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Thousands demand banks come clean on savings rates

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Guy Anker
Guy Anker
Deputy Editor & Head of Operations
20 March 2009

Thousands of disgruntled savers have backed a MoneySavingExpert.com campaign to force banks and building societies to come clean on the rate they pay.

By 5pm today, over 15,000 people had signed a petition on the 10 Downing Street website, submitted by MSE.

The petition, the eighth largest on the site, urges Prime Minister Gordon Brown to “mandate savings account providers to include the current interest rates on every statement”.  

Over the past few months, Bank of England base rate has plummeted from 5% in October to a current historic low of 0.5%. Some savings accounts are paying virtually nothing and the base rate crash has left many savers with no idea what their money is earning them.

Currently, most savings statements do not tell customers the current rate. Even online accounts only let you click through to a list of scores of accounts, often with similar names, making it difficult to pick out the rate you’re paying.

Martin Lewis, creator of MoneySavingExpert.com, says: “To solve this, a savings summary box should be included in every online and offline statement. This should list, with explanation, the current rate, any bonus rate (and when it ends), penalties for withdrawal and what institutions the account is linked to for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (and if it’s covered).”

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