Tesco bank suspend new applications

JuicyJesus

xylophone wrote: »

Banks could offer savings accounts which pay a decent rate of interest on limited deposits rather than force people through the current account hoop.
They choose not to do so.

Because the base rate is incredibly low, and the current accounts offer the interest as a lure to customers to do actual profitable business. That's pretty obvious.

Banks choose not to offer savings accounts with the same rates because offering 3% AER on a bog standard instant access savings account, even one up to only £3k, is a loss maker when the base rate is 0.25% and mortgages and personal loans run at about 3% APR these days.

Really your beef is with the Bank of England and the Government, the former for setting the base rate so low and the latter for leaving the economy so practically stagnant that the base rate has to be low to prop the country up with cheap credit.

ColdIron

JuicyJesus wrote: »

Hell, even a clause in the T&Cs that "we can refuse to pay bonus interest if we have reason to believe you are not genuinely using the account as your main account"

The idea of a 'main account' is a meaningless concept for many these days. Is my main account :

• The one with the most money in it?
• The one with the most standing orders?
• The one with the most direct debits?
• The one with the most flowing through it in any month?
• The one my salary is paid into?
• The oldest?
• The one with the debit card I use the most because they let me have pictures of kittens on it?

These are all different accounts for me

xylophone

and the current accounts offer the interest as a lure to customers to do actual profitable business.

The Banks, as businesses have a choice. They must be well aware that the savvy use the current accounts as savings accounts.

They choose not to prevent this.

In some way or another they are making their profits - they can't blame the customers for trying to do likewise.

JuicyJesus

ColdIron wrote: »

The idea of a 'main account' is a meaningless concept for many these days. Is my main account...

That's all up to how they'd want to define it in their terms. Or just put the payment of the bonus at their discretion and allow them to refuse. I believe the likes of First Direct can and have refused to pay bonuses if they believe the p*ss is being taken.

The Banks, as businesses have a choice. They must be well aware that the savvy use the current accounts as savings accounts.

They choose not to prevent this.

In some way or another they are making their profits - they can't blame the customers for trying to do likewise.

I agree to an extent, but then people on MSE were completely rinsing this, trying to open multiple accounts, removing partners from joint accounts so they could open more etc etc etc... like I say, completely allowed within the letter of the T&Cs but also a bit unseemly.

pmduk

badger09 wrote: »

Victims of their own success:cool:

Surely it's the customers left unable to apply that are the real victims?

POPPYOSCAR

xylophone wrote: »

The Banks, as businesses have a choice. They must be well aware that the savvy use the current accounts as savings accounts.

They choose not to prevent this.

In some way or another they are making their profits - they can't blame the customers for trying to do likewise.

I thought I read on here somewhere some people having some bank accounts closed.

Perhaps it is only a matter of time before they weedle out the ones being used for just savings?

xylophone

Perhaps it is only a matter of time before they weedle out the ones being used for just savings?

It'll have been good while it lasted?

soulsaver

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

I thought I read on here somewhere some people having some bank accounts closed.

Perhaps it is only a matter of time before they weedle out the ones being used for just savings?

Yep Halifax, Lloyds, TSB, HBos, Santander ... all spending their time writing up terms that allow multiple sole name current accounts and most, in addition, allow multiple joint accounts - all, now or in the past, at enhanced interest rates.

These terms aren't offered by mistake.

Ashen

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

I thought I read on here somewhere some people having some bank accounts closed.

Perhaps it is only a matter of time before they weedle out the ones being used for just savings?

Since they've guaranteed the 3% for two years, it'd be quite difficult for them to do this right now fortunately.

TheShape

ColdIron wrote: »

The idea of a 'main account' is a meaningless concept for many these days. Is my main account :

• The one with the most money in it?
• The one with the most standing orders?
• The one with the most direct debits?
• The one with the most flowing through it in any month?
• The one my salary is paid into?
• The oldest?
• The one with the debit card I use the most because they let me have pictures of kittens on it?

These are all different accounts for me

But 'how many' is 'many'?

I expect that for at least 95% of the population that all the above apply to one of the current accounts that they hold and I imagine the vast majority of the population don't hold more than one current account anyway.