Virgin Money savings / Nothern Rock

raybb01

I have just opened a 3 year savings account with Virgin.
However I used to have a mortgage with Northern Rock which I paid off a proportion of but was left with negative equity. The unsecured loan (remainder of mortgage) is now,being dealt with by nram, who I have an agreement in place with. my question is with Northern Rock now being owned by virgin will they have access to this new savings account? or are nram now a standalone company with no way this account being visible? any assistance would be appreciated.

innovate

What interest rate do you pay on your NRAM agreement?

What interest rate do you get from Virgin?

raybb01

there is no interest rate with nram as because it is classed as debt the balance is coming down every month with my payments.
Virgin pay 2.8% annually.

innovate

2.8% doesn't sound a lot, you'll get just 2.24% after basic rate tax. You could probably get more in an ISA, and/or a combination of ISA and a Regular Saver account.

But - - can't you take a lump off your NRAM balance, thereby shortening the length of time you still have to pay them? There will be interest in the sum you pay back, even if it is not listed separately. If you pay off more than you need to, there's a chance that you will have to pay less overall. Difficult to say whether this would really make sense, without knowing the T&Cs of your arrangement, and how much money is involved.

As to whether NRAM has access to money in Virgin Money accounts - - I don't know the answer. Best if you ask either or both of them. However, if you owe money to NRAM, they will probably get it off you, regardless of where your bank accounts are.

raybb01

I did look at isa' s but I only had a small deposit to start with so couldn't really do this.
as for nram I don't think legally they can access your money, for example I bank with hsbc but because virgin now own northern rock they may be able to see any savings in this case, that's my main concern.

innovate

For a an instant access cash ISA, you dont need more than £1. Only major difference to a normal savings account is that you get the interest in the ISA tax-free.