Great British Savings Scandal What is the savings scandal?

Which? is calling on banks to give customers more and clearer information about the interest being paid on savings accounts. Many people are earning a paltry rate of interest and they don't know it.

Following OFT intervention, cash Isa providers will put personalised interest rate information on statements by 2012, but we want to see similar on all savings accounts.

A £12 billion problem

Savers are missing out on £12 billion a year by keeping their money in accounts that pay miserly rates, according to research completed by Which? 

Almost half of the 1,200 plus savings accounts available in the UK pay 0.5% interest or less and one in four pays 0.1% or less - just £1 a year for every £1,000 saved.

If people with easy-access and notice savings accounts and cash Isas moved their money to best rate versions of those accounts, British savers would be £12 billion a year better off. That's equivalent to £322 for every saver with an easy access or notice savings account or cash Isa.

Banks need to be more transparent

Banks aren't being upfront about the poor returns, with few even showing interest rates anywhere on regular statements or telling customers about better accounts, but Which? is pressing for change and has already secured a commitment from Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group and Santander to improve the information they provide to their customers.

Which? is pressing banks to

1) Publish interest rates on all statements – paper and online.

2) Clearly display all savings account interest rates online e.g. no more than one prominent link away from the savings home page.

3) Provide each customer with an annual notice of savings interest rates, which should include:

  • current interest rates for all accounts offered by the provider, even those accounts closed to new customers
  • show in pounds and pence how much savers would earn in each account if they had £1,000, £5,000 or £10,000
  • a prompt for savers to check their account's rate plus what to do if they want to switch including a route such as a phone number and web page to help people switch.

Success so far

  • Which? held an online Savings Surgery on Thursday 28 October, with Money experts on hand to answer consumers' savings questions and queries. You can see an archive of the conversation at www.which.co.uk/savingssurgery
  • Our Savings Scandal campaign has had cross party support, with 60 MPs signing an Early Day Motion for interest rates to be put on statements and banks to provide regular checks against other account rates for savers.

Take action

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