The 2 main reasons are there 6.2% is only a average rate now , i joinend them the first week they were here in the UK and they were typical of a new start up great rate to start with , also passing on rate rises instantly etc , but that " honeymoon " period is over they have enough people in there net to not be so competitive therefore keeping the rate average . I received all cash and interest and never had a problem with them . Also i don't like there connection to this , Heritable is part of the Landsbanki group , a very small bank that reeks of sub prime .............

http://www.heritable.co.uk/hbweb/DesktopDe....aspx?tabid=164

me too - got a bit freaked out and bought a load of premium bonds!!!!???!!!

Meant to add - how does anyone feel about cahoot?

They're OK service wise - although not the best rates on offer by far.
Owned by Abbey, so fairly safe...

Hello Grey Shark,

So where are you putting your funds now then?

Oh Sharky.

Yeah, Icey have been resting on their laurels lately and that fixed-interest thing they launched is pretty much chocolate teapot.

Where's it gone then? Sainsburys? They're offering 6.25% and it's a joint-venture with HBOS so good stuff. The Yearly interest is a bit annoying though.

I still don't get why you can't leave £35k in IceSave though. It is government backed after all.

So, you've gone from getting monthly interest to betting on luck if you get anything a month then?

I believe that Sainsburys Bank pay interest on the anniversary of opening the account which may be advantageous, depending on personal circumstances, as it moves interest payment date into the next tax year.

Where did i put it , i put the Icesave dough into ........ NSI index linked certs ,me/mrs already have both issues so i used my kids names and put it in trust but it's still ours unless we pop it , also can get it with growth after 12 complete months , i reckon theres every chance rates may go down , so i reckon that extra 1.35% will be gone if they do .


Edit for didn't make sense first time

Interesting. I've spent some time today digging around looking at various bonds, regular savings accounts and other savings accounts. I feel like I've just been going round in circles. I've already got a smallish holding of NS&I IL certs already but to save faffing around I might just jump in and fill my boots. They're a bit of a punt but I doubt RPI is going to dip below 4% again anytime soon.

Also I'm not sure if I'll ascend to the ranks of the higher rate taxpayer this year (the wonders of being self-employed) but if I do then any non-tax free products will scupper my plans good and proper so bearing that in mind it looks like it'll be the NS&I IL certs then - with my monthly expenses being covered by my Icesave balance.

Er sorry about yesterdays post ,
Chris i think the thing is our financial/personal situations are differant , these NSI certs are ideal for me , as last year we were both close to 40% tax payers , piling into these has kept us nicely under the threshold , also i've seen the charts that show over the medium/long term these certs beat a good savings account , but you've got to stick with them . Your a wannabe FTB and basic rate payer too so not so sure there for you , you might want to look at these B&M { HBOS } have a 11 month bond paying 6.95% , Nationwide have 12 month bond paying 6.7% , i have savings with these 2 already so setting them up was very easy , i've put hefty amounts in these and it will take 2/3 interest rate rises in the next few months to out pace and beat these . These fixed bonds are usually designend to catch people out as the banks looks into the interest futures and feel rates will go up , therefore hoping that those who bought them will be recieving a lower rate than variable a few months later , but this time they were offering these because of the high libor and the desperate need for them to get deposits on there books , therefore making them look attractive , and there seems to be more chatter of a rate cut as well . Another idea is do you have any family or trusting friends who do not use there ISA allowance , it is only 3k after all not 33k
Your self employed , i am to for 20 years being SE is halfway to freedom , is it you who runs the comic business ?