Natwest Interest - it's gone on new accounts.....

Heliospherez · 13 Dec 2008 at 18:53

Just read somewhere that Natwest will stop paying Interest on all new current accounts from Feb 9th.

As long as customers pay £1000 a month in - they will get a flat £5 deposit.
Anyone who goes overdrawn (without clearing) will be charged £5 a day :eek:

Now, I know everyone could open another saving account as well as their current account, but where will this all end ? Do they not want to keep customers - or get any new ones ? Not everyone will have £1000 a month coming in.

"andy" · 13 Dec 2008 at 18:56

natwest are rubbish anyway. i sincerely regret opening my account with them. total pain

JIM_BOB7813 · 13 Dec 2008 at 18:58

Got a link? I can't find any info on this

Sh3rlock · 13 Dec 2008 at 18:58

Natwest are terrible, over the years they've charged me stupid amounts even if ive gone overdrawn by £5. I've just claimed back over £600 and closed my account with them, going to give Lloyds TSB my business from now on.

Hatter The Mad · 13 Dec 2008 at 19:07

Damien. said:
Natwest are terrible, over the years they've charged me stupid amounts even if ive gone overdrawn by £5. I've just claimed back over £600 and closed my account with them, going to give Lloyds TSB my business from now on.

All banks charge "stupid" amounts for going into unauthorised overdraft. The solution: Don't go overdrawn. You know you get penalised and by how much, so why do it?

Heliospherez · 13 Dec 2008 at 19:10

Probably because my mate has just told me it was actually the Halifax

Better check his story now

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/property_and_mortgages/article5332820.ece

Hatter The Mad · 13 Dec 2008 at 19:12

http://money.aol.co.uk/halifax-scra...ticle/20081212132254179655499?rsp=Money News]

Pay in £1k a month, get £5 a month back. 0.5% AER interest, basically. But why anyone keeps more than £1k in their current account, I don't know. With internet banking, there is no reason to not just add extra to your current account as and when you needed (from an instant-access savings account).

Freeman · 13 Dec 2008 at 19:14

Never had a problem with them. Been with them for about 12 years now.

Danger Phoenix · 13 Dec 2008 at 19:20

I've been with Natwest for just over 4 years now... not a single problem with them

ps3ud0 · 13 Dec 2008 at 19:33

Damien. said:
Natwest are terrible, over the years they've charged me stupid amounts even if ive gone overdrawn by £5. I've just claimed back over £600 and closed my account with them, going to give Lloyds TSB my business from now on.

Stop being poor

ps3ud0

csmager · 13 Dec 2008 at 19:41

Hatter The Mad said:
http://money.aol.co.uk/halifax-scra...ticle/20081212132254179655499?rsp=Money News]

Pay in £1k a month, get £5 a month back. 0.5% AER interest, basically

£5/month is £60 a year, surely? Do you have to keep that £1k in? If you're paid only £1k per month and spend all of that by the end of the month, that's an average bank balance of £500 throughout the year. £60 interest on that equates to 12%, which would be nice. Evidently the effective percentage drops a lot if you don't play it that close!

Or is there something obvious I've failed to see here?

scorza · 13 Dec 2008 at 19:47

Natwest are pretty good imo - never had a problem with them in 25 years of banking with them. Unfortunately they've been badly let down by their parent company RBS, so much so that I've stopped doing business with them. If they ever gain their independence back I'll be back with them like a shot though.

Oh and get used to this sort of thing, free banking is going to be a thing of the past imo. Interest rates have always been crap on current accounts anyway, you don't take out a current account for the interest.

Hatter The Mad · 13 Dec 2008 at 19:52

csmager said:
£5/month is £60 a year, surely? Do you have to keep that £1k in? If you're paid only £1k per month and spend all of that by the end of the month, that's an average bank balance of £500 throughout the year. £60 interest on that equates to 12%, which would be nice. Evidently the effective percentage drops a lot if you don't play it that close!

Or is there something obvious I've failed to see here?

True, didn't think of that

Energize · 13 Dec 2008 at 20:05

Almost all current accounts have crap rates of 0.1% anyway. Put it in a stocks and shares ISA instead.

jamief · 13 Dec 2008 at 22:07

Energize said:
Almost all current accounts have crap rates of 0.1% anyway. Put it in a stocks and shares ISA instead.

Not the best time to put money into stocks and shares really, is it?

Hunders · 13 Dec 2008 at 22:11

Hatter The Mad said:
All banks charge "stupid" amounts for going into unauthorised overdraft. The solution: Don't go overdrawn. You know you get penalised and by how much, so why do it?

Not true... I'm with Lloyds TSB and have no overdraft. A few years ago I went overdrawn by 50 quid for a reason I cannot remember and Lloyds gave me a temporary overdraft of £100 for a month. They charged me nothing.

I don't know if they would do that nowadays...

Hatter The Mad · 13 Dec 2008 at 22:12

jamief said:
Not the best time to put money into stocks and shares really, is it?

Yes it is - buy in cheap, be eclectic.

BloodyL · 13 Dec 2008 at 22:17

Hunders said:
Not true... I'm with Lloyds TSB and have no overdraft. A few years ago I went overdrawn by 50 quid for a reason I cannot remember and Lloyds gave me a temporary overdraft of £100 for a month. They charged me nothing.

I don't know if they would do that nowadays...

Yes they do, I recently went overdrawn by twenty-something pounds because a transaction cleared before I was able to get to a computer to move money from my savings account to the current account, I contacted Lloyds TSB and they waived the charges and offered me a temporary overdraft (which a politely declined, I have never had an overdraft facility, and never will).

BloodyL · 13 Dec 2008 at 22:19

Hatter The Mad said:
Yes it is - buy in cheap, be eclectic.

Surely it is still a gamble, even if the ultra-long term payoff could be great.

Energize · 13 Dec 2008 at 22:26

jamief said:
Not the best time to put money into stocks and shares really, is it?

There's been a huge crash so it's the best time to invest, cash never gives much of a return over inflation in the long run anyway, espically with the nutters at the boe reducing rates like crazy. Not sure I would invest in EU or the americas atm though. With the currency dropping in value like a stone the pacific is probably a good bet, lots of natural rescources too! If you sign up through cashback websites you get £85 just for opening an active account there, so that already offsets any future drop by quite a margin if your investing just a few hundred.