Raisin notice accounts are bait and switch

[Deleted User]

It works like this. They lure you in with 1.6% on a 95 day ICICI account. Then they immediately drop the rate, albeit 95 days later, to 1.4%. If you signed up to get the bonus, which they won't pay for 6 months, the second half of those 6 months will be at 1.4%. The same thing happened to an associate of mine with another of their notice accounts (not an ICICI one). They won't text you, they won't send you an email, you'll have to log in to your raisin account to see the message.

masonic

Most of the accounts they offer are fixed term, so the rate does not change. According to ICICI, the rate will not drop until 15th June 2020 for accounts held directly with them: https://www.icicibank.co.uk/personal/branch-banking/savings-accounts/notice-savings-account.page?#nir 

If you signed up to get the bonus, do you now feel you'll be better off in a different savings account that doesn't offer this bonus? If you've only just signed up to this account, then there might be a cooling off period under which you can cancel under the distance selling regulations.

[Deleted User]

I was merely trying to warn people not to trust raisin. They, no doubt, have broken no laws, but they are advertising a rate of 1.6% which will immediately drop once they have your money. The same goes for the other account I mentioned. If people don't mind being lied to that's up to them. I, for one, do. Yes, they are variable rates, but at the same time raisin go out of their way to get people to sign up at the higher rate knowing full well that the actual rate will drop immediately. It's plain old fashioned dishonesty.

arsenalboy

myami said:

It's plain old fashioned dishonesty.

Its called marketing. If you are wise enough to chase interest rates you should be wise enough to understand the risks.

masonic

myami said:

I was merely trying to warn people not to trust raisin.

It should go without saying that nobody should ever trust any company to look after their interests. It's pretty much rule number one of moneysavingexpert.com

However, in this case if anyone is being dishonest about the situation, it's you.

myami said:

they are advertising a rate of 1.6% which will immediately drop once they have your money

Here's how Raisin presents the product information:

myami said:

Yes, they are variable rates, but at the same time raisin go out of their way to get people to sign up at the higher rate knowing full well that the actual rate will drop immediately. It's plain old fashioned dishonesty.

That's clearly not the case as you can see from the above. As well as being wrong about the false advertising of the product, you are also wrong about the rate dropping immediately. Unless you are telling us you have evidence the note above about the rate staying the same until 15/06/20 is untrue.

If you don't understand that the rate is not controlled by Raisin, but rather by ICICI Bank, then perhaps a bit of research is needed on your part before saving through such marketplaces.

[Deleted User]

Well, that's your opinion. I disagree. That notice was not there when either of us signed up. For anyone knows, raisin may be monitoring this forum and added it after reading my original post. But there's no point arguing over it, so I won't. Please don't kick me for trying to help others avoid the same trap.

afis1904

There's no trap. The bank that offers the savings account dropped their interest rate and Raisin added the change giving people time to withdraw money if they wish. The cashback bonus is quite unrelated to that

masonic

myami said:

Well, that's your opinion. I disagree. That notice was not there when either of us signed up. For anyone knows, raisin may be monitoring this forum and added it after reading my original post. But there's no point arguing over it, so I won't.

The reason it wouldn't have been there when either of you signed up is because ICICI would not have given anyone notice of the rate change at that point in time.

myami said:

Please don't kick me for trying to help others avoid the same trap.

I'm certainly not kicking you for trying to help others. However, there are ways of doing that which don't involve posting factually incorrect information. You have a valid point that those who have previously put money in this account might be unaware of the recent rate change announcement, as it was communicated by secure message. So giving a heads up to those people is a good thing, but nobody applying for the account since the change was known about will be unaware of it, and the false claims about the rate dropping immediately and dishonesty on the part of Raisin were unwarranted and unhelpful.

Coming back to the valid part of your post, the fact that Raisin have only communicated the rate change to you by secure message is something you could take up with them, if you believe they are obliged to notify you by other means (you are entitled to 95 days notice of a rate change from ICICI).

I have always got an email when I've received a new secure message from Raisin. Is this a feature you have turned off?

colin25710

Yes  I agree its sneaky - but you have 14 days to cancel the account - that's what I did!!

intalex

This account is still available and doesn't look like a bad option in the current wave, if only to use as a 95-day "bond"... 1.59% for approx half this period and 1.39% for the remaining half, roughly 1.5% overall...

wildfirejc

Thanks to this forum, I have decided not to get sucked in to Raisin's ad of 95 Day Notice Account at 1.6% from ICICI Bank. I've also read the reviews of this bank - oh dear...not someone you should trust with your hard earned cash I'm afraid.