Cahoot 1 year (ish) fixed rate - 3.65% AER (min 25K)

SnowMan

Looks a good rate for anyone with 25K (the minimum deposit) looking for a 1 year(ish) fixed rate. Looks like the account term is to 1st May 2013 so just over a year (the account name '1 year fixed rate bond' is misleading)

http://www.cahoot.com/cahoot_products/cahoot_savings/savings_account.html

No additional deposits, withdrawal or early account closure allowed during the fixed term.

buffman

Snowman

This is a good example of a new account that sould be posted on the Savings Accounts: The Best Currently Available News! thread.

SnowMan

Spotted it on emoneyfacts which disappears after tomorrow.

But definitely the sort of thing that needs to go on that thread from 1st March.

My motto in life is 'to follow so others will willingly lead' so didn't want to be the first to post an account alert on there :rotfl:

PhoenixDF

SnowMan wrote: »

Looks a good rate for anyone with 25K (the minimum deposit) looking for a 1 year(ish) fixed rate. Looks like the account term is to 1st May 2013 so just over a year (the account name '1 year fixed rate bond' is misleading)

I spoke to one of their advisor's earlier who explained the bond has launched but the official 'lock-in'/start date of the bond is 1st may 2012 until 1st may 2013.

Personally, I don't its mis-leading but hey ho

SnowMan

PhoenixDF wrote: »

I spoke to one of their advisor's earlier who explained the bond has launched but the official 'lock-in'/start date of the bond is 1st may 2012 until 1st may 2013.

Personally, I don't its mis-leading but hey ho

If you pay your first deposit tomorrow it is actually a 14 month bond for 3.65% AER rather than a 1 year bond was the point I was making. Whether they describe it as a 1 year bond for simplicity or because they want to make it ever so slightly more attractive looking I don't know, only Cahoot could tell you. So I take your point, misleading may be the wrong word, it is either misleading or slightly unclear.

With fixed rates currently increasing with term many would clearly prefer a 12 month bond to a 14 month bond.

It wasn't intended as a major point. It is not like the Nat West fixed rates where they give you a lower rate before the start of the bond which is outrageous and cynical.

If the official lock in period was 1st May 2012 to 1st May 2013 then I would expect to be able to withdraw money paid in on 1st March 2012 at any time before 1st May 2012 because the 'lock in' won't have started. I am guessing (the special terms and conditions on page 23 aren't precise) this is not possible in which case the 'actual' lock in in that example is from 1st March 2012 to 1st May 2013.

However interestingly you may be able to delay making the first deposit until 30th April 2012, so you might be able to make a speculative application and then wait until the end of April to decide whether you go ahead. You need to check with Cahoot this is allowed first. Obviously you are probably getting less than 3.65% in the meantime but you have to weigh this against the value of the option to change your mind before 1st May 2012.

The possible delay in initial deposit MAY make this a possible account for anyone with another fixed rate (over 25K) maturing before 1st May 2012.

PhoenixDF

Hi, I rang them up again this morning and spoke to a helpful young girl there who confirmed what I already thought about the Bond.

You can effectively open the bond account and wait up unil the 30th april to fund the account but there is a special clause (which I expected) that if you put funds in the account and withdraw them before the 'lock-in' date (1st May 2012) you won't be given any interest on those funds.

However, if you put funds in straight away, leave them in there for the life of the bond then you will get an extra month or two for the bond.

The most interesting part of my conversation with the staff memeber is that she let slip cahoot are going to be launching a new 1 year fixed rate bond each month but that interest rates etc hadn't been set for the future bonds yet including the withdrawal t&c's.

If this is true then I would expect pretty much each bond coming out to be market-leading in terms of interest rates as each of there last 2 year bonds have been and now this 1 year bond is at the moment.

So effectively, you can open up the bond account now but in a months time when a new one is launched if its a better interest rate then you can jump ship onto that bond account as the cahoot agent specifically informed me "each customer can have 1 bond account per issue"

In my opinion if what the girl said was true, I don't think cahoot current accounts/credit cards will ever be on sale again but instead they'll become an online investment bank giving santander some extra funds to pump into another area.

buffman

Seems to be an excellent account giving you a free option whether to fund it or not by April 30th depending on what rates are elsewhere.

MarcoM

What happens when it expires? Can you transfer your deposit to another bank via online transfer or do they send you a cheque?

Many thanks

buffman

MarcoM wrote: »

What happens when it expires? Can you transfer your deposit to another bank via online transfer or do they send you a cheque?

I was told that on maturity they will send up to £100k by Faster Payment to another bank.

PhoenixDF

buffman wrote: »

I was told that on maturity they will send up to £100k by Faster Payment to another bank.

It matures into an instant access online savings account, which will usually come with a bonus interest rate for 12 months.

They won't transfer the funds out automatically.....£100k is just their daily transfer limit. You make the transfer yourself.

psychic_teabag

New instant-access accounts come with a bonus (to get into the best-buy tables). I'd be quite surprised if a maturing fixed-term account gets a bonus for another year.