Brits urged to check savings rates

Friday, November 20th 2009

Consumers should make sure they keep an eye on the interest being earned by their savings, according to one expert.

Cliff D'Arcy of lovemoney.com says that Britons may find that their savings are attracting less interest than they may think, thanks to banks slashing rates due to the currently low base rate of interest.

"When was the last time you checked the rates on your savings accounts and actually did something about them? If you do nothing, then your savings will, too," he comments.

Mr D'Arcy gives the example of one consumer who discovered that a five-figure sum in one of his savings accounts was earning just 0.4 per cent in interest.

When he found out, he switched to a no-notice product with a rate of 2.65 per cent - over five times higher than his old account.

Earlier this week, Rachel Robson of lovemoney.com recommended shopping around for the best savings accounts and looking for products offering fixed-rate bonuses.