Problems with Fire Savers Credit Union!

Mark300zx

I had circa £25k in their savings plus account, and then they informed me that I wouldn't get any dividend/interest on my money for 21/22.

The regular savings account still received interest.

I have communicated to establish why this is via email but to no avail, their current phone number is discontinued and promises of management to ring me have not happened.

Apart from going to whatever financial authority governs them are there any other options?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

What makes you think a dividend is guaranteed.

Reading their website suggests the exact opposite.

And are you a bit too soon for 2021:22??

https://firesavers.org.uk/whats-new.php

jimjames

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

And are you a bit too soon for 2021:22??

It seems to suggest that the dividend for 2021 was declared in November 2021 so maybe the meeting has taken place but not updated the website yet.

According to the website they have permanently closed their offices and moved to remote working which doesn't appear to be helping with customer service.

xylophone

I had circa £25k in their savings plus account, and then they informed me that I wouldn't get any dividend/interest on my money for 21/22.

https://firesavers.org.uk/dividends.php

It appears that a dividend has not been declared for 21/22?

https://firesavers.org.uk/savings-plus.php

This account has been discontinued from March this year.

Malthusian

Mark300zx said:

Apart from going to whatever financial authority governs them are there any other options?

Move your money to an account paying a better rate. Or Premium Bonds if you still want a random element to how much interest you get.
Complaining that a variable interest rate turned out to be variable will almost certainly be a waste of your time.

Mark300zx

Malthusian said:

Mark300zx said:

Apart from going to whatever financial authority governs them are there any other options?

Move your money to an account paying a better rate. Or Premium Bonds if you still want a random element to how much interest you get.
Complaining that a variable interest rate turned out to be variable will almost certainly be a waste of your time.

The standard account still received interest and that is variable, the plus account should receive that as a minimum!

My complaints are about the above and very poor communication!

Mark300zx

xylophone said:

I had circa £25k in their savings plus account, and then they informed me that I wouldn't get any dividend/interest on my money for 21/22.

https://firesavers.org.uk/dividends.php

It appears that a dividend has not been declared for 21/22?

https://firesavers.org.uk/savings-plus.php

This account has been discontinued from March this year.

Thanks, I know the account is deleted, the dividend communication has been via email.

xylophone

The standard account still received interest and that is variable, the plus account should receive that as a minimum!

But the note on the dividend page says

The Board of Directors recommends a dividend to members at the Annual General Meeting. Members can decide to approve the recommendation, to approve a lower amount, or to pay no dividend at all. For that reason, please note that the rates shown are not necessarily a guide to what we can pay now or in future years.

wmb194

Mark300zx said:

Malthusian said:

Mark300zx said:

Apart from going to whatever financial authority governs them are there any other options?

Move your money to an account paying a better rate. Or Premium Bonds if you still want a random element to how much interest you get.
Complaining that a variable interest rate turned out to be variable will almost certainly be a waste of your time.

The standard account still received interest and that is variable, the plus account should receive that as a minimum!

What do the terms and conditions of the 'plus' account say? 

One of the problem with credit unions is they're often tiny and don't make much of a profit. This one's website only shows data up to 2016/17 but it only says it had £10m in total assets, which is absolutely minuscule. By way of comparison the smallest building society - the one branch Penrith - has assets of £127m.

If you want a guaranteed return from your deposits you need to look at conventional accounts.

https://firesavers.org.uk/facts-and-figures.php

https://www.bsa.org.uk/BSA/files/4c/4c973a8a-cfb5-4901-af3e-c51669e943e0.pdf

isasmurf

wmb194 said:

Mark300zx said:

Malthusian said:

Mark300zx said:

Apart from going to whatever financial authority governs them are there any other options?

Move your money to an account paying a better rate. Or Premium Bonds if you still want a random element to how much interest you get.
Complaining that a variable interest rate turned out to be variable will almost certainly be a waste of your time.

The standard account still received interest and that is variable, the plus account should receive that as a minimum!

What do the terms and conditions of the 'plus' account say? 

It appears the OP has a point. 

https://web.archive.org/web/20210926005119/https://firesavers.org.uk/savings-plus.php
Earn an enhanced dividend on your savings – pays at least 0.25% more than our Membership Account

wmb194

isasmurf said:

wmb194 said:

Mark300zx said:

Malthusian said:

Mark300zx said:

Apart from going to whatever financial authority governs them are there any other options?

Move your money to an account paying a better rate. Or Premium Bonds if you still want a random element to how much interest you get.
Complaining that a variable interest rate turned out to be variable will almost certainly be a waste of your time.

The standard account still received interest and that is variable, the plus account should receive that as a minimum!

What do the terms and conditions of the 'plus' account say? 

It appears the OP has a point. 

https://web.archive.org/web/20210926005119/https://firesavers.org.uk/savings-plus.php
Earn an enhanced dividend on your savings – pays at least 0.25% more than our Membership Account

That refers to a dividend, not interest. Has a dividend been declared? The OP has confused things by using the terms dividend and interest interchangeably when they shouldn't be. If the standard account has paid a DIVIDEND in the period in question then yes, I'd definitely query it.

If the OP cannot get through then I suppose the route is the same with other financial institutions - make a (written) complaint, if no response after the requisite period of time then go to the FoS for help.