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The Sunday Times December 17, 2017 17
MONEY
SAVINGS ACCOUNTSINSTANT ACCESS
Provider Account name Min deposit Interest rate ContactPost Office 1 Online Saver Issue 28 £1 1.3% postoffice.co.ukRCI Bank* Freedom Account £100 1.3% rcibank.co.ukVirgin Money 2 Double Take E-Saver Issue 3 £1 1.26% uk.virginmoney.com1 Rate includes 1.05% bonus for first 12 months. 2 Maximum of two easy access withdrawals a year. Account not available to anyone who has held it in the past 6 months.
NOTICE ACCOUNTS
Provider Account name Notice period Min deposit Interest rate ContactSecure Trust Bank 1 180-day 180 days £1,000 1.65% securetrustbank.comSecure Trust Bank 1 120-day 120 days £1,000 1.55% securetrustbank.comBank and Clients 90-day 90 days £1,000 1.45% bankandclients.com1 Maximum four interest withdrawals and three capital withdrawals a year.
FIXED-RATE BONDSProvider Account name Term Min deposit Interest rate ContactUnited Trust Bank Year Bond 1 year £500 1.87% utbank.co.ukSecure Trust Bank Fixed Rate Bond (23.12.19) 2 years £1,000 2.06% securetrustbank.comAccess Bank UK Fixed Rate Bond 3 years £5,000 2.25% sensiblesavings.co.ukDEALS ARE LISTED ONLY IF THEY ARE COVERED BY THE UK FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPENSATION SCHEME (FSCS) OR A EUROPEAN EQUIVALENTSource: Savingschampion.co.uk — 0808 178 5354
Table shows the cheapest tariff from the 3 cheapest suppliers.Excludes fixed tariffs of less than 12 months’ duration. Excludes tariffs that do not have national coverage. Excludes tariffs where payments are taken in advance of the customer coming on supply. F=Fixed rates V=Variable rates
ENERGY DEALSTable shows the cheapest tariff from the 3 cheapest suppliers. Excludes fixed tariffs of less than 12 months’ duration. Excludes tariffs that do not have national coverage. Excludes tariffs where payments are taken in advance of the customer coming on supply. F=Fixed rates V=Variable rates
Supplier Average annual bill Rate ContactTogether Energy £832 F 0333 150 1699Tonik £842 F 0333 344 2686Bulb £855 V 0300 303 0635Source: TheEnergyShop.com — 01259 220 270
CREDIT CARDSINTRODUCTORY RATESProvider Card type Introductory purchase APR 1 Reward ContactSainsbury’s Bank Purchase Mastercard 0% for 31 months 18.9% Yes 0808 540 5060Halifax 30-Month Purchase Mastercard 0% for 30 months 18.9% No 0345 944 4555Sainsbury’s Bank Dual Offer Mastercard 0% for 30 months 18.9% Yes 0808 540 5060
BALANCE TRANSFERSProvider Card type Introductory purchase Transfer fee 2 APR ContactBarclaycard Platinum 38 Month Visa 0% for 38 months 1.4% 19.9% 0800 731 0200MBNA Platinum 37 Month Visa 0% for 37 months 1.89% 19.9% 03456 062 062Sainsbury's Bank 37 Month For Nectar 0% for 37 months 1.98% 3 18.9% 08085 40 50 603 £3 minimum.
CASHBACK CARDSProvider Card type APR 1 Cashback ContactAmerican Express Platinum Cashback 28.2% 1%-1.25%. Intro 5% for 3 months (up to £125) 0800 917 8047American Express Platinum Cashback Everyday 22.9% 0.5%-1%. Intro 5% for 3 months (up to £100) 0800 917 8047Nationwide Select Visa 15.9% 0.5% 0800 055 66111 APR = annual percentage rate, dependent on credit rating. 2 Fee charged on the amount of each balance transfer during the introductory period.Source: Moneyfacts.co.uk
CHILDREN’S ACCOUNTSProvider Account name Account type Min deposit Interest rate ContactHalifax Kids’ Regular Saver Regular Saver £10-£100 4.5% halifax.co.ukSantander 1 123 Mini Current Account Current Account £300 1%-2.96% santander.co.ukCambridge 3-year Fixed Rate Bond (Issue 1) Fixed Rate Bond £1,000 2% cambridgebs.co.uk1 Interest rates are tiered: 1% on balances of £100-£199; 1.98% on £200-£299; 2.96% on £300-£2,000.
JUNIOR ISAS
Provider Account name Min deposit Interest rate Rate ContactCoventry Junior Cash Isa £1 3.5% V coventrybuildingsociety.co.ukNationwide Smart Junior Isa £1 3.25% V nationwide.co.ukTesco Bank Junior Cash Isa £1 3.15% V tescobank.comV = variable rate. Source: Savingschampion.co.uk — 0808 178 5354
CASH ISASINSTANT ACCESSProvider Account name Min deposit Interest Transfers in ContactShawbrook Bank Easy Access Issue 1 £1,000 1.1% Yes shawbrook.co.ukPost Office 1 Online Issue 11 £100 1.07% Yes postoffice.co.uk
FIXED RATEProvider Account name Term Min deposit Rate Transfers in ContactVirgin Money Cash E-Isa Issue 295 1 year £1 1.41% Yes uk.virginmoney.comWest Brom BS Fixed Rate Isa 2 years £1,000 1.65% Yes westbrom.co.ukSource: Savingschampion.co.uk — 0808 178 5354
Best BuysFOREIGN CURRENCYThese are the interbank rates at 5pm on Friday, which show where the market is trading. They are not indicative of the rate you will be able to get.
EUROGBP>EUR
1.13
MONEYMADE EASYLOWER WATER BILLS
MORTGAGES2-YEAR FIXED RATES
Lender Rate Scheme Deposit Fee Notes ContactSainsbury’s 1.19% Fixed to 31.3.20 40% £745 LV 0345 111 8010Nationwide 1.34% Fixed for 2 years 25% £999 GV 0800 302 010HSBC 1.94% Fixed to 28.2.20 10% £999 LV 0800 494 999
3-YEAR FIXED RATESLender Rate Scheme Deposit Fee Notes ContactNationwide 1.59% Fixed for 3 years 40% £999 GV 0800 302 010HSBC 1.64% Fixed to 28.2.21 25% £999 LV 0800 494 999Barclays 2.19% Fixed to 31.1.21 10% £999 LV 0333 202 7580
LONG-TERM FIXED RATES
Lender Rate Scheme Deposit Fee Notes ContactCoventry 1.75% Fixed to 31.3.23 35% £999 LV 0800 121 8899HSBC 1.99% Fixed to 28.2.23 20% £999 LV 0800 494 999Barclays 2.49% Fixed to 31.1.23 10% £999 LV 0333 202 7580First Direct 2.69% Fixed for 10 years 25% £0 LV 0800 482 448
TRACKERS */ DISCOUNTSLender Rate Scheme Deposit Fee Notes ContactHSBC 1.24% Tracker +0.74% for 2 years 40% £999 ELV 0800 494 999Leek United 2.02% SVR -3.42% for 2 years 10% £199 EV 0845 219 0250Nationwide 1.94% Tracker +1.44% for 5 years 25% £999 EGV 0800 302 010Hanley Economic 1.75% SVR -3.44% for term 25% £950 LV 01782 255 000
FIRST-TIME BUYER / LOW DEPOSITLender Rate Scheme Deposit Fee Notes ContactYorkshire BS 3.39% Fixed to 29.2.20 5% £995 PD 0345 166 9510Hanley Economic 3.1% SVR -2.09% for 2 years 5% £250 PV 01782 255 000 Barclays 2.69% Fixed to 31.1.21 10% £0 FP 0333 202 7580
BUY TO LETLender Rate Scheme Deposit Fee Notes ContactVirgin Money 1.79% Tracker +1.29% to 1.4.20 40% £995 D 0345 605 0500Barclays 1.84% Fixed to 31.1.20 25% £1,950 R 0333 202 7580Leeds 2.19% Fixed to 31.3.23 40% £1,999 LV 0345 045 4049Early repayment charge applies unless otherwise stated. * Most deals track Bank of England base rate. Notes: SVR = Standard variable rate;D = £500 cashback; E = No early repayment charge; F = Family Springboard, 10% deposit must be in a Barclays Helpful Start account; G = £500cashback for first-time buyers and remortgages; G = £500 cashback for first time buyers and remortgages; L = Free legal work for remortgages; P = Purchases only; R = Free valuation and legal work for remortgages; V = Free valuation.Source: landc.co.uk — 0800 373 300
CURRENT ACCOUNTSCREDIT INTEREST
Provider Account name Account fee Interest rate 1 Balance ContactTSB Classic Plus None 3% + £10 a month 2 £1-£1,500 0345 975 8758Halifax Reward None £3 a month £1+ 0345 720 3040Nationwide FlexDirect None 5% 3 £1-£2,500 0800 302 010
OVERDRAFTS *
Provider Account name Account fee Interest rate 4 0% overdraft limit ContactFirst Direct 1st Account £10 a month 5 15.9% £250 0800 242 424M&S Bank M&S Current Account None 15.9% £100 0345 900 0900Post Office Money Standard Account None 14.9% £0 0345 266 89771 Based on funding of £1,000 a month. 2 To receive £10 you must have two direct debits and make 20 card payments a month. 3 Introductory rate for one year, then 1%. 4 Equivalent annualrate. 5 Fee waived if minimum funding of £1,000 is met. * Based on overdraft of £500 for 15 days a month. Some accounts require minimum funding to open or receive rates shown.Source: Moneyfacts.co.uk
AMERICAGBP>USD
1.33SWITZERLANDGBP>CHF
1.32AUSTRALIAGBP>AUD
1.74Source: timescurrencyservices.co.uk020 7294 7970
Household water bills in England and Wales will fall, the regulator Ofwat has pledged, but you will have to wait until 2020 to see the benefits.
Why will bills fall?Ofwat has been criticised in the past for allowing years of above-inflation price increases. Since the industry was privatised in 1989, water bills have risen at a pace 40% faster than the cost of living. This has raised questions about whether privatisation is working.
Last week the regulator,which sets how much water companies may charge customers, said that from 2020 those suppliers should expect their “cost of capital” to be no more than 2.4%, down from 3.7% in 2014.
How much will this save?Not a life-changing sum: the regulator estimates average savings of £15-£25 a year per customer over a five-year period. The average annual water and sewerage bill is about £395.
Are there ways to save more money?Yes. One option is to install a water meter: keeping tabs on water consumption means households use about 30 litres less per person each day than those without a meter, according to Water UK, the industry’s trade association.
Water companies in England and Wales must fit meters for free on request unless it is justifiably impractical to do so, such as in flats with shared pipes.
As a rule, you will pay more with a meter if more people live in your house than there are bedrooms — and vice versa.
Top tipIn England and Wales, companies provide water-saving devices — usually free — that customers can install or use themselves. Visit your water supplier’s website for more details. Ali Hussain
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The closure of this branchfollowed the closure of HSBC and will be followed by Barclays, leaving just TSB and Nationwide. Nationwide has no cash machine and TSB’s machine is inside the branch, as it is a listed building.
Online banking is useful but does not help local businesses banking their takings or people wanting human contact when discussing their finances.
Frodsham has an older population, with more than 26% being over 60. I do not think local conditions are ever taken into consideration by the big banks.GH, Frodsham, Cheshire
I regularly see readers’ letters about the closure of branches and customers being “pushed” into online banking. I have read that about 90% of bank customers have an average bank balance of much less than £25,000 and that the bulk of the money the banks utilise to fund borrowing is provided by 10% of customers — the very wealthy.
If this is true, common sense would suggest that the average customer is an expensive liability and canbe dispensed with. How can the banks justify this? Find a reason to make life awkward! Santander seems to be opening branches where others are closing them.CS, Sherburn in Elmet,North Yorkshire
Laughing all the way to the bank Hunter Davies’s articles are always good for a laugh, but we should not take this old geezer at face value (“Listen, kids, I’m paying through the nose for my golden years”, last week).
account if we discover it to be used inappropriately.”
HSBC won’t let me go offshoreAli Hussain writes that most high street banks offer their customers an offshore account (“Is it time to Corbyn-proof your finances?”, last week).
I have been a customer ofHSBC for 50 years, with an impeccable financial history. I also have a Premier account.
When I tried to open an offshore account I was told I was not eligible. The bank said that for the past 10 months it has been bringing its offshore accounts back to Britain and that decisions [on who gets one] were made on an individual basis. It would not give me a reason, though.
My husband, who has a similarly unimpeachable financial record, tried to do the same with Lloyds bank and was also refused.AM, Manchester
Stop closing branchesPeter Conradi’s column last week (“My local branch is closing — it’s just too popular”) resonated with me.
NatWest closed its branchhere in Frodsham, Cheshire, in October. While not being privy to the business conducted at the branch, I often banked for a local business before my retirement, and then for a local charity shop, and there were always queues.
NatWest started “downgrading” the branch by closing it on Thursdays, which is market day, the busiest day of the week, when people from surrounding villages came to do their business and their banking.
To fight fraud, follow the money Anyone who has ever tried to report a scam will know that it feels like the complaint falls on deaf ears (“Bank let fraudster use my account”, last week). The police, too, appear only to want to record the crime rather than follow the trail and try to recoverthe money.
In this case, the money moved to a Barclays account. I think in such cases the victim should have a right to be told the trail of the funds from bank to bank, and to receive a report about it from the police and a reason why they have failed to recover the money.
I suspect not all scammedmoney is taken out in cash and that, with some effort, it could be identified within the banking system.MJ, via sunday-times.co.uk
A similar attempt was made on my HSBC account last week. A man phoned to say there had been a fraudulent transaction of £998.90, asked for answers to the online security questions and then requested the code that was going to be sent to my mobile.
Fortunately I realised thiswasn’t normal, so I put down
the phone and called the bank. There was no fraudulent activity, but I then realised the HSBC Premier banking telephone number was exactly the same as the one the scammer was ringing on.
I was so lucky not to havegiven away the information — I almost did. Be aware! BL, via sunday-times.co.uk
Barclays must know the holder of the account to which the money was sent. If not, are they liable for money laundering? CJ, by email
Barclays responds: “Unfortunately, as with many of these crimes, the funds are moved very quickly, often before the victim is aware of what has happened. In this
HAVEYOUR SAYEDITED BYFLORA McFARLANE
A fraudster took out a loan in Ben Bowman’s name
instance the funds had been fully utilised prior to Barclays being alerted to this scam.
“Barclays has a robust ID and verification process, which was followed when the account was opened, which was a number of years ago. As soon as we are informed about suspicious activity on an account, we will act swiftly to investigate and to close the
We love to receive your feedback on stories and your views on any issues you would like us to investigate. Always include your name and address when contacting us. Letters may be edited.
WRITE TOMoney, The Sunday Times 1 London Bridge StreetLondon SE1 9GF
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He is getting plenty of dosh for peddling his tongue-in-cheek comedy.TL, Bury, Lancashire
For me, the ultimate low cost of the high life is the free ski lift pass for seniors (age varies by resort), which I’ll be using again this year. I will be 81 in January. It saves about £200.JP, London W4
How many hours is Hunter’s cleaner working if it costs him only £25 a week? Or is the cleaner attending every couple of weeks and this is the average sum? The going rate here is £12-£15 an hour.JO, Cheltenham
I note that Hunter received a winter heating allowance of £300 last month — how come I got only £200?AD, Marlow, Buckinghamshire
The payment is £200 for those born between September 24, 1937 and August 5, 1953, but rises to £300 for those, such as Hunter, who were born before this period. The eligibility dates change annually.
