Co-Op Bank interest rate rant

I don’t normally pay much attention to general letters from banks but this one made me mutter under my breath and sent my eyebrows hitting the ceiling.

We all know interest rates have been in the doldrums for many years.  It’s a shame really as interest rates are used to warm or cool an economy.  Ideally we need a healthy amount of interest rate combined with a reasonable inflation rate.  At the moment we have historically low interest rates and with inflation bobbing along and nicely under control (not too high, not too low).  Last year we were also told by the Government how “austerity” is now over; not that I see much evidence of this.

It was a routine letter from the Co-Operative Bank which made my blood boil.  We have a so-called savings account with the Co-Op for a little cash, one of our little pots of short term available cash.

The letter was simply telling us that the interest rate was falling from a pathetic 0.59% to a totally miserable, tight, mean 0.34%.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the letter was padded out with all kinds of patronising phrases such as:

• We hope you know you are banking with a provider that genuinely puts its customers at its heart
• We believe it’s only fair to offer you the best rates on your savings
• We…. remain committed to helping you make the most from your savings…. do our best to give you a fair rate on the money you hold with us

I really, really hate this spin, bullshit and infuriating rubbish.  If you must do something so unwelcome, just write in plain English without trying to soften the blow.  It just doesn’t work.

So we might have to re-think some of the little pots of money we have.  We have done quite well over the years in moving money around and achieving the highest possible rates – it’s surprising how much you can do with a relatively small amount of cash.

But it feels as if they’re onto us and everyone else who just recycles that same amount of money through Standing Orders, just to bag a decent interest rate.  Perhaps that’s fair enough but please, not with the patronising waffle!

There, I feel better now.