Regular Saver - have i been ripped off?

iva_2

My interest also was upped from £52 to about £130 after a formal complaint was investigated by Barclays. In their words: "It would appear that it was a Barclays error."
I emptied the Regular Saver immidiately after maturity by transferring everything to an e-savings account online.
If anyone has a 'direct line' to Martin, I think this whole 'Barclays error' affair should be reported in his newsletter - many readers of this newsletter do not read the forum.

aurorasky

I've had the same problem with the regular saver, paid in a regular £200 per month and was paid £43.29 interest.

I was also told when I opened the account that interest would be paid on the full amount, and feel that I was a little misled on this when I opened this account

I went into my branch and spoke to an advisor who told me that she'd seen a fax about some customers being paid the wrong rate of interest, but she couldn't put her hand on it or tell me any more, but told me to wait a few days and the rest of the interest would be paid. I have since had more interest paid which brings the total paid after tax to £129.70, so if you have paid in £250 per month you should get more than this. I can't fathom how they've calculated this interest, but if you have a very low amount it is a barclays error.

koyli

Kazza242 wrote: »

It will be converted into an Easy Saver a day or two after your regular saver maturity date. You don't have to wait for the account to be converted, you can phone Barclays and ask them to transfer the funds into one of your other Barclays accounts.

The account was converted to an Easy Saver and promptly emptied elsewhere.

In addition to this I am in the process of transferring my other accounts out of Barclays. A bank will only get one opportunity to rip me off like this, they will NEVER get another chance. Halifax high-interest current account here we come !

koyli

aurorasky wrote: »

I have since had more interest paid which brings the total paid after tax to £129.70, so if you have paid in £250 per month you should get more than this. I can't fathom how they've calculated this interest, but if you have a very low amount it is a barclays error.

I've just had a letter from Barclays admitting they have made an error. In the letter it says :

"In order to correct this error quickly, instead of making individual calculations, we have assumed that you have made the maximum deposit of £250 each month when determining the value of the interest shortfall"

so that explains why you have been paid the same amount. It's not that I have been underpaid - they have paid your interest based on £250/month rather than £200/month.

Anybody that has been paying less than the maximum will be quids in!

What a way to run a business - take the money & run! :j

steady__eddie

Doesn't all this highlight how dependant, we the savers, are on the banks mathematical and computing capabilities ?
I like to check if the banks and bldg. soc.s have got their act together. I keep a simple spreadsheet for my ISAs and update it every time that interest rates change and I am never more than 50p out (usually in my favour) when the interest statements arrive every year.
My e saver is a different proposition though, I'm sure it is a little on the low side this year. It drip feeds about 15 regsavers every month and deposits are made into into it when one of them matures and also when the month is shorter than my salary.
Do any mathematical whizz kids know of a downloadable prog. where it is possible enter the date, interest rate and amount and by the power of modern technology it will work everything out or have I got to work out 365 daily balances and total them ?

Isheepy

I have had exactly the same "discussion" with my bank about regular saving accounts. They do not pay the headline rate because each deposit is kept in for 1 month less than the previous deposit, so over time the compound rate diminishes - even I didn't think of that when I opened it ! These accounts feel like a complete con' when they mature and I wouldn't open one again !

Paul_Herring

Isheepy wrote:

They do not pay the headline rate

Yes they do. Just because you thought they would pay the headline rate on the balance as at month 12, even though you haven't had that much in for the whole year, doesn't make it wrong.

I didn't think of that when I opened it

And the bank is to blame for this how, exactly?

I wouldn't open one again

Then you're cutting your nose off to spite your face. I have a running one with Halifax - I'm getting more interest from running it along side normal savings than I would with the normal savings alone.

RayWolfe

......... and I have 12 of them! Are you saying I have been conned or do you suspect that I know what I'm doing? It really is not difficult to think before you leap and suggest that everyone is out to get you. In fact it must be quite hard to think you would get x% on the ending balance when it has not been in the account full term!

Paul_Herring

Ray wrote:

In fact it must be quite hard to think you would get x% on the ending balance when it has not been in the account full term!

This is in fact the most usual complaint about regular savings - optimistic assumptions on the part of the customer.

An exception being the original poster to this thread when Barclays applied 4% instead of 10% to the increasing balance due to impossible to adhere to conditions attached to the account.

Milarky

Well I am a happy bunny this morning. My Barclays '10%' regular saver matured today. £148.55 interest on £3250 paid in (yes, thirtheen payments did slip through as the period straddled 13 'calendar' months, permitting this before Barclays could close the loophole) The average balance on this money was £1856 which meant that, on average £1394 of the amount deposited spent the year in a different account where it also earned interest

If that other account was earning the Bank of England rate (and many pay a bit more) during the same period that averages out at about 5% - about another £56 net. So the 'profit' from this exercise (i.e. moving the money, instead of leaving it where it 'was') equates to

The differential rate [10% - 5%] x the average balance [£1856]

or £93 before tax - about £74 after tax. That's not 'ripped off' in my book.

And, also to remark, I phoned Barclays [free] this morning after checking and they were able to transfer the maturity sum straight into my current account -avoiding the Easysaver account altogether - and I was then able to 'uplift' the amount out of this account straight into Egg savings via a debit card deposit from the other end. (So not much hanging about there!)