The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

savethepandas

dosh37 said:

I have an easy access account with Ford Money.

It was paying 4.9% but that dropped to 4.85%.

A recent email says the rate will reduce to 4.6% in Feb 2024.

Hence I am looking to move to a better rate elsewhere.

I have several other savings accounts and the £85K FSCS limit means my choices are limited.

I am thinking of a Kent Reliance easy access account (5.11%).

Does anyone have any experience with Kent Reliance?

Is opening and managing the account straightforward?

Personally have fallen out of love with them, in tax year 2020/21 had real difficulty getting tax certificate out of them. Only seem to call you on a Saturday morning, have difficulty getting what I want over to them. (Not so bad if you contact them on a Friday, but annoying if you contact them on a Monday, although not necessarily the same week). Do pay out compensation when things go wrong. Both my partner and I have not being renewing investments there.

premierfella

youngretired said:

I'm in the same situation where I have maxed out Santander/Cahoot and Kent Reliance and I am trying to find a place to put Ford's. I have a Virgin account and so I am thinking of the Defined Access E-saver. Can anyone tell me if you can close this at anytime and if the closure would count as a withdrawal? I have tried live chat as the summary doesn't state anything about closing the account and unfortunately they couldn't answer the question either.

Whilst it may not explicitly say it, the line that says "Minimum withdrawal amount is £1 (or less if closing)" implies it's a withdrawal.

But, unless I'm missing something, surely it has no impact either way - even if the closure is a fourth withdrawal, isn't the interest rate up to the day before closure still the higher rate? (their summary box really should be more explicit about both these things, but that's how similar accounts elsewhere usually work - e.g. choosing one at random Nationwide Triple Access Online Saver, which has a much better KPI description!)

adw1977

Skipton BS Member Bonus Saver

5.50%
gross pa/AER† variable
including a 1.70% fixed bonus for 12 months

Minimum balance £1, max £3000.
Must have been a member since at least 11 Jan 2024.
Unlimited withdrawals. 

soulsaver

adw1977 said:

Skipton BS Member Bonus Saver

5.50%
gross pa/AER† variable
including a 1.70% fixed bonus for 12 months

Minimum balance £1, max £3000.
Must have been a member since at least 11 Jan 2024.
Unlimited withdrawals. 

Thanks but reported and discussed upthread here when it launched on 12th Jan. 

jaypers

Changes to Tandem’s T&C’s happening including a change from 30 to 14 days notice of any interest rate reduction. Will watch with interest if/when they decide to reduce their rates. 

PG2005

Tandem 

We're about to make some changes to our Terms and Conditions that will impact your Instant Access Savings Account. Here's the lowdown:

Eligibility Criteria:

• We've clarified the types of bank accounts you can use when opening your account.
• We've confirmed the limit on the number of Instant Access Savings Accounts one person can have.

 

Paying In:

• Payments are now only accepted from your UK-based account in GBP.

 

Interest and Top-Up:

• We’ve changed how much notice we will give you when we decrease our savings rates from 30 days to 14 days.

 

Account Closure:

• We've clarified when we might need to close your account right away.

 

Blocking or Freezing Your Account:

• We've clarified when we might need to immediately block or freeze your account.

 

Accountability:

• We won't be responsible for fees or charges incurred with your current account provider if you make a deposit with insufficient funds.

 

If Things Go Wrong: 

• Our address for correspondence has been updated.

These changes will be in effect 30 days from receiving this email. You can access both your new and existing Instant Access Saver Terms directly within the Tandem App within the next couple of days.

barafear799

jaypers said:

Changes to Tandem’s T&C’s happening including a change from 30 to 14 days notice of any interest rate reduction. Will watch with interest if/when they decide to reduce their rates. 

obviously "watch with less interest" 

barafear799

I just read my email from Tandem and came on here to post - but beaten to it. Out of curiosity, is there a standard period for "banks giving you notice of reductions in interest rates" - were Tandem one of the more generous ones (with 30 days) and therefore reducing to 14 is simply joining the crowd?

Pompeydave1967

There’s got to be a drop planned , poss 4.85% or below. Like the others have said as soon as emailed received you know that’s the intention.

Futuristic

barafear799 said:

I just read my email from Tandem and came on here to post - but beaten to it. Out of curiosity, is there a standard period for "banks giving you notice of reductions in interest rates" - were Tandem one of the more generous ones (with 30 days) and therefore reducing to 14 is simply joining the crowd?

Probably, I think the other "digital" savers like Chip/Zopa are also all 14 days notice for rate changes.