Do not give up, I have involved FSA & Ombudsman with my local Abbey branch, the 6.25% fixed rate ISA for 13months was offered but only for a very short period of time. (see Martins Money site for 2008, he mentions back then that it's likely to be pulled, as it was a good offer.) I noticed in branch the posters quickly changed to variable rate. Abbey local branch and Glasgow are trying to deny all knowledge, & like you no paperwork. I will not give up, I know what I signed for.

Hi again

I've come to the conclusion of researching online too as you say - at least you can print the details out and keep them as evidence!! Yes i agree re the ISA, it's took 10 years to get it built up tax-free so would be silly to move it now. I'll have a look at the Natwest as you say, I've just been looking at the Lloyds who do 3.2% fixed for £30k+. There doesn't seem to be much in them this year - no real leaders offering mega different rates (like the Abbey were seeming to do last year). It's my job next Mon to go to town and get it transferred asap from the abysmal account it is wasted in at the mo!

ITmanic

Greame

I've swictched to Abbey current account. I went to local branch, they were nice and friendly, smiled a lot more than the Barclays mob. I don't see any problems provided i keep my £2500 balance and they don't start playing silly B*GG**s.

So I am looking for'ard to 5% interest on my current account savings for a year plus the added bonus of not having to pay my monthly Premier Account fee at Barclays anymore.That'll cover my TV licence from now on.

Thanx again to all for help and advice. Bye for Now

DoE

Hi ITmanic. I am not surprised you were given the wrong information. Not because of Abbey but simply because of the poor service sales advisors offer in general. For what is worth, my advice is to do all your research online first. I usually download the T&Cs and interest tables for future reference. I will keep having an high interest account with Abbey and A&L (on my name or my wife's) and do the "money in/out" trick because the return is good. However, I suggest you use your tax free allowance in any case. The interest might be low but consider the following: 1) the higher the amount, the higher the bonus: you might get a better deal next year; 2) your ISA sounds like a long term saving. Mine certainly is. When interests will go up again a bigger pot will pay off. Lose your tax free allowance and you won't be making up for the bad years when interests were low. I'll be going for a Natwest ISA this year (transfer in and no penalties).

K

You definitely seem to have got the monthly savings accounts working for you, I have something similar with the Halifax which seems to be doing ok. Having never had savings accounts with the Abbey, I can't comment on these - just the incompetent sales advice promising me a fixed rate ISA at 6.25% which finalised at a variable 0.8%. The Manager told me yesterday that they haven't done fixed rate ISAs for a couple of years so I wouldn't have been offered this! Strange as the smallprint in the leaflet I was given has a section on 'fixed rate interest' ISAs - which incidentally appears to NOT be the one I was given! It would appear ISAs may well not be the best option after what you have said re the savings options.

Hi,

I opened an account with Abbey AND another one with A&L exactly 12 months ago (8 and 8.5% fixed rate). I always kept the balance up to the max allowed for the higher interest rate (2.5K each). Each month I transferred the required sums (1000 and 500 £) in and out via online banking. Each account paid ca 13 £/month for a total of +300£. Earned 25£ each time I recommended A&L through the "recommend a friend" link. People told me it was too much of a hassle to remember to transfer the money in and out once at month. I bet they thought their saving accounts in Island were easier to manage! Now that the bonus period is over, I'll recommend my wife, close my accounts and transfer everything into my wife's accounts. I'll do it over and over again. And in case anything goes wrong I'm covered by the compensations scheme. You are free to judge, I haven't seen any catches so far.

BE WARY of transferring funds to the ABBEY! I transferred my ISA of 10 years to Abbey last year to find now I've been misinformed - I was told the ISA was a fixed 6.25% rate to now find (no previous paperwork) that it was actually a variable rate and had dropped to 1.8% which includes a 1% bonus if I leave it in for 13 months. As I am transferring it asap - it will drop further to the 0.8% rate as the 1% bonus is lost without going 13 months!! Moreover, the ISA actually ended after 11 months not 12 as I opened it on 17th April - other providers go the full 12 months - not Abbey, they end 1st March - another fact I was not given at the time of opening the ISA! Additionally, it took almost 2 months to actually transfer the money into the Abbey. I definitely did not receive the high % interest rate that the Sales Assistant assured me was the 'best ISA' around! It was the worse move I ever made in all the 10 years I've had the ISA.

No problem, DukeofE. They're very useful articles.

Pensioners are being particularly hard hit at the moment, aren't they? I think it's quite possible that before we begin to see signs of an economic recovery, we'll see more and more people forming their own pressure groups and demonstrating in public about their plight. The crisis is affecting everyone in different ways - across all sorts of borders - and regardless of their background.

These are tough times and every snippet and nugget of helpful, relevant information is well-worth seeking out.

Great Stuff Greame

I couldn't understand what was going on with the ratings on the Fitch site. The articles you recommended have given me a better insight and I feel better prepared in making my decisions now.

Greedy incompetant banks, politicians, who's next insurance companies? I have a 25 year endowment maturing later this year. it had a great terminal bonus last year, I bet that'll be gone when the maturing date arrives. All my retirement plans, like many many other folk, have gone t*ts up in one fell swoop with no time to recover. It's time something real was done about these greedy,incompetant and sometimes corrupt institutions. Trouble is, to my mind the chief culprit of our woes is one G Brown in both his incarnations. Pensioners unite and send him back over the border !

Thanx DoE

P.S No offence intended to the rest of Scotland

Hi DukeofE,

A good question and a popular one in the current economic climate. In addition to access's excellent reply, you may find some of our articles of help and interest:

How safe is your bank?

Are my savings safe?

Who owns who?

In terms of where best to put your savings, it's always worth shopping around to check that you're getting the best rates, but a lot also depends on your attitude to risk and how prepared you are to keep an eye on the best rates and to move your savings when new deals are launched. As always, check carefully the details of your savings vehicle to ensure that you can transfer amounts without penalty.

Thanks access for taking time to reply. Never heard of Fitch ratings, but will check it out. I have not been happy with Barclays recently either, particularly with their financial advice, their arrogance and lack of respect. At the moment I'm preferring Abbey simply because there is a branch in town, even though I mostly use the internet banking. Thanx again

DoE

I switched from Barclays to Alliance & Leicester because I was unhappy with Barclays online facilities. I regarded the incentive to change as a bonus and not the overriding reason to change. I am happy with the switch and there is the FSCS £50,000 protection. I would compare the current 5% on the first £2,500 for a year with 3% on an internet instant access account. The balance is 2% so if you use the maximum £2,500 for a year you are £50 better off. You can get an idea of the relative strength of the two banks by looking at their Fitch ratings.

Abbey & Alliance and Leicester (both part of santander) are currently offering these 5% current account for monthly deposits and minimum balances for 12 months. How safe are these banks offering such high rates. If they can offer such rates why can't all banks? What is the catch. As you can see I am sceptical, I do not trust banks,bankers, their financial advisors, Prime Ministers, the government etc anymore. So what does a poor pensioner do to try and improve on his fixed income. I know there are folk our there who are worse off than me as I can't be made redundant as a pensioner (yet) but I need to get the best from what little spare I have. I was looking to open an account with the £1000 (instead off opening a savings account) to keep minimun for the 5% and then pay in my pension monthly, which means switching from Barclays after 30 years

Are these accounts and abbey/Alliance worth a go