“Banks must quickly start playing fair” – our response to the FCA’s cash savings market study
“For too long, banks and building societies have left customers trapped in savings accounts paying woefully low interest rates and losing out on billions. More than 50,000 people supported our campaign to get people a better deal on their savings and we now expect to see the industry working with the regulator to make these recommendations a reality as soon as possible. The banks must quickly start playing fair and help consumers get a good deal.”
Background:
1. Our previous research found:
· People are losing out on £4.3 billion a year by leaving savings in poor value accounts.
· Three-quarters (75%) of people don’t think banks do enough to help savers get a good deal.
· Fewer than one in five (17%) savers know what their interest rate is exactly.
· A quarter (25%) of those with a bonus rate don’t know when it will end.
2. Our ‘Scrap the Savings Trap’ has over 54,000 supporters and called on banks to:
· Don’t leave customers languishing in sub-standard savings accounts – close ‘zombie’ accounts and move people’s money into one default easy-access or ISA account at the end of fixed terms.
· Stop making ISA switching complicated and laborious – make switching quicker and stop limiting transfers into new ISAs.
· Don’t leave customers in the dark about the best return on their savings – display interest rates prominently and consistently on all statements, annual summaries and online pages, improve notifications about the end of bonus rates or fixed terms, and ensure better offers are promoted by staff and in statements.
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