Notice of interest rate reduction on notice accounts

masonic

sunflower_5901 said:

Vanquis notified me on 17.09.24 of a reduction in interest rate from 5.40% to 4.75% on their 90 day notice account.
This rate reduction will take effect 22.10.24 (ie. they have given me only 35 days notice of the change, even though I am unable to withdraw money from the account for 90 days).  As discussed above, this is clearly an unfair change, although it is technically within their published terms & conditions which state that they need to give only 30 days notice of a reduction in interest rate.
To add insult to injury, in the SAME email as the email in which they have notified me of the rate change, they have also informed me that their general terms and conditions will be changing with effect from 21.11.24 to:

"If we reduce the interest rate that applies to your account other than a notice account (i.e. one that requires you to give us notice before making a withdrawal or closing the account), we’ll tell you at least 14 days before doing so. If we reduce the interest rate that applies to a notice account, then we will tell you about the change at least 14 days plus the account’s notice period before the change takes effect. The additional notice we give you will ensure that you have sufficient time to exercise your rights to close the account (without loss of interest or additional charges) before the reduction in the interest rate comes into effect. See below “Your options if you’re not happy with a change we’re making”."

ie.  AFTER they have unfairly reduced the interest on my 90 day notice account, they will alter their terms and conditions to be fair (in connection with giving notice of interest rate reductions).
It is as if they have realised that their terms are unfair, but have chosen to make use of the unfair terms before they change them.

I would be grateful for any advice as to how to withdraw my money from my Vanquis 90 day notice account on 22.10.24.

The current T&C are fair. I checked them yesterday and the notice for notice accounts is unchanged in the forthcoming update.

So I would double check the notification applies to the account you think it does, and if so contact them to highlight they've not provided notice in line with the T&C.

sunflower_5901

It's funny you should say that because the email I received yesterday from Vanquis did not state which account it referred to (although I too have an Easy Access Account as well as a 90 day notice account).
I therefore sent Vanquis a secure message asking them which account the interest cut to 4.75% related to, and this was their response:-

"Thank you for your email of 17 September 2024 regarding your Vanquis Bank Savings account.
This change relates to your 90 Day Notice Account Issue 3

We're here to help you "

sunflower_5901

In response to Masonic, the current terms with regard to all accounts are:
 "If we reduce the interest rate that applies to your account, we’ll tell you at least 30 days before doing so."
In connection with a 90 day notice account, I do not consider this to be a fair term

eskbanker

sunflower_5901 said:

In response to Masonic, the current terms with regard to all accounts are:
 "If we reduce the interest rate that applies to your account, we’ll tell you at least 30 days before doing so."
In connection with a 90 day notice account, I do not consider this to be a fair term

Where are you sourcing that from?

The currently published terms at https://www.vanquissavings.co.uk/pdf/general-terms.pdf include:

If we reduce the interest rate that applies to a notice account then we will tell you about the change at least 14 days plus the account’s notice period before the change takes effect. The additional notice we give you will ensure that you have sufficient time to exercise your rights to close the account (without loss of interest or additional charges) before the reduction in the interest rate comes into effect.

and are dated March 2024.

masonic

sunflower_5901 said:

In response to Masonic, the current terms with regard to all accounts are:
 "If we reduce the interest rate that applies to your account, we’ll tell you at least 30 days before doing so."
In connection with a 90 day notice account, I do not consider this to be a fair term

Please download the terms effective from March 2024 from here: https://www.vanquissavings.co.uk/pdf/general-terms.pdf

Take a look at clause 19 on page 8 and let me know what you see.

sunflower_5901

Thank you Masonic.

The link you have provided contradicts the email I received yesterday (transcript below).

It would appear that the link provided relates to the terms which will take effect on 21.11.24 and not to the current terms,

We’re making important changes to your Vanquis Savings Account   Interest Rate Reduction As you know, the interest rate paid on your Vanquis Savings account is variable and can change from time to time for certain reasons. We’re reducing the interest rate paid on your account to 4.75% Gross AER with effect from 22 October 2024 following the reduction in the Bank of England base rate. You do not need to do anything, the rate has been automatically applied. Your General Terms and Conditions are changing These changes take effect on 21 November 2024 and are summarised below. We have reduced the amount of notice we need to give you if we reduce the interest rate which applies to your account.     Old term   New term   If we reduce the interest rate that applies to your account, we’ll tell you at least 30 days before doing so.   If we reduce the interest rate that applies to your account other than a notice account (i.e. one that requires you to give us notice before making a withdrawal or closing the account), we’ll tell you at least 14 days before doing so. If we reduce the interest rate that applies to a notice account, then we will tell you about the change at least 14 days plus the account’s notice period before the change takes effect. The additional notice we give you will ensure that you have sufficient time to exercise your rights to close the account (without loss of interest or additional charges) before the reduction in the interest rate comes into effect. See below “Your options if you’re not happy with a change we’re making”.   If you’re unhappy with a change we’re making, you can tell us, but you may need to close your account. You must tell us before the change comes into force.   If you’re unhappy with a change we’re making and the change is to your detriment, you can tell us, but you may need to close your account. You must tell us before the change comes into force.     Under the old terms we had to give you at least 30 days’ notice of the interest rate change and if you did not accept the change, you could withdraw your funds from the account during the notice period. The position now is that if we reduce the interest rate that applies to a variable rate account which is not a notice account, we’ll tell you at least 14 days before doing so. Want to see the new terms? Click here to see the full new Terms and Conditions. If you’d like us to send you a hardcopy of the new Terms and Conditions, please call or write to us via the details shown below. What do I need to do? If you’re happy with these changes, you do not need to do anything. These changes will come into effect on 21 November 2024. What if I don’t want to accept these changes? If you’re not happy with these changes you can tell us by calling us on 0191 505 0033 before 21 November 2024. However please note that this means that we’ll close your account on the date you contact us to tell us you want to close it. If we close your account we’ll pay interest until the date the account is closed. We’ll then send the funds to your nominated account (unless we haven’t been able to complete our anti-money laundering checks) by the end of the day if you contact us in the morning, or on the following business day if you contact us in the afternoon. If you don’t tell us that you’re unhappy with these changes by 21 November 2024, they will apply to your account from that date. This doesn’t affect your right to close the account at other times in line with your account terms and conditions.   We’re here to help you If you have any questions about this change, our dedicated customer service team is available to help you Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays). You can contact us by: Telephone: 0191 505 0033*, or Email: customerservice@vanquissavings.co.uk**, or Freepost: Vanquis Bank Savings, Freepost RUGA-ZTJL-HBTJ, PO Box 967, Wallsend, NE28 5FD Alternatively, you may find the answer in our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) here: www.vanquissavings.co.uk/help/faq/. Thanks for choosing us, The Vanquis Savings Team * calls to 01 numbers from UK landlines and mobiles are usually included in free plan minutes if available. Please note that we may monitor and record calls for training and security purposes ** we’ll respond to your emails within 2 business days   Vanquis Bank Savings is issued by Vanquis Bank Limited. Registered Office: No. 1 Godwin Street, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD1 2SU. Registered number 02558509 England. Vanquis Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Confidentiality. This email (and any attachments) is confidential and intended for the recipient(s) only. This email may include proprietary and/or privileged information. If you receive this email in error, please immediately notify the Customer Service team (customerservice@vanquissavings.co.uk) and then delete the email (and any attachments). Do not show, distribute or copy the contents of this email to anyone. Warning. Although Vanquis Bank has taken reasonable precautions to ensure that no viruses are present in this email or attachments, the security of internet communications cannot be guaranteed and therefore, Vanquis Bank will not accept any liability for loss or damage arising from receipt of this email. Any statements or opinions contained in this email or attachments are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Vanquis Bank. Protect the environment - save paper - do you really need to print this email? Click here to view this email on your browser

masonic

sunflower_5901 said:

It would appear that the link provided relates to the terms which will take effect on 21.11.24 and not to the current terms

Except the link I provided has the statement at the bottom "Details are correct as at time of print (March 2024)".

Therefore, you are entitled to rely on those terms being the correct ones. I think both emails you received contain errors. Firstly about what the current terms are, and secondly about which account is affected by the notice of rate reduction.

Raise a formal complaint. Hold them to the T&Cs I linked and instruct them to return your money with full interest at the original rate up to the date they action your request. If they refuse it will be a slam dunk with the Ombudsman and they'll probably also bung you £50 compensation for your trouble.

eskbanker

sunflower_5901 said:

It would appear that the link provided relates to the terms which will take effect on 21.11.24 and not to the current terms,

The footer of the currently published document clearly says it's from March 2024, so take an offline copy immediately and if they don't accept that it's current then you'd have a case that they were falsifying documentation....

Edit: my turn to be beaten to the punch!

PeskyBlunder

I can confirm that the T&Cs dated May 2023 had this:

If we reduce the interest rate that
applies to your account, we’ll tell you
at least 30 days before doing so.

Definitely requires a complaint to be made.

sunflower_5901

On the basis of all the help and advice I have received on this forum, I went back to Vanquis bank and asked them whether their email quoted below was definitely correct in stating that the interest rate cut to 4.75% related to my 90 day notice account: 

"Thank you for your email of 17 September 2024 regarding your Vanquis Bank Savings account.
This change relates to your 90 Day Notice Account Issue 3
We're here to help you "

A couple of days after raising this query, Vanquis telephoned me to tell me that their email above was in fact incorrect and that the rate cut actually related to the Instant Access Account.  

So problem solved (for now!).

Thanks again for your replies.