ING Direct - the best for saving, or should I move??

Kates08_2

Just wanted someone's opinion, I set up an ING direct savings account over 4 years ago now, it's always worked well as it's purely been for saving for long term projects - a car, travelling, and now a house.
However as I'm saving for a house & currently have £7,000 in my account and am transferring £1,000 a month I wondered if I could get a better benefit or interest from another savings account??
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!

psychic_teabag

Most accounts these days come with an introductory bonus, so that the headline rate only lasts a year, then plummets to something silly like 0.5%. So you should check the rate, but the answer is almost certainly that you should move it.
Some providers will let you open a new account to get the bonus, but ING give the bonus to new customers only. (So much for loyalty...)

Check Martin's banking-and-saving articles (button at top of page). Consider using an ISA account if you are a taxpayer and aren't already using your allowance.

If you are putting aside money every month, look for regular-saver accounts which tend to pay more interest, but tend to have withdrawal restrictions. Also deposit restrictions - many won't allow as much as £1000 per month, nor an initial lump sum, so you might need several accounts.

One account that doesn't seem to feature in Martin's guides is the Monmouthshire BS flexible saver offering 4% for first year. Can put in £12k before end of March, and another £12k from April, which would probably suit you. But you'll probably want to move after a year when the rate falls to 2%

DotMatrix

You need to ditch ING ASAP. So much more out there with a better return on your hard earned cash.

soay_2

I have always found ING to be very efficient & easy to use.

However you need to close the a/c when the bonus finishes & open an a/c with another provider that pays a bonus.

You are allowed to open a new ING a/c after 6 months have elapsed & can then get another 12 month's bonus.

atush

Are you paying tax on your interest? If so, I would put some into an ISA.