Take a seat and watch NS&I bosses squirm

I’M LOOKING forward to Wednesday’s grilling of NS&I’s top brass by members of the powerful Treasury Select Committee over their calamitous running of the Government’s savings bank. It should make for entertaining viewing as the executives, led by chief honcho Ian Ackerley, are made to squirm.

As we have reported extensively in recent months, NS&I was inundated with complaints last year as the quality of its customer service plunged to depths that even deep sea divers would avoid. Phones weren’t answered, letters weren’t responded to promptly and promises to customers were not kept. In short, it was a right old pig’s ear, caused primarily by NS&I’s extraordinary decision to dangle before savers’ eyes mouthwatering interest rates in the wake of the pandemic (causing a surge in demand), only to cut them to the bone later in the year (resulting in a customer rush for the exit door).

It was crass decision-making that has done irreparable harm to NS&I’s brand – as well as putting the organisation’s executives in the embarrassing position of failing to meet the Government’s funding target for the current financial year by £15 billion. In other words, it raised £20 billion net from the public when its target was £35 billion. Oh dear.

Although heads won’t roll, and I can’t guarantee it will be as gripping as ITV’s crime series Unforgotten, the exchanges should make for compulsive viewing. Proceedings start at 2.30pm and you can bag a seat in the viewing gallery via parliamentlive.tv.

BEING a journalist can sometimes be uncomfortable, as those who come under our gaze accuse us of behaviour befitting of a bad wolf.

For the record, I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been vilified by the financial services industry for critical articles I’ve written about their businesses or their practices. Only occasionally has the vilification being justified.

So, it’s wonderful when our interventions on behalf of readers bear fruit as in the case of Catriona Oliphant (page 130). Through (in large part) the tenacity of my colleague Rachel Rickard Straus, Catriona has just been reimbursed by her bank HSBC after she lost £239,000 of savings to scammers. This is after she was stonewalled by HSBC for five months. It was

only when Rachel intervened that HSBC started to look at her case seriously. In the end the right outcome, but I doubt it would have happened without the press.

IF YOU are Mrs S Crosbie who I guess either lives or works near Earl’s Court in London, please don’t despair over the loss of your Barclays debit card. I found it last Thursday lunchtime lying on the pavement of Earl’s Court Road while going for a swift walk in between deadlines.

I have reported the lost card to Barclays (what an ordeal that was) and as instructed have cut it into little bits. So please don’t fret Mrs

Crosbie – hopefully, nothing untoward has happened to your bank account and a new card should be winging its way to you shortly.

FINALLY if, like me, you are determined to build yourself a decent financial fortress to see you through retirement, may I urge you to read our eight-page special on tax-friendly Individual Savings Accounts. It’s jam-packed with useful advice.

To reiterate the point I made earlier, we’re here to HELP you – while warding off the big bad financial wolves.