Just when we in the Money Fight Club dojo think the banks cannot get any worse, Barclays does its best to prove us wrong. Way to go Barclays.
The bank has announced it’s moving 2.3 million savers (that’s you folks) into new tax-free individual savings accounts (ISAs) from November. Two thirds of them will be getting a worse interest rates than the one they are at the moment.
Worse interest rate? Now. Surely some mistake?
The best rates at the moment are over 2% but from November the best rates on accounts holding up to £14,999 will be 1.39%.
Yet, all the signs are that interest rates are going to be going up – not down.
New ISAs, or NISAs, which allow investment of up to £15,000 a year, were launched just five weeks ago. And the Bank of England interest-rate setting committee is meeting now to decide when rates should rise.
Market commentators expect some of the committee to be begin to say that rates should rise, and many feel the first increase should be before the end of the year… maybe even before the lower interest rates are imposed on its customers by Barclays.
Letters are being sent out by Barclays. If you get one make sure you put a note in your diary/calendar to move your money before the low rates are imposed on you.