Our Smart Money People 360° Rating
Your Fixed Rate Bond Reviews (25)
Very disappointed
I experienced difficulty in timely encashing my matured bond, not least of all because of what I regarded as the bank's inadequate on-line system. I made a formal complaint which I consider was not thoroughly investigated. Needless to say I will not...
Read moreI experienced difficulty in timely encashing my matured bond, not least of all because of what I regarded as the bank's inadequate on-line system. I made a formal complaint which I consider was not thoroughly investigated. Needless to say I will not in the future be investing with this bank again.
Consider carefully before making commitment
With the prevalence of banking fraud and identity theft, nothing about opening an account with Charter Savings gave me confidence that my money or personal data would be safe. They appear to have a hole in their FCSC coverage and are unable to provide...
Read more With the prevalence of banking fraud and identity theft, nothing about opening an account with Charter Savings gave me confidence that my money or personal data would be safe. They appear to have a hole in their FCSC coverage and are unable to provide assurance that private and personal data is purged from their system when an account application is cancelled.
On applying for an account I received an email describing how to make an initial payment, and how they would send a User ID by post to allow online access to the account. There was however a little rider tucked neatly into the middle of the email advising that funds sent to the bank wouldn't be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) until the account was opened; this caught my attention.
A couple of days later another email arrived stating the bank would be in contact in due course to confirm the next steps; which I assumed would be a letter through the post containing the User ID mentioned in the previous email. This I further assumed would allow me to confirm that, before making a deposit, the new account was active and covered under FSCS. I also wanted to confirm the account interest rate and maturity date before proceeding.
Three weeks later I received an email, containing no reference ID, asking me to call an 0800 number so they could have a "quick word regarding [my] recent enquiry". On calling the number, customer services had some difficulty tracing my application as I couldn't give them a reference indicator from the email. I was also troubled by one of their security check questions asking me to provide the account number of the bank from which I would be transferring funds; which I refused!
It was then explained to me that my application had been processed and required an initial deposit to open the account. This raised an issue as I was not comfortable transferring funds to an unknown entity until I had confirmed (online) that the account was open and active. I was unable to do this, however, as the account firstly required a deposit before they could provide online access!
The issue I have with the above is that it creates a transaction hole where funds are not covered by FSCS. This FSCS hole seems irregular as haven't experienced a similar difficulty with other financial institutions. Having no desire to deposit my money into an online entity with lapses in its FCSC coverage - I chose not to proceed.
Having decided to cancel my application I asked for written assurance that all my private and personal information, submitted as a prerequisite for opening an account, would be purged from their records and database. They were unable to provide this assurance, and couldn't even put me in contact with an individual or department that could.
Bad maturity experience
I fell in to the trap of pre-selecting a maturity option several weeks before the maturity...
Read more I fell in to the trap of pre-selecting a maturity option several weeks before the maturity date.
I was then caught out by a rate rise in the selected bond 3 days before the maturity date.
Guess what, I now have the matured bond reinvested in the older lower rate, and the bank say that is fine as I indicated that I wanted to invest in a 2 Year fixed rate, so I have the rate at the date I indicated my re-investement options. But I should not expect a rate rise to be applied to my new fixed rate account that was not opened until 3 days after they increased there rate.
I should have ignored their maturity options and opened a 2 year bond a few days before maturity at the old rate, then after maturity check the current tare and if it is better, open a second bond at the higher rate and manually transfer the matured funds into the higher rate account.
So it is all my fault!!!
Fixed rate bond
I have had two fixed rate bonds which i opened in the last six months with Charter saving bank . Great online service and the second account took just took a few minutes to open . Interest is paid monthly on time into my nominated account . To date...
Read moreI have had two fixed rate bonds which i opened in the last six months with Charter saving bank . Great online service and the second account took just took a few minutes to open . Interest is paid monthly on time into my nominated account . To date very pleased with my investment .
Excellent Bank - good service - best rates
I have always found personnel within Charter Bank to be friendly, efficient, knowledgeable and helpful. No matter who I have spoken to my query/problem has been dealt with immediately and with no hassle. The rates they have offered over the past...
Read moreI have always found personnel within Charter Bank to be friendly, efficient, knowledgeable and helpful. No matter who I have spoken to my query/problem has been dealt with immediately and with no hassle. The rates they have offered over the past couple of years have been very competitive during these hard times for Banks and I would highly recommend this Bank to other savers.
So far very good
Recently opened a one year bond. Easy to do on line and user friendly. Good comminication and fast service. Paperwork sent very quickly by post and text messages at every stage to keep me informed of progress. No problems so far. Yes most of the...
Read moreRecently opened a one year bond. Easy to do on line and user friendly. Good comminication and fast service. Paperwork sent very quickly by post and text messages at every stage to keep me informed of progress. No problems so far. Yes most of the communication is undertaken online but this is the way things seem to happen these days. Maybe the company has listened to customer complaints and addressed them. I would recommend this company.
Excellent Bank - amazing, efficient staff - superb for savings.
Hopefully, you can still see my earlier comments about this Bank. However, to re-iterate what I said earlier. I have found Charter Bank to be amazing. Very proficient, helpful and easy to deal with. Every member of staff that I have ever spoken to...
Read moreHopefully, you can still see my earlier comments about this Bank. However, to re-iterate what I said earlier. I have found Charter Bank to be amazing. Very proficient, helpful and easy to deal with. Every member of staff that I have ever spoken to has been polite, friendly and knoledgeable and an asset to their organisation. From my personal experience, I cannot rate them higher and will continue to use them for my Savings. Rates are good, competitive for the market - paperwork amazing. I also find the on-line banking/savings to be easy to operate. EXCELLENT ALL ROUND - i cannot understand the negative comments.
Good interest rates, great customer service
I wanted to know how to transfer the balance from a matured account into a new one. The agent who took my call was polite, easy to understand and gave clear instructions. What's more, my call was answered within seconds with no irritating music or...
Read moreI wanted to know how to transfer the balance from a matured account into a new one. The agent who took my call was polite, easy to understand and gave clear instructions. What's more, my call was answered within seconds with no irritating music or "Your call is important to us" messages. Great that you can even call on a Sunday. Charter Savings Bank have very competitive interest rates and I have had excellent service from them over the last year or so. Can't understand some of the other negative reviews.
Trying to open POA savings bond - unsuccessful.
Sent all information to open a POA savings bond for my mother did not hear nothing by email, phone or post. After me having to contact to get the news that the solicitors on the POA could not be identified and was going to returned to me. Reason been...
Read more Sent all information to open a POA savings bond for my mother did not hear nothing by email, phone or post. After me having to contact to get the news that the solicitors on the POA could not be identified and was going to returned to me. Reason been that the solicitors had recently moved and old address was shown plus the solicitors representative had married and was showing her maiden name. My question was why could they not look on Internet to clarify the situation but apparently this was not possible or even they could have confirmed this with a phone call to the solicitor but no this was not possible. Hence I asked for the funds to be withdrawn and I went elsewhere which I did with no problems. I was discussed with the lack of customer service and assistance for I am only trying to help my aging mother.
Untrustworthy and incompetent customer service
Interest rate on 120 day account cut without any notice on 22nd August, but no option to close account without 120 day notice. Customer services say that account can be closed within 30 days of notification of rate reduction, but then go back on this...
Read moreInterest rate on 120 day account cut without any notice on 22nd August, but no option to close account without 120 day notice. Customer services say that account can be closed within 30 days of notification of rate reduction, but then go back on this arguing that it was not a material reduction in interest rate. These people must be desperate to traeat their customers with such contempt, so surely they cannot remain in business too much longer.
So far so good
I started saving with Charter Savings Bank in early 2015, as I wanted to save some money with a different provider (to spread risk) and be able to do so online. It was straightforward to open up the account online (with clear and simple guidance...
Read moreI started saving with Charter Savings Bank in early 2015, as I wanted to save some money with a different provider (to spread risk) and be able to do so online. It was straightforward to open up the account online (with clear and simple guidance provided). since then I have opened a 95-day notice account and two 1-year fixed-rate bonds as the rates offered were competitive. I have recently transferred one of the fixed-rate bonds to another one as Charter's rates remained competitive. No problems with setting-up, monitoring and accessing accounts online. As with all financial products it's essential to monitor rates being offered and change to better providers as and when appropriate. I haven't had reason yet to call Charter Savings Bank by phone, so can't comment on telephone service. As a good telephone service is essential when needed (to resolves issues etc.) - poor telephone servive will be a deal breaker - I give Charter 4/5 stars for overall rating. So overall, so far so good.
Appalling service
I phoned on July 18th regarding my 12 month bond that was due to expire on the 21st, I was advised that if I let the money transfer to a savings account and then transfer it to a new bond on the 22nd I could get 1.79% instead of the previous 1.66%, ...
Read moreI phoned on July 18th regarding my 12 month bond that was due to expire on the 21st, I was advised that if I let the money transfer to a savings account and then transfer it to a new bond on the 22nd I could get 1.79% instead of the previous 1.66%, when I tried I was informed that that offer had ended! I explained the advice I had been given and an enquiry was set up, I was told I would receive a phone call within 3 working days with the outcome, after 4 days and no response I phoned again, was told the enquiry would now take longer, I received a letter on August 8th saying the enquiry found against me, seriously not happy but there wasn't much I could do about it, I said I would transfer my money to a new bond offering the original 1.66% only to be informed that there were no more bonds available!!! My money is now in a 95 day notice account which pays 1.36%. APPALLING CUSTOMER CARE
Disturbing standard of Customer Service and techical support for porducts
Although Charter Savings Bank offer very competitive interest rates, they are severely let down by extremely poor customer service. Despite using the correct log in credentials, I was locked out of my online account and then tried to contact the bank...
Read moreAlthough Charter Savings Bank offer very competitive interest rates, they are severely let down by extremely poor customer service. Despite using the correct log in credentials, I was locked out of my online account and then tried to contact the bank several times via telephone but have failed due to waiting times of over 5 minutes each time to speak to a person. This is extremely concerning given that the Bank manage funds of the public.
terrible experience
Had to keep changing (unsatisfactory?) passwords when trying to open a Bond online and then offline when I became frustrated with the whole login process, plus employee became slightly cross with my lack (to her) of tech ability. Not a user friendly...
Read moreHad to keep changing (unsatisfactory?) passwords when trying to open a Bond online and then offline when I became frustrated with the whole login process, plus employee became slightly cross with my lack (to her) of tech ability. Not a user friendly experience or one I would want to repeat.
Good rates but slow transactions.
Charter has good products, but the main complaint I have is that they use BACS for payments instead of Faster Payments. This means that if you action a withdrawal on a Friday, you will receive the funds on Tuesday, instead of immediately with the...
Read moreCharter has good products, but the main complaint I have is that they use BACS for payments instead of Faster Payments. This means that if you action a withdrawal on a Friday, you will receive the funds on Tuesday, instead of immediately with the Faster Payments system used by other banks. If a Bank Holiday intervenes you can wait 5 or even 6 days. If you want to transfer from one Charter account to another (on a Thursday or Friday) you must wait 4, 5 or 6 days and then send the money back to Charter. By that time another weekend may have intervened.
Fixed rate bond opening an account
I have tried 6 times on both my ipad and laptop to open the account. Each time it throws up message that my passwords are strong enough etc etc. Rang and spoke to an employee and all they could suggest was that it was my browser. I have given up!!!
