Sainsbury Bank Defined Access Saver (Presently top choice on MSE for instant savings):

Anselm1033

Alert: Any future interest rate increases won't be applied to your account.

This will be obvious to some people, but not all. Your account will have an "issue number" in its name. As interest rates rise, Sainsburys wont increase the interest rate. Instead they will launch a new product with the same name but a higher "issue number". Your account will stay as it is and the only way to benefit from the higher rate will be to open one of the new accounts and transfer your money across.

My experience of trying to do this has been terrible. Attempt to open latest "issue" account online led to an error and a recommendation to call. Telephone wait time then 45 minutes. Once connected, they did sort it out.

Note, when you try to call Sainsbury, the automated system will tell you that

"We are aware of the confirmed change to the Bank of England base rate and will be reviewing our interest rates over the next few weeks. We'll be in touch if we make any changes to your account."

However, as is clear, the account review won't lead to any interest rate increase. They don't do that. Instead, they will launch a new account with a higher issue number and leave you on the old rate. So this again feels like the bank working against you. It is an attempt to push the customer away and keep you on a lower rate.

[Deleted User]

It's fairly common in the savings industry with mutuals one of the prime offenders.

Except for fix rated accounts, it should be banned IMHO. 

Reddleman79

I've also just found that out. So much for the terms and conditions which mentions that the interest can go up or down, when they have remained at (in my case 1.04%). I managed to open a new one (Issue 33) online without too much palaver, and transferred a lump sum, leaving a minimal amount in the old account. When I opened the original account, I don't remember seeing an issue number.

ColdIron

Deleted_User said:

It's fairly common in the savings industry with mutuals one of the prime offenders.

Except for fix rated accounts, it should be banned IMHO. 

Why? If they had to pay everybody then they couldn't offer the best rates to the more agile such as those on these boards

I'm a big fan

phillw

Deleted_User said:

It's fairly common in the savings industry with mutuals one of the prime offenders.

Except for fix rated accounts, it should be banned IMHO. 

We don't live under communism.

This is what taking responsibility for yourself looks like in a free market.

I find it hilarious when my right wing friends complain about it, then go onto complaining about people who want hand outs...

Daliah

ColdIron said:

Deleted_User said:

It's fairly common in the savings industry with mutuals one of the prime offenders.

Except for fix rated accounts, it should be banned IMHO. 

Why? If they had to pay everybody then they couldn't offer the best rates to the more agile such as those on these boards

I'm a big fan

Totally agree. It’s not realistic to expect that rates would go up much, or at all, if they had to go up for everybody. We’d all have to settle for mediocre ones.

Reddleman79

ColdIron said:

Why? If they had to pay everybody then they couldn't offer the best rates to the more agile such as those on these boards

I'm a big fan

It's a practice which I am not a big fan of, keeping investors in the dark. It reminds me somewhat of insurers not paying out, citing Terms and Conditions. They're happy to take your premiums. In the case of Sainsbury's it does say in the terms and conditions that the interest can rise or fall. I invested on that basis, assuming that the rate would more or less follow BoE rates.

Daliah

Reddleman79 said:

ColdIron said:

Why? If they had to pay everybody then they couldn't offer the best rates to the more agile such as those on these boards

I'm a big fan

It's a practice which I am not a big fan of, keeping investors in the dark. It reminds me somewhat of insurers not paying out, citing Terms and Conditions. They're happy to take your premiums. In the case of Sainsbury's it does say in the terms and conditions that the interest can rise or fall. I invested on that basis, assuming that the rate would more or less follow BoE rates.

If your complaint is that Sainsbury’s don’t tell their existing savings account holders about new issues, or about new products (I don’t know whether they do or don’t), you might have a minor reason for a complaint. In the first instance, though, you should have words with yourself for not assuming responsibility for your own savings, and also for apparently assuming that Sainsbury’s always have the best rates.

Qyburn

This isn't new, it's happened for decades.  I'm speaking about back when you took your paying book into the branch to pay into your savings. We used to have a stack of obsolete Abbey National paying books, each superseded when we opened a new account to benefit from new interest rates.

eskbanker

Reddleman79 said:

ColdIron said:

Why? If they had to pay everybody then they couldn't offer the best rates to the more agile such as those on these boards

I'm a big fan

It's a practice which I am not a big fan of, keeping investors in the dark. It reminds me somewhat of insurers not paying out, citing Terms and Conditions. They're happy to take your premiums. In the case of Sainsbury's it does say in the terms and conditions that the interest can rise or fall. I invested on that basis, assuming that the rate would more or less follow BoE rates.

This subject has probably been done to death already on other threads, but a rate being variable doesn't in any way signify that it must be varied, simply that it can be (hence "the interest can rise or fall").  And there are very few, if any, savings accounts that commit to tracking BoE base rate, so if that's your target then you'll have to manage the process yourself rather than expecting a financial institution to do it for you....

Reddleman79

If Sainsbury's had been upfront and said in their T&C that the rate was fixed for the life of that product, then I would have been quicker off the ball opening a new account and transferring the money. Back in the day I only remember fixed rate bonds being marketed using 'Issue numbers '. I suppose it's a sign of the times in which we live, where nothing is quite what it seems.