M&S 4% 3 Year FRISA Maturing

Old_Slaphead

Got my maturity letter today - 13 days before expiry of 3 yr term.

Offering 2.35% for 1 year fix. Bloomin' awful but I'll probably have to accept :sad:

ManAtHome

Are they still offering the £100 'get out of jail' option?

SallySunshine

Old Slaphead, what a bummer:(

2.35% for a year fix.
That's the same as their Everyday Savings Account, or it was when I applied.

Usually the best ISA's will not allow transfers in, that is the stumbling block, so you have to take what's on offer to fix from the original holder, or move the lot to a variable rate then transfer (if you can) to a better offer.

ISA's are now as bad as savings accounts.
We are all running around like headless chickens, chasing the best offer before it vanishes.
Something that most of us hate, and shouldn't be happening.:mad:

Ours expires in April, and it is a tidy sum as we'd transferred a few years ISA's to them.

Also have a Cheshire 18m one maturing in October.

Hope things will pick up slightly in April but not holding my breath

Oh for the days when you could keep all your money in a local bank/B.S. and not have to send off confidential documents for identity purposes to Timbuctoo etc and have loads of bits of paper with passwords, memorable data et al.

Wonder what went wrong to change all that?

Oh yes, I forgot, greedy banks trying to please shareholders, grab their bonus etc.

Gordon_the_Moron

Old_Slaphead wrote: »

Got my maturity letter today - 13 days before expiry of 3 yr term.

Offering 2.35% for 1 year fix. Bloomin' awful but I'll probably have to accept :sad:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/best-cash-isa

You can get 2.5% instant access for a year from Ulster Bank or Cheshire Building Society.

Old_Slaphead

ManAtHome wrote: »

Are they still offering the £100 'get out of jail' option?

£50 - 1yr fix
£75 2yr
£100 3 yr

Old_Slaphead

SallySunshine wrote: »

Wonder what went wrong to change all that?

Oh yes, I forgot, greedy banks trying to please shareholders, grab their bonus etc.

Anyone owning bank shares will disagree. Over last decade they've been a much worse investment than current ISAs

Greedy bank managers & government (for encouraging proliferation of debt to fund public spending) - yes

Stompa

Old_Slaphead wrote: »

Offering 2.35% for 1 year fix. Bloomin' awful but I'll probably have to accept :sad:

Yes, it's not good. FWIW the Advantage Cash ISA (2.75% until 5 March, 2.25% thereafter) works out at around 2.3% for the whole year, so not much less, though of course the rate is variable.

I think I'll probably go with that option in the hope that something better may turn up around April, though I'm not overly optimistic!

Old_Slaphead

Stompa wrote: »

Yes, it's not good. FWIW the Advantage Cash ISA (2.75% until 5 March, 2.25% thereafter) works out at around 2.3% for the whole year, so not much less, though of course the rate is variable.

I think I'll probably go with that option in the hope that something better may turn up around April, though I'm not overly optimistic!

Think I agree. If Cheshire 2.5% is available at beginning of March I might transfer there as they pay interest from receipt of application.

Gordon_the_Moron

As long as the best fix is 2.8% (for which you need £50k or more) the next best is 3 years at 2.55% and you can get 2.5% instant access on transfers and 2.8% with 60 days notice on this year's allowance (they allow you to transfer in this year's allowance if it is elsewhere) I personally think you are mad for fixing. That is the current situation, unfortunately like everyone else I don't have a crystal ball so can't predict the future!

Old_Slaphead

Gordon_the_Moron wrote: »

I personally think you are mad for fixing. That is the current situation, unfortunately like everyone else I don't have a crystal ball so can't predict the future!

I now concur with your view and have decided against fixing at a miserable 2.35%