Savers to be sent switching prompts in crackdown on low rates - here's what's happening

MSE_Molly_G

Savers with accounts that pay low or no interest will soon be prompted to consider alternatives under a crackdown by the regulator. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced a raft of measures designed to better protect savers amid concerns they're being ripped off.

Read the full story:
Savers to be sent switching prompts in crackdown on low rates — here's what's happening

If you haven't already, join the forum to reply.

kaMelo

For the love of God no, why does everything need dumbing down the the lowest common denominator. The FCA have shown how incompetent they are when interfering with the market, no one wins. Competition is the only way customers win, not some half arsed socialist intervention from the FCA.

LHW99

Any options to be mandated for switching it off if you don't want more emails? (I'm sure some low life will work out a way to hang a scam on this)

jaypers

Someone is probably getting paid a lot of money for coming up with this and being heaped with praise for such a good idea! Are people really so stupid that they need an email prompt to tell them what they should already know? 

dealyboy

Higher rates ... more interest ... more tax. Oh Jeremy and I thought they were doing it for us.

Money_Grabber13579

dealyboy said:

Higher rates ... more interest ... more tax. Oh Jeremy and I thought they were doing it for us.

I can’t imagine it will change the amount of tax. The top rates of interest will just get lowered to compensate.

PixelPound

I can see it now

Dear Customer,

We see you have a lot of cash in your current account with an interest rate of 0.1%. Why not move it to our high interest easy access account paying 1.65%. You could be earning more interest.

Please Note: the interest on the account is variable. Should the BoE MPC go above the expected increase to 5.25% and instead go to 5.50%, we might at some point over the next few weeks send you a couple more emails telling you of the big increase in the EA Savings account to 1.70%, or even 1.75%. Don't delay transfer today.

If you would rather not receive these emails and happy with your current savings set up, you may opt out of these emails by clicking on the link below.

sheslookinhot

If it helps people become more financially aware it can only be a good thing. Don’t understand the wailing from some here.

mebu60

jaypers said:

Someone is probably getting paid a lot of money for coming up with this and being heaped with praise for such a good idea! Are people really so stupid that they need an email prompt to tell them what they should already know? 

Many people who don't switch do know it, they just have absolutely no interest (pun intended) in doing anything about it. Several on here, myself included, have other halves who fall into this camp too. Ditto utilities etc. These prompts will have negligible impact. From a purely selfish perspective my main concern is lower rates being increased at the expense of higher rates. 

boingy

sheslookinhot said:

If it helps people become more financially aware it can only be a good thing. Don’t understand the wailing from some here.

I think it is mostly because banks can only afford to pay the headline-grabbing savings rates because so many of their savers are sitting on paltry low rates. 

jpsman

Meanwhile... HSBC profit more than doubles as [base] interest rates rise