National Savings & Investments have withdrawn fixed interest and index-linked Savings Certificates from sale.
National Savings & Investments fixed rate and index-linked Savings Certificates were popular with many lower risk investors. What are your options now?
National Savings & Investments surprised – and disappointed - many people when it withdrew both fixed interest and index-linked Savings Certificates yesterday. Over half a million customers have invested in these certificates, with over £5 billion being invested in the first three months of the year alone. Index-linked certificates were particularly popular with women – especially those who were near to or at retirement as there weren’t many options if you wanted to beat inflation without taking a risk.
Cash ISA savers should get a better deal after the OFT stepped in, with speedier transfers and more upfront information.
Following a complaint against banks for dropping interest rates on cash ISAs and dragging their heels over transfers, things should start to improve.
If you’ve ever taken out a ‘best buy’ cash ISA, only to find its headline grabbing rate drops the moment your back is turned, today’s announcement by the Office of Fair Trading is good news. It says it’s secured the agreement of banks and building societies that provide cash ISAs to make sure we're given have better information about interest rates and to speed up the time it takes to transfer our ISAs from one provider to another.
Consumers are missing out on £3 billion of interest on cash ISAs according to the watchdog Consumer Focus.
The watchdog Consumer Focus is calling for an investigation of the cash ISA market amid criticism that it’s uncompetitive.
According to Consumer Focus, savers with cash ISAs (individual savings accounts) earn less than 0.5% in interest on average because, although ISA providers launch cash ISAs with market leading interest rates, these rates often tumble after a while. Although it’s possible to transfer your ISA to another provider, Consumer Focus also found that a third of cash ISA customers said that the process of switching took more than five weeks. Only one in ten managed to transfer in less than two weeks. Consumer Focus has issued a ‘super complaint’ which it wants the Office of Fair Trading to investigate.
