|
|
Banking reviews |
 Send this article to a friend
|
|
Below, you will find the latest Banking reviews. If you've had an experience with an Online Bank yourself and wish to share it, click here.
| Shoka Reviewed on Oct:11:2006: |
Customer rating:  |
The kids got Cahoot!
I was a customer of Barclays right through university but as soon as I graduated and actually had some serious cash going into my account each month I decided to look for a better account. Cahoot are always featured in best buy tables such as those in the Guardian paper on a saturday. They offer around 3.5% interest on your current account, and around 4.5% on savings. Compared to the traditional high street banks this is impressive, my Barclays current account only paid me 0.01% on my current account!
The things I like about my Cahoot accounts are, although I have three accounts, my personal current account, a joint current account with my partner for household expenses, and a savings account, I can log into my home page and see them all instantly. I like the way that online banking gives you control over your money which the highstreet banks just cant offer. You are in charge of everything from maintaining your direct debits and standing orders, to re-ordering your stationary and checks. Plus Cahoot get even more points in my book for introducing the self paying in pre-paid cheque envelopes. You dont even have to go into a post office and pay in over the counter anymore. Just slip your cheque in an envelope along with a paying in slip and pop it into a post box.
The overdraft facility is generous too. I can have up to £250 overdraft for free each month, should I wish. With the option of up to £500 for something ridiculously cheap like 0.3p a month.
Ive banked for Cahoot since March 2003 and have had about 3 minor customer service issues, all of which were easily resolved.
Would recommend this bank highly.
|
| Tricksty Reviewed on Aug:10:2006: |
Customer rating: |
KChing its ING
Personally, Im a lazy saver - Although Im not a particularly great business woman, I do like my pounds to earn a bit when Im not looking. I have to admit, ING takes care of several pence while you look after the pounds (or perhaps Ive mixed up that metaphor…..)
ING offers perhaps one of the most competitive interest rates around; at the time of writing this review its 4.5%. The interest rate does fluctuate when the Bank of England adjusts its straps, but ING always seems to offer a higher than average rate if you compare similar companies.
I have never been a finance guru, but when I heard that most banks savings accounts offer just less than the average rate of inflation, I started thinking. So, my bank offers 3% per year on my savings, and inflation (for example) is 3.1%, instead of earning any money, Im actually losing.
Imagine you had £1000 spare. You could either invest it, or buy some twogs (a twog can represent anything youd like to buy). Lets see what happens over 2 years:
*Year: 2005-2006*
Amount invested: £1000
Interest rate =2.5%
Investment after 12 months=£1025.
Cost of 1 twog=£1
Inflation is 3%
Cost of 1 twog after 12 months=£1.03
Number of twogs you can buy with £1000= 1000
*Number of twogs you can buy after 12 months= 995 (i.e. less twogs than when you first invested.)*
*Year 2006-2007*
Amount invested: £1025
Interest rate=2.5%
Investment after 12 months=£1060.90
Cost of 1 twog was=£1.03
Inflation is 3%
Cost of 1 twog after 12 months=just over £1.06
*Number of twogs you can buy at the end of 2007= 990.*
As you can see, your money is actually losing value each year unless the interest rate is constantly above the rate of inflation. INGs rates are always above the inflation rate, so you know your money is working for you. They say they can pay you more interest because they dont have the overheads associated with high street banks, and they have no intention of opening any branches- fine by me if I get more interest!
Setting up an Account
ING accounts are quite easy to set up. They are initially done over the Internet, but then you are required to submit proof of your tax number (National Insurance) by post, which is a bit of a drag. (You may need to send bank statements or utility bills as proof of your address, particularly if you have lived at your address for less than 3 years.) You can then set up links between other bank accounts, which means you can transfer money painlessly, once the link has been established. Youll need to set up a regular saver link- a fixed amount sent from one of your other bank accounts into ING each month. The minimum payment is £1, which is very reasonable Im sure youll agree! You can change this amount whenever you like to whatever you like. Then you just sit back and watch the interest payments! In order to set up the links between your other accounts, you just need to fill in an on-line form. Youll need the sort code and bank account number for your other account. The link is not created instantly for security reasons. ING will write to you confirming that a direct debit instruction has been set up between your ING and other bank account, detailing all the numbers and codes. If all the details are correct, you can just sit back. If anything is wrong you need to tell them ASAP. The process takes around a week, and you wont be able to transfer money until youve received the paperwork.
Managing your accounts
You can set up any number of links between ING and other accounts you have. Ive got mine linked to my personal bank account with Lloyds, and my joint account with Barclays. You can also very easily create separate accounts within your main ING account. This is really useful, as if youre saving up for a few different things, you could, for example, have an account for your holiday savings, one for your car repairs and another for a rainy day. Once youve established the direct debit links between your bank accounts, if you want to transfer money in or out, you can do so online.
Customer Service
Dealing with situations on the phone has been generally a gratifying process. The staff are friendly and eager to please. On the whole, I have been impressed by the level of service offered by ING. Customer Services is open Monday-Friday 7am - 11pm, and Saturday-Sunday 9am-9pm.
The most important points to know about ING are that, in a short time you can make your money work for you, you can get one of the highest rates of interest (low risk) available in the UK, and if you are at all dissatisfied, you can ask for your money to be returned, no questions asked. But I really couldnt imagine you doing so.
§ Current rate 4.5% apr
§ Instant access
§ Nice website (unless you hate orange)
§ Very professional staff
§ Recommended by top city financial advisors
§ Minimal paperwork, but some is awkward
§ Nothing much else wrong with this company!
|
Banking reviews on other sites
Egg Internet Banking www.egg.com
Egg had first mover advantage in the Internet-only savings account market, and so they have a lot of customers. However, now every bank and banking centre in the land (and many from abroad) offer the ...
|
NatWest Internet Banking www.natwest.co.uk
There is an operational flaw concerning NatWest Internet bank account statements, which the bank has repeatedly been made aware of, but which has not been rectified. Normally, when a payment is made ... |
HSBC Internet Banking www.hsbc.co.uk
Cancelled overdraft limit because my mail was returned to them. I have been with HSBC since 1998, and I have never been overdrawn and have more than £5500 credits a month. A credit card facility with ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
