by less than £100. This will now attract higher interest and a £5 charge, massively increasing the amount I would pay.

Foreign usage is an ok benefit but not worth the risk of the the £5 charge for dipping into the overdraft.

That summary document actually shows that the £5 charge is currently present though as well and I have been risking it by doing business with them. The last time I went o/d was April 2010 and was NOT charged a £5 fee so it must have come in since then. I don't remember having this notified though.

The overdraft rate has been increased 6% ish for me as well in this round of changes.

premierfella

I must admit I thought the £5 monthly overdraft usage fee was currently avoided if you deposited £500 or more per month in the Gold Current account (I can't remember off hand the exact requirements and I could be confusing this with previous terms on the account). But the "before change" items in the table do appear to refer to accounts currently crediting £500 per month (based on the "before change" overdraft interest rates in the table - those funding accounts with less than £500 have an EAR of 20.9% currently, which is not quoted in the comparison table).

I agree that any Gold Current account customers using their overdraft will be paying more and should be thinking of switching their overdraft elsewhere.

johnmoney05

It is great! N&P uses VISA debit card, plus the Metro Master debit card....would be useful when I go travelling. I was going to send out my cancellation form (with my debit card and cheque book cut in pieces today) which still in the pending tray! I noticed they did send me an email of notice which I didn't bother to read it. Thanks OP!

Hazzanet

Indeed, I seem to have avoided the £5/pm overdraft usage charge by paying in >£500 each month, however the new charging structure doesn't have any provision for the fee to be waived.

Whilst up until January, the account has a 'debit card from hell' for foreign transactions, the overdraft was reasonably competitive. This does an about flip after the changes being very competitive in terms of the debit card abroad, and poor value in respect of the overdraft.

I'm going to have to look over the last year's worth of statements to see whether this is still viable for me - I do tend to dip into the overdraft by anything up to £50 a month for a day or two, and therefore I may be able to rejig a few things to stay above zero month-round. I want to support N&P as their service is excellent, but a potential £60/pa for the overdraft service doesn't sit well with me.

Steve_Boorman

Thanks N and P... not content with closing our local branch ...they have now changed the terms of the current account which means that I will have to change to another bank after 20 years !!! My account is basically a pocket money account... I am self employed and all expenses etc go through my business bank. I do not pay in a salary or pay many things thru my N&P account... therefore I have to pay £5.00 per month low useage fee on my current account(I DON'T THINK SO !!!). I have a very healthy Cash ISA with them but this counts for nothing.
So if anyone has any advice as to which bank I can now use I would be grateful. NB I do not pay in a salary or make many payments per month and refuse to pay for the priviledge of never being overdrawn.. Any ideas ???

johnmoney05

Steve_Boorman wrote: »

Thanks N and P... not content with closing our local branch ...they have now changed the terms of the current account which means that I will have to change to another bank after 20 years !!! My account is basically a pocket money account... I am self employed and all expenses etc go through my business bank. I do not pay in a salary or pay many things thru my N&P account... therefore I have to pay £5.00 per month low useage fee on my current account(I DON'T THINK SO !!!). I have a very healthy Cash ISA with them but this counts for nothing.
So if anyone has any advice as to which bank I can now use I would be grateful. NB I do not pay in a salary or make many payments per month and refuse to pay for the priviledge of never being overdrawn.. Any ideas ???

I don't understand what you complain about to be honest. "....If you make fewer than five transactions a month, your account will be debited £5 each month unless your average balance over the month is £5,000 or more. ...."

I am sure you can easily deposit £10 x 5 in a month? If not, yes, you better move to some other bank.

By the way, that is a current account, not saving account. You might consider open a saving account with Tesco, Natwest or Postoffice online saver, rather than a current account. If you don't plan to use the account much and you will get better interest rate.

apt

Steve_Boorman wrote: »

Thanks N and P... not content with closing our local branch ...they have now changed the terms of the current account which means that I will have to change to another bank after 20 years !!! My account is basically a pocket money account... I am self employed and all expenses etc go through my business bank. I do not pay in a salary or pay many things thru my N&P account... therefore I have to pay £5.00 per month low useage fee on my current account(I DON'T THINK SO !!!). I have a very healthy Cash ISA with them but this counts for nothing.
So if anyone has any advice as to which bank I can now use I would be grateful. NB I do not pay in a salary or make many payments per month and refuse to pay for the priviledge of never being overdrawn.. Any ideas ???

As the previous poster says, the Gold light option allows you to avoid the £5 per month fee by making five transactions which can be for very small amounts. However, I would think about transferring your Cash ISA. Have you checked what interest you are getting? The currently available N&P ISAs are poor.

Steve_Boorman

johnmoney05 wrote: »

I don't understand what you complain about to be honest. "....If you make fewer than five transactions a month, your account will be debited £5 each month unless your average balance over the month is £5,000 or more. ...."

I am sure you can easily deposit £10 x 5 in a month? If not, yes, you better move to some other bank.

By the way, that is a current account, not saving account. You might consider open a saving account with Tesco, Natwest or Postoffice online saver, rather than a current account. If you don't plan to use the account much and you will get better interest rate.

My complaint is why should I now pay £60.00 per year for my current account with N&P...They have closed our local branch anyway so I don't think I have much choice.Deposits can only be made by cheque which I have to post to them.But is there a current account around that is free to use for light users??ie those that do not pay a salary into the account.I use my credit cards for other transactions and pay them off every month...but I don't have the required number of transactions per month to avoid paying the £5 charge.

Steve_Boorman

apt wrote: »

As the previous poster says, the Gold light option allows you to avoid the £5 per month fee by making five transactions which can be for very small amounts. However, I would think about transferring your Cash ISA. Have you checked what interest you are getting? The currently available N&P ISAs are poor.

The ISA is a fixed term ISA for 1 year which finishes in December...don't worry I'll be out of N&P as soon as possible.They don't care about me..an existing customer of 20 years !!!

premierfella

Steve_Boorman wrote: »

My complaint is why should I now pay £60.00 per year for my current account with N&P...They have closed our local branch anyway so I don't think I have much choice.Deposits can only be made by cheque which I have to post to them.But is there a current account around that is free to use for light users??ie those that do not pay a salary into the account.I use my credit cards for other transactions and pay them off every month...but I don't have the required number of transactions per month to avoid paying the £5 charge.

I understand you grievance Steve_Boorman, but light users are the customers N&P are clearly looking to lose, probably due to the relative cost of servicing inactive accounts (paper statements, T&C updates, sending out cards, etc).

In your position (if I wanted to keep the N&P account) a solution given you pay a credit card off every month and never need to use an overdraft is simply to set up regular nominal standing order payments (e.g. £1) from the N&P current account to your credit card account (obviously running the N&P account with a sufficient balance so that you are never in danger of overdrawing it). Hey presto, you qualify for N&P Gold Light without a low usage fee.

However, I agree that light users are probably better off looking elsewhere.