The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

soulsaver

Band7 said:

dali21 said:

Ditto.  I have issue 28 so I wonder if the emails have been sent for the current issue 29…

Same here. No email from Charter for issue 28. I have opened issue 29 but not funded yet as it still sits at 2.0% for now.

I haven't seen it mentioned but isn't Charter £5k min for the rate? 

Bobblehat

oz0707 said:

I got the charter email also. Nice to see the rate rise being passed on in full albeit they weren't market leaders

Which EA Issue did Charter say the increase was for? And do they specifically say that Issue XX is increasing to 2.75%, if so, when? TIA

cwep2

dali21 said:

metrobus said:

So if the Charter easy access goes up to 2.75% and I presume is called issue 30 would previous issue accounts be automatically raised or would we need to open a new account.If the latter was the case would an internal transfer be available, I have issue 28 but have not received an email informing me of the new rate .

Charter is notorious for not normally increasing rates on past issues.  However, you can open a new issue and once it is visible in the account, you can transfer internally.

Exactly this. I had an issue 26 at 1.54% which was good at the time, mid august they released the issue 27 at 1.75%. 
I waited a couple of days to see if they'd match it in the old account, they didn't, I opened up the new issue 27, transferred balance across etc. It's a hassle as you need to set up new account details in online banking which can then be flagged for security and payments not made as it's a 'new' payee, even though it's just the reference that's different.

Then about 2 weeks later they did up the issue 26 rate to match on 1st September.

End of September they launch issue 28 at 2.25%, so 0.5% better than the 1.75% in issue 26+27. Rather than go through the whole account set up malarkey I stay patient this time. That was a mistake. Account withdrawn after a week and no matching of existing accounts. 5 weeks later they belatedly raise the older accounts to 2.00% (still lower) and maybe by this latest raise on the 18th they will be at parity again, but maybe the issue 28 will still be better.

I actually complained to them about this, they hid behind their T&Cs, I never said it wasn't allowed, I just said I was disappointed and upset as a long standing customer (7yrs or so) that they gave the best rates to new customers only and didn't seem to reward loyalty. I withdrew all the savings bar £1 and started the process of moving an ISA to someone else. Of course this was a matter of principle and nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that on 11th October Santander came in with an account paying 2.75%.....  

TL;DR Charter Savings Bank won't (always) match rates on previous savings accounts with new issues. I suspect anyone with a top-table rate will get inundated at the moment, even big players like Santander pulled their account to new people after just over a week. Doesn't hurt to open an account today with £1 as if it is table topping come the 18th November you might not be able to open one.

Note Charter requires £5k for the interest rate, Kent Reliance only £1k. Although they are part of the same group (now after a merger) they have separate FSCS cover so you can use both.

km1500

". It's a hassle as you need to set up new account details in online banking which can then be flagged for security and payments not made as it's a 'new' payee, even though it's just the reference that's different."

I suppose you could always keep the old one in perpetuity no matter what the interest rate and always transfer into that one so that you would not have to change your payee details on your current account

then of course simply transfer to the better paying account internally with Charter

Or do Charter not let you transfer out and only leave eg £1 in the old account? 

Bobblehat

km1500 said:

". It's a hassle as you need to set up new account details in online banking which can then be flagged for security and payments not made as it's a 'new' payee, even though it's just the reference that's different."

I suppose you could always keep the old one in perpetuity no matter what the interest rate and always transfer into that one so that you would not have to change your payee details on your current account

then of course simply transfer to the better paying account internally with Charter

Or do Charter not let you transfer out and only leave eg £1 in the old account? 

That's what I do to fund better paying EA Charter Accounts ... so, yes, they let you keep £1 in the old account and do internal transfers.

p.s. You only get 0.1% on the £1 though!

Retired717

Has anyone had recent dealings with Ecology Bank ? They are new to me.

Looking at their 2.7% access ISA, 
Thanks

soulsaver

Retired717 said:

Has anyone had recent dealings with Ecology Bank ? They are new to me.

Looking at their 2.7% access ISA, 
Thanks

You may get a better response in the ISA section - ISAs & tax-free savings — MoneySavingExpert Forum

chris_the_bee

Retired717 said:

Has anyone had recent dealings with Ecology Bank ? They are new to me.

Looking at their 2.7% access ISA, 
Thanks

I have had 2 regular savers (not ISA's) since March 2020. No problems at all. A little slow to pass on interest rate changes, having said that, their last rise was speedy and the full BOE increase.

mebu60

I've been away for a week and a half so trying to catch up on everything. Am liking the VM ISA and HSBC OBS at 3% :-)

I seem to have lost the plot on Charter (not difficult I know!).

I have the EA Iss 28 at 2.25%. There's an Iss 29 at 2.0%. Implication is that there's been a communication (?) of 2.75% wef 18 November. I've had nothing from them and can't find anything online. Trawling back a bit on here hasn't enlightened me.

Do we know explicitly what this communication was and what Issue(s) it applies to? 

Or are we expecting an Iss 30 on 18/11? 

Grouchy

I'm sure this is a daft question, so apologies. 

But what exactly is the rationale behind the banks/BSs having 'Issues' of particular products which seem to have varying interest rates so one is obliged to drill down a PDF attachment on their website to find your rate on 'older'/no longer offered products to find out if you are getting the best current rate they offer (not always the case!)?  As opposed to, for instance, just having one Easy Access product and adjust the interest rate accordingly.

p.s. I can see the sense in this where there are 'loyalty' products which apply only to specific clients.

Sorry if this has been asked a million times.

Thanks.