Bank And Building Society Tactics

This morning I received an email from my building society, informing me that the rate on my account had been reduced by 0.25% in line with the Bank of England reduction. Naturally I was assured that the new, lower rate was still one of the best and very competitive.

On the face of it, this seems sneaky fair enough. Nevertheless, ever seeking the best deal, I checked Moneyfacts and noticed that my society had a top rate on their "Issue 2", which pays 6.4%.. They deliberately did not let me know about this new account. Investors had to discover this for themselves.

I'm used to this tactic. One must take immediate steps to open the new account (or another Best Buy). Presumably a percentage of savers do not bother to do this: it could be laziness, inertia, lack of knowledge or anything.

Cognizant of this crafty legerdemain, I have already opened a new "Issue 2" account with them, await the documentation, and when I receive it I'll transfer the funds.

It's a minor inconvenience and must surely generate a lot of work for their staff (at their own instigation); but it has to be done in order to obtain the optimum rate of interest.