Chi's reviews - Smart Money People

Avoid the Santander 123 current account because of the interest rate cut and also the poor customer service.

1

This account used to give a good interest rate provided a large balance was maintained, £3000 to £20,000, but then Santander introduced a £5 monthly charge which made the account less worth while. Now the interest rate has been halved to 1.5%, which equates to 1.25% taking into account the £5 charge if a high balance of £20,000 is maintained, and far less if the balance is lower. Therefore this account should be avoided, particularly as the Santander customer service is poor. Reviewed on: 17th November 2016

Nationwide Flexdirect gives limited banking benefits with poor customer service

1

The Nationwide Flexdirect account gives good interest of 5% gross, but on a small maximum balance of £2500, and that rate applies only for 12 months. The online banking service is poor, for example showing transactions in an upside down way, so that the least relevant (oldest) transactions are shown first, and the most relevant (latest) transactions are shown last and off the bottom of the screen. Similarly there are issues in their online banking messaging, where the system does not show the reply that has just been made to them, and on their customer satisfaction screen, where clicking an answer to one question makes the answer to the previous question disappear. The telephone customer service is poor, because Nationwide claims to welcome feedback, but will not take and address issues such as those above when put to them. Reviewed on: 20th January 2016

Marks & Spencer Bank offers a monthly saver with an unbeatable interest rate of 6%

5

You can save between £25 and £250 per month in this great Marks & Spencer Bank regular saver account which offers 6% interest gross. (You need to already have a Marks & Spencer Bank current account to qualify for the monthly saver.) Reviewed on: 24th December 2015

Nationwide Building Society offers a great Flexclusive Monthly Saver account

5

You can save between £1 and £500 per month in the Nationwide Flexclusive Monthly Saver account and get gross interest of 5%. This rate is much better than the 2% on the Nationwide Regular Saver account, and you can have one Flexclusive Regular Saver as well as one Regular Saver. You can open the Flexclusive Monthly Saver if you already have a qualifying Nationwide current account, such as a Flexdirect account or a Flexaccount into which you have paid at least £750 per month for the last three months. Reviewed on: 24th December 2015

BM Savings is an online financial specialist that offers some very competitive savings products.

4

BM Savings offers a variable rate savings account that allows unlimited transactions and gives a competitive interest of 1.6% gross, of which 1.35% is a bonus that applies for the first 12 months. BM Savings is part of the Lloyds/HBOS banking group but being online only offers better interest rates than the better known and high street based members of the group. Reviewed on: 30th August 2015

The Newbury Building Society offers local members some very attractive financial products.

4

The Newbury Building Society offers residents in its southern England operating area some instant access savings accounts with competitive interest rates, such as the new members' Welcome to Newbury account at 1.65% gross, the Existing Members' account at 2.1% gross, and for children, the Barry Bear account at 3% gross. The branch staff are extremely friendly and helpful, and the society gives members a Loyalty Card giving access to discount offers locally. Reviewed on: 30th August 2015