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HL Active Savings: grrr..... & caveat emptor!

Discussing offers, rates and deals on suppliers
yorkshirelad1
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HL Active Savings: grrr..... & caveat emptor!

#407395

Postby yorkshirelad1 » April 27th, 2021, 4:50 pm

I have some cash with HL's Active Savings. It's on easy access with Paragon at 0.25%. That's fine for what I want it (and a lot more than my normal high street bank is paying for instant access)
I happened to be taking a quick look at my account on HL's website, and noticed there was a Paragon Easy Access paying 0.35% in their "View Latest rates"

HL are quick enough to say when rates drop, but they didn't mention that rates had gone up.

When I rang (and it only took me 2 rings to get through!) I was told that the 0.35% is a new product from Paragon.
HL said they wouldn't necessarily notify me as it's a new product not a rate increase. I asked if they don't notify customers of an old account (I had it in the back of my mind that banks are supposed to notify customers of money languishing at poorer rates in old accounts), but apparently my Paragon account is not an old account, it's just not available to new savers, so it's still current!
You have to be canny these days!
Play cunning!

(and Yes, I do see that at
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-1583859/Best-savings-rates-General-savings-Internet-branch.html Paragon have an instant access at 0.41%, probably https://www.paragonbank.co.uk/savings/limited-edition-easy-access-account but it suits me to be able to move my cash around within the HL wrapper (saves all the id faffing)

stevensfo
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Re: HL Active Savings: grrr..... & caveat emptor!

#407672

Postby stevensfo » April 28th, 2021, 1:53 pm

yorkshirelad1 wrote:I have some cash with HL's Active Savings. It's on easy access with Paragon at 0.25%. That's fine for what I want it (and a lot more than my normal high street bank is paying for instant access)
I happened to be taking a quick look at my account on HL's website, and noticed there was a Paragon Easy Access paying 0.35% in their "View Latest rates"

HL are quick enough to say when rates drop, but they didn't mention that rates had gone up.

When I rang (and it only took me 2 rings to get through!) I was told that the 0.35% is a new product from Paragon.
HL said they wouldn't necessarily notify me as it's a new product not a rate increase. I asked if they don't notify customers of an old account (I had it in the back of my mind that banks are supposed to notify customers of money languishing at poorer rates in old accounts), but apparently my Paragon account is not an old account, it's just not available to new savers, so it's still current!
You have to be canny these days!
Play cunning!

(and Yes, I do see that at
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-1583859/Best-savings-rates-General-savings-Internet-branch.html Paragon have an instant access at 0.41%, probably https://www.paragonbank.co.uk/savings/limited-edition-easy-access-account but it suits me to be able to move my cash around within the HL wrapper (saves all the id faffing)


This sounds identical to Monzo bank and AJBell (youinvest) who offer saving accounts from a diverse number of other banks. HL are correct, since they are only showing what they receive from the individual banks. The invited banks are changing the rates all the bloody time, and you have to check every week. The fixed-rate terms are always up and down: Oaknorth, Paragon, Charter, Hodge, Aldermore etc, as well as ICICI, an Indian bank. As other people have pointed out, HL, Monzo etc take a small commission and you could get a better rate by going straight to the bank, but I like the ease of doing everything via one website.

At the moment, AJBell have a good choice, whereas Monzo have very few.

Steve

GeoffF100
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Re: HL Active Savings: grrr..... & caveat emptor!

#407892

Postby GeoffF100 » April 29th, 2021, 8:31 am

I have had a look at HL, AJB and Monzo. The cash rates are not bad, but the fixed rate bond rates are terrible. I usually use Money Saving Expert to find the best rates:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savin ... -interest/

I have got a 5 year bond ladder with bonds maturing at intervals of mostly about 6 months. That means that I usually have to reinvest two bonds per year. That is a pain with all the passwords, memorable questions and memorable answers. Moving the money is also a pain with all the fraud checks.

airbus330
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Re: HL Active Savings: grrr..... & caveat emptor!

#407898

Postby airbus330 » April 29th, 2021, 8:46 am

FWIW I have money with HL active savings. I got an email at the beginning of the week suggesting that I looked at there new increased 'market leading' savings rates. TBH I thought that it might be connected with a fixed term deposit coming up for maturity in May.

stevensfo
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Re: HL Active Savings: grrr..... & caveat emptor!

#407904

Postby stevensfo » April 29th, 2021, 8:58 am

GeoffF100 wrote:I have had a look at HL, AJB and Monzo. The cash rates are not bad, but the fixed rate bond rates are terrible. I usually use Money Saving Expert to find the best rates:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savin ... -interest/

I have got a 5 year bond ladder with bonds maturing at intervals of mostly about 6 months. That means that I usually have to reinvest two bonds per year. That is a pain with all the passwords, memorable questions and memorable answers. Moving the money is also a pain with all the fraud checks.



Thanks for that. Yes, those 5-year fixed rates are much better than those in AJBell. However, with no idea of what's going to happen that far ahead, I decided to stick with a 1-year ladder via AJBell and Monzo. Since it is via the bank, there are no more AML, KYC checks, something which makes life easier. Though these days, I tend to perform due diligence and am more interested in KYB (Know your bank) than the reverse! ;)

Steve

Gan020
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Re: HL Active Savings: grrr..... & caveat emptor!

#407908

Postby Gan020 » April 29th, 2021, 9:14 am

One thing to note about HL active savings is that from the day you apply and give them you cash to the day the bond starts you get no interest and this can be up to 2 weeks, which makes the headline rates look better than they really are.

stevensfo
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Re: HL Active Savings: grrr..... & caveat emptor!

#407941

Postby stevensfo » April 29th, 2021, 10:34 am

Gan020 wrote:One thing to note about HL active savings is that from the day you apply and give them you cash to the day the bond starts you get no interest and this can be up to 2 weeks, which makes the headline rates look better than they really are.


That's odd. With AJBell, it's never more than 48 hours.

Steve

GeoffF100
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Re: HL Active Savings: grrr..... & caveat emptor!

#407971

Postby GeoffF100 » April 29th, 2021, 11:27 am

stevensfo wrote:
GeoffF100 wrote:I have had a look at HL, AJB and Monzo. The cash rates are not bad, but the fixed rate bond rates are terrible. I usually use Money Saving Expert to find the best rates:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savin ... -interest/

I have got a 5 year bond ladder with bonds maturing at intervals of mostly about 6 months. That means that I usually have to reinvest two bonds per year. That is a pain with all the passwords, memorable questions and memorable answers. Moving the money is also a pain with all the fraud checks.

Thanks for that. Yes, those 5-year fixed rates are much better than those in AJBell. However, with no idea of what's going to happen that far ahead, I decided to stick with a 1-year ladder via AJBell and Monzo. Since it is via the bank, there are no more AML, KYC checks, something which makes life easier. Though these days, I tend to perform due diligence and am more interested in KYB (Know your bank) than the reverse! ;)

Assuming that you hold rung zero of the bond ladder (cash), the duration is 2.5 years (assuming reinvested dividends). Interest rates are not likely to soar overnight, and they may fall. If interest rates go up, you will soon be earning higher rates. If they fall, you will have a little cushioning. Logging into all of the accounts to get the exact interest payments is a pain. HMRC is consulting on prepopulating tax returns with that information, which would make things easier.

All the accounts that I use are protected by the FSCS. I check them all against the FSCS register, and check the web address on Money Saving Expert. I have to jump through lots of hoops to get Santander to transfer the money, and it can still languish in security for a few days. Some banks will accept a cheque in the post, which is easier.


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