Read what the bank is offering before you say Yes!
Thursday, January 10th, 2008No matter who you are, when it comes to your personal finances, so much depends on the deals that you get from your bank. With just a few big high street banks out there dominating the market, you should really pay attention to the deals that they are offering you on your financial services.
A new report by the Daily Mail shows that most of the high street banks have some excellent deals out there on some of their products, they also have some really terrible deals that will be offering customers terrible value for money and will not be very good financial choices.
Whether you are looking for a personal loan, paying off your credit cards and looking for a better rate while you do so, or simply like to save a few pounds each month for rainy day, by carefully selecting what you say yes to and what you say no to, you will be able to take the good while avoiding the bad deals that are available from the banks.
For example, while the Abbey is paying 7.25% pre-tax on its fixed rate monthly saver account – an excellent rate in the current market – it reduced the rate that it pays on its instant access Isa at the end of May from 5.6% to 4.55% and 5.25%. This is a huge difference on what you will be paid from the same institution.
Meanwhile, other lenders are focusing their advertising on the great rates they are offering on loans and mortgages, whilst putting the high arrangement fees in the fine print.
It pays to look closely at what your bank is offering and not assume the your own bank offers exactly the same products as the others. It is fine to shop around. It is virtually certain that some of the offers they give you will be great, and some will be terrible, so read them, be a discerning consumer, and choose the options that suit your needs.
