Consumers 'should shop around for savings accounts'

Monday, November 9th 2009

Britons have been advised to shop around for the best deal when it comes to savings accounts.

According to Martin Bamford of financial planning firm Informed Choice, there is a significant gap between the best and worst interest rates on savings products at the moment.

This means that consumers should review their savings account at least once a year, he explained.

Mr Bamford also suggested considering a fixed rate savings account, as these can have better rates than instant access products.

However, he added: "With the Bank rate likely to increase at some point in the short to medium term, it would be unwise to fix your savings rate for much longer than one year."

The Bank of England announced that it was maintaining the base rate at 0.5 per cent for the eighth month in a row last Thursday (November 5th).

It also announced plans to add £25 billion to its quantitative easing programme, meaning that £200 billion in total will have been pumped into the economy.