Want a better place for my savings - help!

Sordice

Hi all, this is my first post on MSE, so please be nice

I yesterday received an email from a certain ING Direct, who I've had savings accounts with for a while, telling me that their interest rate had dropped AGAIN (:mad:) following the Bank of England rate cut.

A while ago they had great interest rates (IMHO, along with some other good points about their accounts), but it seems since then ING have slipped very badly. I recently transferred my ISA to Icesave for a better interest rate, and I'm now considering moving my other savings away from ING for the same reason.

I have a (small) list of features/needs/desirables for a possible account:

• A high interest rate (naturally);
• An initial deposit of £75, followed by regular savings of £75 per month (with the option of adding more if needed);
• An online account preferably;
• No penalties for withdrawals;
• Monthly interest paid preferably;
• Easy access (i.e. no notice for transfers out) as I need the option of getting at the cash if needed;

I've had to rule out places like Kaupthing or Icesave because I don't have the minimum amounts (unless I purge my ISA, which I'm loathe to do), and I've seen a lot of bad publicity for ICICI HiSave that has put me off.

I'm continuing to look around, but am a little stumped, so I was wondering if anyone could make some recommendations about savings account possibilities?

Thanks in advance

caveat_emptor

Try Birmingham Midshires.

Sordice

Thanks for the suggestion caveat_emptor...

Having a look now but I'm not keen on the withdrawal restrictions on some products or the annual interest on others

I'm a fussy bu**er really

liitleblackcat

I haven't had any probs with ICICI HiSave. Had one for 18 months now and everything has gone smoothly throughout. Why don't you try ICICI for a while with a small amount and see what you think before believing all the grumblers. Martin's alternative for £1 and above is Bradford & Bingley which gives almost the same interest.

Sordice

Just looking into that Bradford & Bingley account now, seems to be pretty good so far, thanks for that suggestion liitleblackcat :T

I guess I shouldn't completely disregard ICICI, after all every bank or building society will have some complaint against them ("you can't please all of the people all of the time" springs to mind)... I'll keep ICICI as an option, but its always best to shop around methinks

Anyone else have experience (good or bad) of the Bradford & Bingley Internet Saver (2) account? Would you recommend it?

Baldur

Sordice wrote: »

I've had to rule out places like Kaupthing or Icesave because I don't have the minimum amounts (unless I purge my ISA, which I'm loathe to do), and I've seen a lot of bad publicity for ICICI HiSave that has put me off.

Kaupthing have reduced their minimum balance to £100 from £1,000 recently, which may make them worth considering.