How easy ARE ‘easy-access’ accounts?

SAVERS should watch out for top-paying accounts that come with costly catches.

Some so-called easy-access accounts with market-leading rates in fact have strict rules around when customers can make withdrawals — and even deposits. And those with fixed-rate bonds risk not being able to access their money at the end of the term if they fail to tell their bank they do not want it rolled over.

The amount of cash held in easy-access deals jumped by £179billion during the pandemic to a huge £958 billion.

But despite what the name suggests, many deals do not allow savers to dip into their accounts whenever they like. And if you make too many withdrawals, your rate can plummet to as low as 0.1pc or you could even be charged a fee.

Coventry Building Society’s new Four

Access account pays a top 0.65 pc and allows savers to take out money four times a year. If you make more there is a charge amounting to 50 days’ interest — which works out at £4.45 for a £5,000 withdrawal.

Aldermore Double Access, which pays 0.6pc, permits just two withdrawals a year. After this, your rate will drop to 0.1 pc. Meanwhile, Family BS Premier Saver, which also pays a top 0.65pc, gives savers only a few weeks to deposit cash.

After its November 3 deadline you can’t put any more in.

Other deals include a bonus interest rate which lasts for just one year.

Tesco Bank Internet Saver pays 0.55pc, but this drops to 0.1pc after 12 months. Leeds BS upped its rate on its Limited Issue Online Access account to 0.6 pc last week.

But the account runs only until November 2022, after which your money is moved into a different account, which could pay as little as 0.15 pc at current rates.

The best simple savings accounts come from Charter Savings Bank at 0.6 pc (available online and through the post) and Investec at 0.58 pc.

Marcus at 0.6 pc also includes a bonus but you will at least continue to earn a

competitive rate of 0.5 pc when it disappears after a year.

Savers can also be tripped up by fixedrate bond small print. Aldermore, often among the best payers, gives customers only 14 days to add money to their account after opening it. The term then starts from when you make your first deposit, not from when you opened the account. With Paragon you have 28 days, while Charter Savings Bank gives you 14 days if you apply online or 30 days on a postal account.

Some providers dump your money into a poor-paying easy-access account at the end of the term or put it back in your current account.

Others, including National Savings & Investments, Aldermore, Ford Money and Skipton Building Society, reinvest it for another term unless you tell them not to.

This is particularly worrying for NS&I Guaranteed Growth Bond holders where the rates are a miserly 0.1pc fixed for one year, rising to just 0.55 pc for five years.

Sylvia’S star buys returns next week.