Ditching your bank? Watch out for traps
SAVERS looking for the best deals on their easyaccess money need to act quickly — and watch out for traps.
Top deals can be on sale for a matter of days before they are taken off the market.
Meanwhile, some banks are launching new accounts paying less than deals offered before the base rate jumped from 0.25 pc to 0.5 pc three weeks ago.
Last night, two top accounts disappeared. Yorkshire BS shut its Single Access Saver 4 and Skipton BS its Cash Isa Plus to new savers to stem the amount of money coming in.
Both were among Money Mail’s best buys, with rates rising to 1.35 pc and 1.27 pc respectively from next month.
Bank of Cyprus UK Easy Access deal at 1.35 pc, launched last week, was on sale for three days before being replaced by a new version at a lower 1.25 pc.
Post Office’s new Online Saver Issue 27 goes on sale today at 1.22 pc including a bonus for the first 12 months. This is less than the 1.27 pc it pays savers in the previous Issue 26 which was withdrawn from sale last month, before the rise in base rate.
Skipton BS has replaced its closed Isa with a new deal paying 0.65 pc. The top online easyaccess deals include Charter Savings Bank Easy Access, launched last Thursday at 1.32 pc. The last edition of this account at 1.26 pc was on sale for less than two weeks.
Tesco Bank pays 1.2pc, including a bonus for the first year which will rise to 1.35 pc on December 1. But it could follow the Yorkshire and Skipton building societies and close the account before the higher rate comes in.
In the High Street, National Counties BS pays 1.11pc on its Branch Saver 5 to those who can get to its one branch in Epsom in Surrey.
Coventry, the second largest building society, pays 0.85pc on its Easy Access Saver 4. It has pledged to raise the rate to 1.1 pc on December 1, but could be withdrawn from sale before then.
With the market in turmoil, savers could be better off going for an account which has paid a consistently good — if not the very top — rate. Online provider Ford Money raised its rate to 1.17 pc on its Flexible Saver before the base rate change. It pledges to pay the same rate to new and existing savers and another rate rise could be on the cards. Julian Hynd, chief deposits officer at Ford Money, says: ‘We regularly review the savings market to ensure our interest rates are fair and competitive, and we will continue to do so. This is our commitment to customers’ longterm interests.’ National Savings & Investments also pays the same rate to all savers in the same account. Its Direct Saver rate rises to 0.95pc from 0.7pc on December 1. French-owned RCI Bank UK has not yet reacted to the base-rate rise, but already pays 1.3pc. RCI Bank UK’s chief executive, Jean-Louis Labauge, says: ‘While we do not plan on changing our rates again immediately after November’s base rate rise, we are committed to providing customers with the best rates.