Email to a friend

The good, the bad and the ugly (Aug 07)

Good

Loyal savers rewarded at the Derbyshire

This month saw the launch of a new regular saver from Derbyshire BS aimed specifically at existing customers. The account requires savers to make regular deposits of between £10 and £250 per month and allows four penalty free withdrawals per year.

The interest rate ranges between 6.5% and 8%,and is determined by the number of years you have been a customer with Derbyshire BS. 6.5% is paid for customers of between one and two years, with the maximum 8% paid to customers of 10 years and over.

It’s good to see loyalty being rewarded for a change, as far too often the best deals used to attract in new business are unavailable to existing customers. This is a great product for any existing Derbyshire customer; it’s simple and flexible with the offer of four free withdrawals per year. The top rate of 8% is market leading, with rates of 7%-7.5% dominating the Moneyfacts.co.uk

Offering a decent paying no stings regular saver may also encourage investors to save regularly, which must also be applauded.
Let’s hope more providers adopt this strategy of looking after their existing customers as this is one of the few examples in the market at present where loyalty does pay.

New Ethical section is a big hit.

Our new Ethical section, launched last month, has been a bit hit already and has been featured in the Independent, Observer and Sunday Times and the New Consumer website. It’s our intention to provide the means for people to find, research and buy ethical personal finance products online, so we’re really pleased that it’s been such a success already.

Bad

Home information packs are flawed

The much-criticised home information pack finally became law on 1st August and every home put on the market with four or more bedrooms will now need one. But there are three fundamental flaws with them, including one that may mean that you can legally avoid them! Read our guide to home information packs to find out more.

Summer floods will cost us all

The Association of British Insurers estimates that the cost of the summer floods will cost the Insurance industry £2 billion. Both Norwich Union and Lloyds TSB have already stated that they will be raising home insurance premiums by 10% and it’s likely that the Water companies will increase water bills, which will be a double whammy for consumers.

Ugly

Exit fees in disguise

Thanks to the FSA, many lenders have reduced their mortgage exit fees to the level they were at when we took out our mortgages. Others such as Halifax, Cheltenham & Gloucester, Northern Rock, the Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest have done the ‘decent thing’ and opted to scrap them completely. However in a move that makes an already complex mortgage market even less transparent for the would be borrower, Abbey, Bradford & Bingley, and Bristol & West have renamed their exit fees as 'mortgage account fees', 'general administration fees' and 'core term fees'not impressed