Chip have not paid interest, why do Money Saving Expert recommend them?

grumbler

Band7 said:

AmityNeon said:

Band7 said:

I agree, they aren't as transparent as Barclays about the period the interest covers - but then, which other bank apart from Barclays is?

It's not just a lack of transparency, but outright deception. Chip specifically told customers that the bonus payment on 11 Feb would cover 1-10 Feb, but in practice, it also included 31 Jan. They also stated the following:

You'll also note your 'pending interest' resets on the 1st calendar day of the month, this in [sic] order to make sure you benefit from earning a full month of interest.

The 'pending interest' figure also includes the last day of the previous month, which I'm sure has confused customers into believing interest was miscalculated/underpaid.

I trust you have taken CHIP to Court, or at least to the FCA/PRA,

Life is too short. If people don't take CHIP to court, FCA/PRA and FSCS, like you keep expecting from them, this doesn't mean that there are no grounds for doing this and that everything is fine with CHIP.

AmityNeon

Band7 said:

AmityNeon said:

Band7 said:

I agree, they aren't as transparent as Barclays about the period the interest covers - but then, which other bank apart from Barclays is?

It's not just a lack of transparency, but outright deception. Chip specifically told customers that the bonus payment on 11 Feb would cover 1-10 Feb, but in practice, it also included 31 Jan. They also stated the following:

You'll also note your 'pending interest' resets on the 1st calendar day of the month, this in [sic] order to make sure you benefit from earning a full month of interest.

The 'pending interest' figure also includes the last day of the previous month, which I'm sure has confused customers into believing interest was miscalculated/underpaid.

I trust you have taken CHIP to Court, or at least to the FCA/PRA, over what you deem outright deception. Please post the result of your complaints once known.

I don't feel compelled to defend Chip against criticism to continue saving with them as a customer. Their continued communications contradict their programming which causes confusion, and there are, without a doubt, employees within Chip who are fully aware of this. Calling this out on a public forum does not mean I care to personally involve myself in attempting to improve Chip's business practices by engaging in convoluted bureaucracy, though had interest actually been miscalculated I would have complained.

masonic

Band7 said:

AmityNeon said:

Band7 said:

I agree, they aren't as transparent as Barclays about the period the interest covers - but then, which other bank apart from Barclays is?

It's not just a lack of transparency, but outright deception. Chip specifically told customers that the bonus payment on 11 Feb would cover 1-10 Feb, but in practice, it also included 31 Jan. They also stated the following:

You'll also note your 'pending interest' resets on the 1st calendar day of the month, this in [sic] order to make sure you benefit from earning a full month of interest.

The 'pending interest' figure also includes the last day of the previous month, which I'm sure has confused customers into believing interest was miscalculated/underpaid.

I trust you have taken CHIP to Court, or at least to the FCA/PRA, over what you deem outright deception. Please post the result of your complaints once known.

AmityNeon might not have, but I have complained about Chip to the FCA (had to go via ASA as there is no direct channel to report a firm to the FCA as a consumer). This was regarding their outright deceptive financial promotions related to the Prize Saver account. Although the policy is not to disclose what action has been taken in such cases, the offending material disappeared from the Chip website within a week or two. That, alongside their automatic opt-in of autosaving on the app, demonstrates Chip's services need to be treated with extra caution. The interest rate business is a minor thing by comparison. Despite all of this, I'm quite content to use their services until something better comes along. I've had no trouble shifting money to and from the account, and any interest discrepancies have been imperceptible for me.

grumbler

masonic said:

Band7 said:

AmityNeon said:

Band7 said:

I agree, they aren't as transparent as Barclays about the period the interest covers - but then, which other bank apart from Barclays is?

It's not just a lack of transparency, but outright deception. Chip specifically told customers that the bonus payment on 11 Feb would cover 1-10 Feb, but in practice, it also included 31 Jan. They also stated the following:

You'll also note your 'pending interest' resets on the 1st calendar day of the month, this in [sic] order to make sure you benefit from earning a full month of interest.

The 'pending interest' figure also includes the last day of the previous month, which I'm sure has confused customers into believing interest was miscalculated/underpaid.

I trust you have taken CHIP to Court, or at least to the FCA/PRA, over what you deem outright deception. Please post the result of your complaints once known.

... their outright deceptive financial promotions related to the Prize Saver account. ..., the offending material disappeared from the Chip website within a week or two.

For those, who don't know what this is about -  GetChip - false advertising?

It's worth noting that they removed "4x more likely to win... " text, but kept now absolutely meaningless bar chart and pathetic "NS&I Premium Bonds withdrawals sometimes take 6 days. Ours are usually almost instantaneous."

Band7

Good on those who take action when they see wrongdoings. But I don't understand what the point is of claiming, on a public forum, outright deception  and then do nothing about it.

AmityNeon

Band7 said:

Good on those who take action when they see wrongdoings. But I don't understand what the point is of claiming, on a public forum, outright deception  and then do nothing about it.

Why should I? I see through it and understand how they work. Why must public criticism of deceptive behaviour be accompanied with any private pursuit of bureaucratic justice? Raising awareness serves its own purpose to facilitate others making informed choices.

Or is it that you have a compulsion to challenge the tide of seemingly endless whinging, baseless or otherwise, regarding a service of which you are a (mostly) satisfied customer, just to feel better about yourself?

Band7

I have no compulsion of any sort. I just don't understand why, when you have discovered what you deem to be outright deception, you just write about it on a public forum, which does nothing to have such deception stopped at source.

AmityNeon

Band7 said:

I have no compulsion of any sort. I just don't understand why, when you have discovered what you deem to be outright deception, you just write about it on a public forum, which does nothing to have such deception stopped at source.

Why should I? Is it my duty to police deceptive business practices? I’ve suffered no financial loss, and after personal investigation possess greater awareness of Chip’s operations, sufficient for me to continue holding my savings with them.

Are you aware of something about myself or my circumstances I am not, to suggest it would be worthwhile for me to take Chip to court?

RG2015

In life, there are numerous examples of perceived deception by large organisations.

It is wholly appropriate to make people aware of these. This is in no way diminished by choosing not to embark upon legal action. Such action is a major effort and often futile.

Furthermore to criticise such behaviour appears to discourage the reporting of such issues. This can hardly be beneficial to forum users.

Band7

AmityNeon said:

Band7 said:

I have no compulsion of any sort. I just don't understand why, when you have discovered what you deem to be outright deception, you just write about it on a public forum, which does nothing to have such deception stopped at source.

Why should I? Is it my duty to police deceptive business practices? I’ve suffered no financial loss, and after personal investigation possess greater awareness of Chip’s operations, sufficient for me to continue holding my savings with them.

Are you aware of something about myself or my circumstances I am not, to suggest it would be worthwhile for me to take Chip to court?

If you have suffered no financial loss, and have given no reason to believe anyone else would suffer any, where is the “outright deception” that you discovered? 🤷‍♀️