Should i cancel multiple empty savings accounts?

Theresonly1

Currently i have multiple savings account with a Bank. There are empty in the sense they have £0 balance because i have used them up all.

I no longer & don't plan to use these savings account any more.

Would it be advisable/sensible to cancel all (most) of them?
Would having many £0 balance savings account affect my credit ratings?

Looking forward to hearing some advice/opinions...

Archi_Bald

Savings accounts are not reported to credit reference agencies. So whether you keep them or close them makes no difference to your creditworthiness.

ColdIron

If they are old savings accounts whose bonus has ended and you would never use again I'd close them. I assume you can get newer slightly better versions in case you need a home for some cash. It's worth it just for the sake of de cluttering. Savings accounts will have no affect on your credit ratings.

ChesterDog

Sometimes best rates have been reserved for new business. I have had examples where an old and empty account (kept just because it was a bit of a hassle to close) meant I could not open a new one at a better rate - I had to have not held an account with them in the previous six months.

So, if they are not going to be used, close them.

Theresonly1

Thanks for all replies. I think i will proceed in closing them. I have about 5 each for each Bank. That's about 15+... a bit too much now now that the bonus rates are over after 1 year

eskbanker

It might be worth retaining one per bank for two reasons:

(1) if they introduce new products that you want to open, it's likely to be easier if you're already a current customer, i.e. less ID checks, etc

(2) there are sometimes linked accounts that are conditional on having a separate account with the same institution, e.g. First Direct regular saver, although this doesn't apply directly here if you have bog-standard savings accounts but you never know....

These may not be the most compelling reasons in the world but personally I've held onto various old savings accounts for these purposes.

CLAPTON

ChesterDog wrote: »

Sometimes best rates have been reserved for new business. I have had examples where an old and empty account (kept just because it was a bit of a hassle to close) meant I could not open a new one at a better rate - I had to have not held an account with them in the previous six months.

So, if they are not going to be used, close them.

I've just been reviewing some of my old a/cs (odd pound or two)

I've been pleasantly surprised that one or two actually have a better interest rate than any products open to new members

so check first

ChesterDog

Actually, that's a very good point. My problem arose when rates were edging up a little, rather than down.

G_M

This may not apply any more, but a year or two back when rates were falling I had an account that became uncompetitive (at 2.3% when its bonus ended). But I kept it open. A year later, 2.3% was a good rate, and I topped it up again.

Porcupine

Likewise, I'm getting 2.35% in an ISA where I transferred away almost everything in 2006.

Reasons to keep open:
If you go abroad, keeping a toehold means it's easier to open new accounts because you don't have to prove you're a UK resident
If you want credit/loan/mortgage you might do better on the scoring if you're an existing customer
Carpetbagging opportunities (very unlikely)

Reasons to close:
If you die, it'll cause hassle/expense for your executors
More paper through the door, more passwords to forget
More people you have to tell when you move house