Nothing useful, just a MOAN!

Looks like interest rates will be going up in early Autumn.

All too true Eloethan. Depressing isn't it.

Yes, opening or changing a bank account is a major hassle these days. Of course they have to be careful of money laundering but it seems these rules can be circumvented by the very crooks they are meant to be targeting.

There was a programme on Channel 4 a while ago (unfortunately I missed it but read about it). Several Central London estate agents were happy to go along with a reporter posing as a Russian politician who said he wished to hide his "dodgy" cash in UK property. In several instances, estate agents recommended law firms to help a buyer hide his identity. One estate agent named a “very, very good lawyer" whom he'd put in touch with a Soviet state minister in a deal worth £10 million.

It strikes me that the real crooks have the means to get round money laundering regulations whereas the rest of us go back and forth to banks and building societies with bits of paper, trying to prove that we are not international criminals.

I still have a very good fixed rate 5yr Isa which I took out just before the interest rates collapsed. It is due to mature in 2016 but I will not get the likes of that %rate again for along time.

I've been using a mixture of different length term deposit accounts for some savings with reasonable (?) interest rates. Certainly better than Isa rates.

Seemed suspiciously like an advert

Why?

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It maybe easy to change banks but getting them operating takes ages, I am secretary for a small residents group and at our AGM we had a new treasurer, and we wanted our account back to the small branch just out of town where it all started off ten years ago, and what a horrendous job we are having phone calls lasting 45 minutes, visits an hour at a time , thought that we had it eventually sorted out and just had a phone call to say that our treasurers ID is not recognised !!!GRRRR.

Honestly I don't think we will be money laundering , or terrorism for under a thousand pounds.. A church has had much the same problems and a friend said Banks are having to be so fussy nowadays . We have submitted accounts constitution names addresses IDs etc etc.

FRUSTRATED SECRETARY

I have a small cash ISA which pays, I think, 2%, but I am not allowed to add any more to it. Not that I could add much anyway.
DH changed his isa to Lloyds because it was a better rate of interest - but for one year only, then it plummeted right down, so be careful when switching.
I do have an even tinier stocks and shares ISA but they are not really recommended for people over the age of 70 because of the risk.

DS has a mortgage and the interest rate is good compared to ours years ago; DD lives overseas and the mortgage interest rate is, I believe, 9%. Good if you have savings but not so good with a huge mortgage.

We do not have any 'serious savings' and I am beginning to think they are more trouble than they are worth!!

shabby I thought the days of trying to flog the customers something new and get commission had gone. Obviously not.

I went to the building society yesterday and after I had finished my transaction the counter clerk asked if I was happy with my account or could he help me to look at what else they had to offer. I told him I believed that I was getting the best savings rate they had to offer and he agreed so why was he trying to get me to change - go figure that one out!

I once watched a tv programme about living in Germany where they have much less home ownership than uk, they simply rent from private landlords. Perhaps in the uk we put too much emphasis on owning a home.
After all what benefits does it bring, apart from our kids inheritance.

When we own a house, the mortgage might seem less than the rent paid on a similar home but there is the upkeep, house repairs are just so expensive. And of course many people like to keep up with the fashions, new kitchens ever few years etc. How on earth is it paid for, I have never had debt and cannot imagine paying for home improvements with a loan. I can only imagine how the young families of today manage if they have a big repair, then perhaps another one soon. How do they manage to save anything.

I have an ex council house and my neighbours pay nothing for repairs, get the highest quality work done, while my house moulders waiting for repairs that should have been done years ago but I simply have no savings left. If I could have my time over I would have always rented and just picked up the phone to order my repairs asap and most of all I would have some money in my bank account now.

In our 60s we have our mortgage paid off and any minimal savings makes nothing of worth.
However, as previously mentioned, I take comfort that new home buyers at present may find it easier to buy.

We have 4 boys,
No. 1 bought 9 years ago and is in negative equity but has no plans to move anyway.
No. 2 bought 6 years ago and would like to move but cannot get a mortgage as his house in valued at 75% of his present mortgage.
No. 3 cannot afford to buy at present and is renting privately.
No. 4 lives abroad and rented for 10 years, and has now bought at a good time when house prices are low. (not withstanding that 10 years rental is a lot of money).

It would be nice to be able to help them but our own funds are getting less all the time.
I do agree with a previous post that although pensions are less income, they are steady income. And I am very thankful and appreciative that we are in the position of having a small cushion in case of an emergency.

Dale, this is a pyramid scheme, illegal both in the UK and in the US. Do you think that our heads button up the back, that we would fall for such an obvious way of at best making absolutely nothing or at worst having our bank accounts plundered?

The posters on this forum have been around for at least a quarter of a century, some of us for over three-quarters. We know when something stinks.

Should someone tell Dale that (at the moment) we use pounds in UK, not dollars!

And meanwhile Dale it sounds as if anyone wired to your bank account could remove your money as well.

scam alert scam alert!

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Don't agree rosesarered Lloyds will give you 4% interest and I think some of the others are better plus Santander have such a bad reputation. Last time I looked on Which Money they had a warning by them because of all the trouble they cause their customers. I had a problem with them and so did one of my friends. I really think they should be avoided.

The Santander 123 account is the best around at the moment.I like all things 'banky' and shop around all the time.

the thing is the banks/ building societies don't really NEED our savings
there was QE - remember how many billions were 'created'
there was funding for lending - intended to help small businesses but mostly stoked the 'housing bubble'
we are getting next to nothing because we are really a captive audience in that we have a bit of savings (for a rainy day in my case) and are not 'losing' enough to make us protest / empty out savings accounts.
those with big amounts of savings are into BTL and clever 'money-making' so not so affected.
but I do wish even our 'little savings' could get maybe 3 or 4% and at least keep pace with 'real inflation'.

gilly perhaps you were multi-tasking and overdid it?

Talk about trying to get a point across ! How on earth did I post the same thing three times. Apologies all.