Tesco Internet Saver

dosh37

Hoorah! Tesco sent me a letter saying I will get a bonus of 0.65% for another 12 months on my Internet Saver account making a WHOPPING 1.9% gross! After 20% tax that's a MASSIVE 1.5%.
With the current inflation rate of 2.7% that means my money will only drop in value by 1.2% each year!!!

Before I went out on the town to celebrate, I thought I would check out the current interest rates on the Tesco website...
Tesco Internet Saver account: 2.4% gross.
Nice to know that Tesco values existing customers.

talexuser

dosh37 wrote: »

Nice to know that Tesco values existing customers.

They are not the only ones.

It is difficult to understand how we got to this stage where existing customers are dumped on from a great height, while at the same time fed a barrage of advertising claiming how wonderful, warm and friendly all our banks and building socs are.

marathon_man_3

All one can do is to keep moving the money around to different banks and building societies. I guess that it keeps people gainfully employed but, when I work out the additional interest that I can earn less 20% tax at source, sometimes it adds up to sod all for the effort involved.
I am retired and had budgetted for the interest income on our savings but I find that we are gradually taking bits from the capital everytime a bond matures.

SallySunshine

Just applied for this on-line.
Tells me it will take up to 5 days to verify my identity, considering I've given my bank details, hard to see why it would take so long. Probably would have done it via my Tesco Club card if I could find it.

When I'd finished it asked me if I wanted to save my application.
Call me paranoid but I always do this.

Typed in my application ID, it also asked for a password?

I haven't been asked to give one, so therefore can't save the application.

strange

marathon_man_3

In such circumstances, I always copy and paste the screen(s) into an email addressed to myself so that I have something tangible at least.

HUDengineer

dosh37 wrote: »

Hoorah! Tesco sent me a letter saying I will get a bonus of 0.65% for another 12 months on my Internet Saver account making a WHOPPING 1.9% gross! After 20% tax that's a MASSIVE 1.5%.
With the current inflation rate of 2.7% that means my money will only drop in value by 1.2% each year!!!

Before I went out on the town to celebrate, I thought I would check out the current interest rates on the Tesco website...
Tesco Internet Saver account: 2.4% gross.
Nice to know that Tesco values existing customers.

You are not alone. Following receipt of the letter, I rang Tescos to ask why the opportunity to advertise the better on-line rate offer via the letter had escaped them. There was an embarrased apology.
After the call, I opened a new account to secure 2.4%, ready for when it is time to slide the bulk of the funds over, just in case the offer gets over-subscribed by slightly cheesed off existing customers, and just in case I cannot find something more attractive elsewhere.

HUDengineer

talexuser wrote: »

They are not the only ones.

It is difficult to understand how we got to this stage where existing customers are dumped on from a great height, while at the same time fed a barrage of advertising claiming how wonderful, warm and friendly all our banks and building socs are.

ING Direct seem to have a strange idea of what constitutes "A decent way to do banking": If you don't qualify for the introductory rate on the ING Direct Savings Account, you need the Growth Saver, but remember you need to open a new account with them every 3 months, and move the funds promptly. I've got into the habit of naming accounts with the date promotional rates expire, e.g. "Close by 17th Nov".

Glen_Clark

HUDengineer wrote: »

ING Direct Savings Account, you need the Growth Saver, but remember you need to open a new account with them every 3 months, and move the funds promptly.

A few years ago I closed my account with ING when the bonus ran out and tried to open another, but was told once you close an account you cannot open another for 6 months. It seems ING don't want 'rate tarts' like me, just mugs that leave their money earning about 0.1%

evenasus

HUDengineer wrote: »

You are not alone. Following receipt of the letter, I rang Tescos to ask why the opportunity to advertise the better on-line rate offer via the letter had escaped them. There was an embarrased apology.
After the call, I opened a new account to secure 2.4%, ready for when it is time to slide the bulk of the funds over, just in case the offer gets over-subscribed by slightly cheesed off existing customers, and just in case I cannot find something more attractive elsewhere.

I opened a new 2.4% Tesco account and transferred what I had in my existing 2.8% Tesco Internet Saver, even though there was still a month to go on the 2.8% one.

The reason being, 2.4% might well have reduced even further in that remaining month - who knows these days.

But don't forget this quote from the Tesco website...

Interest is calculated daily. Our standard rate of interest is paid to you annually on the last day in March. Bonus interest is applied to your account at the end of the bonus period. The bonus offer may be withdrawn or changed without notice. Only one account per person is eligible for the bonus.

MoneySaverLog

They are ALL the same. It's not just limited to Tesco but ALL banks. They all drop their rates after a period, usually a year.

Gromitt

You can get 'clean' accounts, ie, accounts which have no set bonus, but these are typically variable rate accounts. Sometimes the 'bonus' accounts are better, specially if (like in the Halifax case) the rate is like 0.1% with a 2.7% bonus.