Where’s best to save by phone or post

SAVERS wary of using the internet can still earn top rates by going for an account that can be run over the phone or by post.

You can do much better than the 0.05 pc to 0.25 pc paid by High Street big banks on their easy-access accounts — even if you don’t live near a branch of a building society or one of the newer banks offering much better deals.

Postal and telephone accounts differ, depending on the provider, but with most phone versions, you give details of your current account when you open your savings one, so you can transfer money between your easyaccess account and current account without spelling out the full details each time.

With postal accounts you usually send signed deposit and withdrawal forms to the provider. If you want to take out money, some will send you a cheque while others will deposit the money in your current account.

For example, requests for withdrawals at Virgin Money must be made in writing. You then choose whether you want a cheque or a bank transfer. It can even go by Faster Payments Service, so it is in your account within hours.

On postal accounts, Family BS Market Tracker Saver 1 pays 1.05 pc, with the rate reviewed every three months to reflect the average of the top 20 accounts on offer. Kent Reliance Easy Access Account Issue 28 pays 1.01 pc on balances of more than £1,000.

If you prefer the phone option, you can earn 1 pc with Coventry BS Easy Access Saver 5, or 0.95 pc with National Savings & Investments Direct Saver. Virgin Money Easy Access Saver Issue 31 pays 1.01 pc and can be operated by phone or post.

You earn higher rates if you are prepared to limit the number of times you withdraw money. Coventry BS Limited Access Saver at 1.35 pc, which you run over the phone, limits you to three free withdrawals a year and comes with a 0.35 percentage-point bonus for your first year. Sainsbury’s Bank Defined Access Saver phone-based account at 1.3 pc also limits you to three withdrawals a year.

Skipton BS Super Tracker, at 1.02 pc, guarantees to pay 0.52 pc over Bank of England base rate — 0.5 pc — until June 30, 2020. If, as expected, the base rate rises, your rate will increase in line within 14 days. But you are limited to making two withdrawals a year.

In addition to the rates in the table below, some of the best easy-access cash Isa deals include Sainsbury’s Bank Cash Isa at 1.2 pc, Coventry BS Easy Access Isa 8 at 1.05 pc and Skipton BS Super Tracker at 1.02 pc.

On one-year fixed-rate bonds, Kent Reliance pays 1.5 pc, Hinckley & Rugby BS 1.4 pc and Yorkshire BS 1.32 pc — all available by post.

On cash Isas, the best rate comes from Coventry BS at 1.5 pc fixed until November next year, which you run over the phone. Virgin Money has 1.41 pc until July 15 next year by post or phone and Teachers BS 1.4 pc to July 30, 2019, which you open through the post.