We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Is the One account any good?
Comments
-
What everyone that has one seems to say is "Current Account mortgages are brill, so the one account is too" as if there was no alternative. There are.0
-
I just checked the one account is 6.45. That's shocking. You can fix the rate at around 5% on First Direct Current account mortgages. Or a tracker, which tracks the base rate plus 0.34% for the life of the mortgage, currently 5.59%
That's quite a difference. I think all the one account lovers, should research some alternatives, consider switching and stop giving the terrible advice that the one account is good and worthwhile when people ask just cos that's what they have.0 -
I am going to say Yes based on my experience and the research I did 6 years ago when I took a one account out, but reading some of the comments above maybe there are better deals now. I guess it is all down to you as an individual and what your requirements are. But the fundamental point is that the concept of an offset account works and for my particular circumstances has been extremely felixible.
My mortgage is effectively paid off so there is no real requirement for me investigate other similar products, but 6 years ago the one account was the only product that offered real felixibility, even a couple of years back I think this was still the case, others will correct me if I am wrong.
Since you agree a facility with the one account anywhere from 50% to 95% (ish) of your property value, you have a huge loan that you can call upon at any time. Other offset mortgages only allowed you to take out previous savings that you may have deposited against the account. (Not sure if this is still the case).
Anyway as an aside having such an accound enabled me to "borrow" £50,000 on several credit cards and place this money in the one account, all done exactly within the terms and conditions of the cards (thank you egg!), without paying a single penny in interest or fees to the credit card companies.
So if you are financially astute, having an offset mortgage will I believe in the long run benefit you more that a standard product. Whether that is with the one account is for you to decide, it has great flexibility in terms of the facility granted, if you don't need such felixibilty, then maybe other offset accounts may be more suitable.
The final point I would make is that the customer services team are extremley professional. I have not dealt with any other financial product where the call centre staff are as efficient and professional as the one account0 -
I just checked the one account is 6.45. That's shocking. You can fix the rate at around 5% on First Direct Current account mortgages. Or a tracker, which tracks the base rate plus 0.34% for the life of the mortgage, currently 5.59%
That's quite a difference. I think all the one account lovers, should research some alternatives, consider switching and stop giving the terrible advice that the one account is good and worthwhile when people ask just cos that's what they have.
you've just proved my point .... looking at interest rates only.... Do you have a One Account and experienced the advantages of the flexibility and customer service?
I did research before getting mine. The others failed at the first hurdle with customer service (I called some others with queries - the ones i could understand gave wrong info).
I'll say this again THE ONE ACCOUNT IS NOT THE CHEAPEST CURRENT ACCOUNT MORTGAGE. We all know this. There must be a reason why people choose it despite this, and I can understand this......
I'm not giving 'terrible' advice, just an opinion, you can choose to ignore me. I used it, found it worked for me and now I help others if I think I can help them to make an informed decision. Just because the rate is not good and you don't like it does not make it a bad product.
Those of us that choose a One Account do so to get rid of their mortgage as quickly as possible, so don't intend to have it for years, so the rate is not everything... I really wish people would see this.....0 -
Proved your point that the one account is a rip off?
I DO see that the account has other benefits, that's why I'd recommend taking out a similar mortgage at a (much) better rate. Maybe the fact that you couldn't before is why lots of people still one accounts. Things have changed.
As for customer service, First Direct are THE customer servive bank. That's what they specialise in. And I can vouch for that. As do all the surveys etc.
So, that's flexibility and customer service dealt with, so what reason left to choose the rip off account over, say the First Directs deals currently on?
Have you looked into switching, rather than recommending, what is really a pretty bad product IMO?0 -
so you can vouch for FD, I can vouch for One Account ... seems we are coming from the same angle ... talking about our own experiences and what we know... keeps discussion healthy and allows readers to make their own mind up. What better than to read about someones first hand experiences with a bank, rather than reading what someone thinks about a bank they have no dealings with..0
-
http://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2005/11/07/theres-nothing-scary-about-the-one-account-chocolate-balls-there-aint/
is a link to MArtin's blog entry about the One account. Sums it up well, and that was at old interest rates.;)
One point worth noting from the One account thread further down the forum- flexible current/mortgage accounts like these are only really worth considering if you have some savings already.Member of the first Mortgage Free in 3 challenge, no.19
Balance 19th April '07 = minus £27,640
Balance 1st November '09 = mortgage paid off with £1903 left over. Title deeds are now ours.0 -
I'm not giving 'terrible' advice, just an opinion, you can choose to ignore me. I used it, found it worked for me and now I help others if I think I can help them to make an informed decision. Just because the rate is not good and you don't like it does not make it a bad product.
No, the fact that it's a full 1-1.5% more expensive (i.e. almost a third) than otherwise very similar products makes it a bad product.Those of us that choose a One Account do so to get rid of their mortgage as quickly as possible, so don't intend to have it for years, so the rate is not everything... I really wish people would see this.....
So, those who want to pay off their mortgage quicker choose a higher rate? lol. how does that work? That should be the lowest rate, with the most flexibility (and decent customer service) then, surely?
Expain to me how choosing one account at 6.5% is better/quicker to repay than choosing the First Direct (or other) deal with the same flexibilty at 5.59% (for the tracker), or around 5% for the fixed rates?
The sums just don't add up. The cheapest/quickest way to pay is getting the lowest rate and overpaying as much as you can, including the extra you're not paying in interest.0 -
Although 1st direct are a bit old fashioned (i.e actually care) with regards to affordibilty/LTV etc, so not suitable for everyone. Sure there's still more competitive deals out there though.
The loyalty is good, but things have changed, and I recommend one account holders look into the alternatives themselves.0 -
Thank you for your replies so far - keep the advice coming though! I don't know anything about offset mortgages so I need to look into that - starting with First Direct perhaps. Basically I'm getting lazy; I've been switching mortgages on 2 year fixed rates - I've been nervous about going for longer in case the rates drop but I can't really be bothered with all that anymore if I'm honest; the arrangement fees are adding up! The rate doesn't really bother me; essentially I just want to pay off my mortgage as quickly as possible with as little effort as possible! I know, I want my cake and eat it, but there it is. I'm pretty good with money - I have zero balance on my credit card - I just use it for internet shopping and then transfer the amount into it instantly. I am a woman therefore like shopping :rotfl:but don't do labels and expensive fripperies. I earn £35k and what I have left at the end of the month varies; for instance I put £700 in my savings last month, and this month I have about £300, it does vary a lot - sometimes there's nothing left. The guy I spoke to at NatWest on the phone was very helpful and did warn me that "the One account requires a certain degree of restraint"!! I'm confident I've got that, I think I just need to keep researching to be sure. You're all being very helpful so far, thank you! :beer:0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 352.1K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.2K Spending & Discounts
- 245.1K Work, Benefits & Business
- 600.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.5K Life & Family
- 258.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards