ING Direct Complicate Things - There Are Better Savings Rates Elsewhere
June 2007
Like many people your author opened a savings account with ING Direct some years back. The reason was simple, there were zero catches (like bonus rates for x months etc) combined with a great Bank of England beating savings rate.
And for many years ING was perhaps one of the top 3 savings accounts on the market. But then they did what many banks love to do - play games.
In their case the oldest trick in the book -
- Offer a great rate
- Attract lots of money
- Then a few years later slash the savings rate and rely on the general public’s apathy
- The banks know full well that the majority of customers either won't notice or won't do anything about it and leave their money with the bank
But it’s unfair to be that critical of any bank that does this because they’re there to make money. And if we’re honest in their situation we would be tempted to do the same if it meant extra money in our pay packets.
So the better strategy is to realise that we’re the ones who are actually in control because we can choose who to do business with.
A Complicated Offer From ING Direct
Obviously ING Direct’s press has been pretty bad over the last year with most financial commentators picking up on the fact that their savings account was no longer that competitive, and could easily be beaten by other banks.
Last week all ING Direct customers received a flyer from them stating it would now pay 5.75% gross for up to 3 months on additional savings deposited between 1st June and 15th June 2007. But looking at the small print the offer seems far too complicated to work out.
So why bother, especially as they seem to be going against their mantra of having one of the simplest savings accounts on the market.
So Which Savings Account To Use?
Simple, go with IceSave which pays a whopping 6.05% with a simple guarantee –
The gross AER (what is AER) paid on balances over £250 is guaranteed to exceed the Bank of England Base Rate by at least 0.25% until 1 October 2009 and thereafter not to be lower than the Bank of England Base Rate until 1 October 2011.
IceSave seems to be the ING Direct of a few years back - a great rate + no gimmicks and no catches.
Summary
Remember, if you want your money to earn the best interest you’ve got to do a touch of work. But with the internet it’s easy to open new accounts. And with so many marketing gimmicks being played by the majority of banks it’s always the right strategy to go with the account that pays the best savings rate combined with little or no catches.
Again, IceSave ticks all the right boxes.
See Also
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