MBNA 1 year fixed rate savings account

35har1old

BoGoF said:

So, just opened myself one of these at 5.27% for one year and was a bit surprised to see the account can only be managed by phone.

No way of seeing your balance online and for some reason I'm reluctant to use it now. Seems irrational as the balance won't change until the interest is added after the 12 months but there is some 'comfort' in seeing your money is there online.

Is it just me?

Part of the Lloyds group 

35har1old

EthicsGradient said:

As you say, since it's a fixed rate 1 year bond, you know your balance does not change over the year. There's not much you can do with it online; can't you look at the welcome e-mail occasionally, if you want reassurance? Or just check that MBNA still exists as a going concern?

They may have decided that since this is the only savings account they seem to offer at the moment (the only one they have ever offered?) that it saves them money not having customer web pages to set up and maintain that don't have any real function. That may be why they've been able to offer what seems to be the 2nd best 1 year rate (the best being SmartSave, who have their own quirk of only allowing you one account at a time - so I, for instance, can't open their 1 year account since I have a 3 year one with them already).

The question is really how will they handle maturity - do you want them to give you the option of re-investing with them, in which case a website might be convenient, or are you sure you'll just want the money back from them with the interest?

On edit: I suppose change of address, email etc. is something a full function site would give. But that involved a security system, and they may have decided doing that by phone/email/post is more cost-efficient.

EthicsGradient said:

As you say, since it's a fixed rate 1 year bond, you know your balance does not change over the year. There's not much you can do with it online; can't you look at the welcome e-mail occasionally, if you want reassurance? Or just check that MBNA still exists as a going concern?

They may have decided that since this is the only savings account they seem to offer at the moment (the only one they have ever offered?) that it saves them money not having customer web pages to set up and maintain that don't have any real function. That may be why they've been able to offer what seems to be the 2nd best 1 year rate (the best being SmartSave, who have their own quirk of only allowing you one account at a time - so I, for instance, can't open their 1 year account since I have a 3 year one with them already).

The question is really how will they handle maturity - do you want them to give you the option of re-investing with them, in which case a website might be convenient, or are you sure you'll just want the money back from them with the interest?

On edit: I suppose change of address, email etc. is something a full function site would give. But that involved a security system, and they may have decided doing that by phone/email/post is more cost-efficient.

Maturity likely dealt with by post

Steve_xx

The problem is that all you get for each deposit with MBNA, is a text message. It really isn't satisfactory. It being part of Lloyd's group is comforting, but one still likes to be able to see actual transactions via an online portal. Particularly for large sums of money.

I phoned yesterday and was told an app was mooted,but frankly, I wasn't convinced that it might be imminent.

You can of course phone them each time you make a deposit and they will verify that your money has reached its intended destination. But once you've hung up, there remains no evidence!

Bigwheels1111

Look before you leap.

I did not put money in Smart save as they only do chat and email from memory.

No phone number.

So a big No No for me.

j_netprofit

Unrelated to the issue of the post, but another angle…why bother with locking your money away for 5.27% when you can get easy access at 5.11%

BoGoF

jay_ftw said:

Unrelated to the issue of the post, but another angle…why bother with locking your money away for 5.27% when you can get easy access at 5.11%

Certainty. How long do you think a variable rate account is going to maintain that rate.

j_netprofit

Hairy muff.

So where have you since decided you put your money?

Murielson

BoGoF said:

So, just opened myself one of these at 5.27% for one year and was a bit surprised to see the account can only be managed by phone.

No way of seeing your balance online and for some reason I'm reluctant to use it now. Seems irrational as the balance won't change until the interest is added after the 12 months but there is some 'comfort' in seeing your money is there online.

Is it just me?

Just came here to see if anyone had been discussing the exact same thing

Just applied in my wife's name and noted the phone number only comment and now probably just won't fund at all and let it lapse after 14 days funding period. Happy with the certainty of checking in online and adding details to the savings and investments spreadsheet that I can review regularly

BoGoF

Murielson said:

BoGoF said:

So, just opened myself one of these at 5.27% for one year and was a bit surprised to see the account can only be managed by phone.

No way of seeing your balance online and for some reason I'm reluctant to use it now. Seems irrational as the balance won't change until the interest is added after the 12 months but there is some 'comfort' in seeing your money is there online.

Is it just me?

Just came here to see if anyone had been discussing the exact same thing

Just applied in my wife's name and noted the phone number only comment and now probably just won't fund at all and let it lapse after 14 days funding period. Happy with the certainty of checking in online and adding details to the savings and investments spreadsheet that I can review regularly

In the end I decided to go elsewhere with my cash - wish they had made it clearer in the application process that it's phone only (to be fair I may have missed this point).

I would imagine MBNA are going to lose a lot of potential deposits because of this archaic system.

Jordan72

I too decided not to invest with MBNA, although I had applied. After successfully applying, I tried to set up online access, only to be informed that to complete the online process I'd need to phone (how ludicrous!). I phoned and was met with a recorded message that eventually advised that phone calls weren't currently being accepted. So MBNA have lost my business. What hoops might i have to have gone through when it would mature? I dread to think. An utter waste of time.