NS&I Client Review

andrea1983

Hi,

I'm thinking to open a saving account with NS&I (being them among the ones with higher interests on savings that MSE suggests), either a Income Bonds or Direct Saver.

I would open the account funding it with 10K to start with and then keep adding monthly saving from now on.

Both of the accounts named above would fit my needs but by looking online I've been finding and reading really bad reviews from NS&I account customer.

People complaining about not being able to, or having to go through lots of pain, to get their money back when they need them even if holding an easy access account.

Others complain about security not being taken seriously and other talking about having their money lost completely (???)

I would be curios to know anyone here that has recently open (or ever had) one of those accounts with NS&I willing to share their experience.

I know that money deposited in NS&I accounts are baked by the Gov but I would prefer to manage my money without going through much hassles.

Thanks for helping!

colsten

It's normal that you find more negative than positive reviews, for any product or service, as people only take to writing when they want to let off steam. 

There have been a few negative comments about NS&I from MSE posters. Invariably, these were from people who had clearly failed to read the comprehensive information available on the NS&I website, right in front of their very eyes.

Specifically on withdrawals: you can only withdraw cleared funds, and NS&I can take ages to clear. This is very clearly stated in the account information brochures. Withdrawal times are also clearly documented on the NS&I website, and your withdrawn money usually arrives the next banking day. So anyone who wants to deposit today and withdraw tomorrow will be stumped and should be looking elsewhere. But it is simply a lie that you can lose your money completely when you put it into NS&I (unless you are a fraudster, in which case you should expect to have your loot taken away).

Bottom line, the NS&I accounts are perfectly fine. 24 million people, including myself and many other MSE forumites, have NS&I accounts.

andrea1983

colsten said:

It's normal that you find more negative than positive reviews, for any product or service, as people only take to writing when they want to let off steam. 

There have been a few negative comments about NS&I from MSE posters. Invariably, these were from people who had clearly failed to read the comprehensive information available on the NS&I website, right in front of their very eyes.

Specifically on withdrawals: you can only withdraw cleared funds, and NS&I can take ages to clear. This is very clearly stated in the account information brochures. Withdrawal times are also clearly documented on the NS&I website, and your withdrawn money usually arrives the next banking day. So anyone who wants to deposit today and withdraw tomorrow will be stumped and should be looking elsewhere. But it is simply a lie that you can lose your money completely when you put it into NS&I (unless you are a fraudster, in which case you should expect to have your loot taken away).

Bottom line, the NS&I accounts are perfectly fine. 24 million people, including myself and many other MSE forumites, have NS&I accounts.

Could you please explain what does it mean "...you can only withdraw cleared funds" and why NS&I can take ages to clear??

Thanks!

andrea1983

On the NS&I Income Bonds brochure I read: "You can only take money out if you have enough cleared funds in your account." though I don't know what that means. Could someone give an explanation, please?

Sorry my knowledge on these things is a bit scarce.

Thanks!

andrea1983

andrea1983 said:

On the NS&I Income Bonds brochure I read: "You can only take money out if you have enough cleared funds in your account." though I don't know what that means. Could someone give an explanation, please?

Sorry my knowledge on these things is a bit scarce.

Thanks!

Got a chat with someone from the NS&I customer and I got my doubts cleared.

Basically once the money are deposited on the account it would take up to 7days to get cleared; until that happens it won't be possible to withdraw those money from the account.

Everything makes more sense now!

RG2015

Have a look at the recent NS&I thread on the link below. There may be an issue where NS&I will accept your initial deposit and then ask for ID. If you do not have a driving licence and passport it may be more time consuming to get ID verified.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6178248/ns-i-took-payment-but-i-cant-verify

colsten

The receiving party (in this case NS&I) needs to be certain that they have actually received the money from the sending bank (i.e. have “cleared” the money) before they can allow you to withdraw the funds. Why it can take NS&I up to 7 days to clear a debit card deposit, I don’t know (historical reasons, most likely) but it does, and they are very upfront about it, and they show the status of your money in your accounts. They are also very upfront about when they will start paying interest to you.

xylophone

I know that money deposited in NS&I accounts are baked by the Gov 

Thieves' kitchen?

RG2015

xylophone said:

I know that money deposited in NS&I accounts are baked by the Gov 

Thieves' kitchen?

Half baked perhaps. Or even oven ready.

colsten

They do look yummy, these baked money bags.

http://www.fussfreecooking.com/recipe-categories/meatless-recipes/baked-money-bags-with-sweet-potato-quinoa-filling-vegan-friendly-recipe/

lr1277

Sorry to be a pedant, but it is 7 working days.