Up to £5 billion in interest is being lost for those savers who have not switched to the best paying accounts on the market and with over 50% of all easy access savings accounts paying 0.50% or less in interest, millions of savers’ hard earned cash is languishing in poor paying accounts.
SavingsChampion.co.uk is petitioning George Osborne for a fairer deal for the nation’s savers by simplifying the process of switching savings accounts. There is currently a lack of consistency and all providers have their own processes, leading to confusion and lack of confidence in simply moving money from one account to the next.
We have already written to George Osborne to tell him that we are launching this campaign – we want him to address this in the upcoming budget.
Switching is a vital part of getting the best rates for savers. Making it easier to switch savings accounts will lead to greater competition in the savings market, something that is seriously lacking at the moment. The government continues at look to ways to support borrowers whilst continually ignoring the plight of savers.
We would like savings providers to make it easier and less complicated for savers to move their money – in a similar way to what has been done in other areas such as current accounts, cash ISAs, energy, credit cards and broadband. You should simply tell your new provider details of your existing account and they should do the hard work for you.
Switching bank accounts has recently had an overhaul, including reducing the time it takes to just seven days - and now through our Switch My Savings campaign we are calling for a review of switching savings accounts”
Mark Carney recently announced that interest rates are unlikely to rise anytime soon and even when the base rate does start to rise, it’s likely to remain low and certainly well below ‘pre-crisis’ levels. In the meantime rates have been slashed on thousands of existing accounts, so it’s more important than ever that savers keep moving their money to better their returns.
Through our Concierge Managed Savings Service we have direct experience of what can be a truly onerous process, as we administer the opening of new accounts daily for our clients. As industry experts we see first-hand how difficult, confusing and frustrating it can be and why many savers give up and leave their savings to languish – the only beneficiaries are the banks.
Let’s revolutionise the savings market. Let’s make it work for savers. If changes to the switching process are implemented properly it will reduce apathy and inertia and therefore increase competition and interest rates.
During this tough economic climate we understand it is hard for the government to support savers, this is why we are suggesting and hoping they will get behind this, as it takes the form of practical help for savers - not government funding to incentivise or subsidise rates.
You can sign the petition at www.savingschampion.co.uk and we will keep you informed of the progress of the campaign.
We are planning to meet with George Osborne, the Financial Conduct Authority, the British Bankers’ Association and the Building Society Association so we can present the petition and champion this cause.
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