Santander 123 account fee increasing to £5 from January

ratechaser

eskbanker wrote: »

Come back and let us know how you get on, some of us may be particularly interested in the answer!

Sad to report a big fat fail on this. The 2 joint accounts are preventing any new sole account being opened... So having to convert one of them to a sole account just so the DW can open one of her own too.

Ho hum, looks like 3 really is the limit now...

djpailo

I made the decision to just open up a few other accounts and not pay any fees at all. Whilst the account still gave me plenty of interest to cover the fees, it didn't make sense to use it when I could fairly easily have several accounts and pay no fee whatsoever. I didn't have any cashback except from the few times I went to Waitrose. Giffgaff doesn't have direct debits sadly. I'm now in the process of doing this.

My only major other gripe with Santander is they don't offer card readers. I feel far more secure when having to use a card reader to log into my account than just a few passwords. The staff member started touting the fact, proudly, that they don't have card readers, when I originally opened the account and he then seemed surprised when I said I prefer them lol

colsten

djpailo wrote: »

My only major other gripe with Santander is they don't offer card readers. I feel far more secure when having to use a card reader to log into my account than just a few passwords. The staff member started touting the fact, proudly, that they don't have card readers, when I originally opened the account and he then seemed surprised when I said I prefer them lol

Even if someone, due to your negligence with your login data, could log into your Santander account, they could still not make any payments to a new payee without entering the confirmation code Santander text to your mobile (which presumably is also protected with a passcode).

A card reader isn't foolproof either - once someone has nicked your card and knows your PIN, they could empty out your account, too. With or without using a card reader.

masonic

colsten wrote: »

A card reader isn't foolproof either - once someone has nicked your card and knows your PIN, they could empty out your account, too. With or without using a card reader.

Arguably, it is even worse. I believe researchers found that the authentication algorithm used by the readers was weak.

Best practice for this type of verification is to do it though another channel (e.g. via automated phonecall or on a different device to the one you are using to enter the transaction).

60katy

I received my letter from Santander about the new fee and it states on the letter if I don't want to pay this I can pay off the balance before January or switch the balance to another Santander card with no fee. I called them up to see if I could switch it was passed to three different people then told no. After getting in touch to ask why was told Santander do not allow you to switch one card of theirs to another. So why state in the letter that you can?
I have decided to get rid.

bsms1147

Card readers are the Devil.

And M&S Bank passes are the Devil's card reader.

gingerdad

we have just started the process to leave, got a better offer with HSBC for 12 months. then will have a look

MiserlyMartin

This is very handy. It should be pinned!

Consumerist wrote: »

I wondered what effect the changes would have at various balances on the account and, assuming nothing else changes between now and April 2016, I came up with a rough and ready table to estimate the effective interest rate the 123 current account would pay from April 2016, as follows:

Bal     Gross   BR Tax  Annual  Annual     Effective
(£)     Int     (0%)    fee     proceeds   Rate
-----------------------------------------------------
20K     592     0       60      532        2.7%
19K     570     0       60      510        2.7%
18K     540     0       60      480        2.7%
17K     510     0       60      450        2.6%
16K     480     0       60      420        2.6%
15K     450     0       60      390        2.6%
14K     420     0       60      360        2.6%
13K     390     0       60      330        2.5%
12K     360     0       60      300        2.5%
11K     330     0       60      270        2.5%
10K     300     0       60      240        2.4%
 9K     270     0       60      210        2.3%
 8K     240     0       60      180        2.3%
 7K     210     0       60      150        2.1%
 6K     180     0       60      120        2.0%
 5K     150     0       60       90        1.8%
 4K     120     0       60       60        1.5%
 3K      90     0       60       30        1.0%
 2K      40     0       60      -20       -1.0%
 1K      10     0       60      -50       -5.0%

So at balances above about £4K, the effective rate will be comparable with savings accounts.

Edit
Sorry the columns turned out a bit wonky. Hope it's understandable.