Packaged deals may not be fulfilling
(18 January 2006)

Packaged current accounts – which offer a range of services and apparent benefits in return for a monthly fee – may not be all that they're cut out to be, according to research from Abbey.

The bank says that, while over one person in five pays a fee for these extra services, only one per cent actually utilise them, making for an unnecessary waste of resources.

Some of the more expensive services see customers charged £150 with the promise is discounts on various hotel chains, help with will writing and various other perks.

Sue Hayes, Abbey's director of product development, said: "Many of the services being packaged as benefits in the Lloyds TSB Gold Service and Barclays Additions Plus account are not used by customers.

"Why pay a monthly fee for an account paying a paltry rate of interest unless you are really sure to benefit financially from the extras."

It's certainly true that a higher-interest account can offset some of the benefits on offer from these services which have lower interest rates but are seemingly perk-filled.

If you're looking at gaining money by moving to a high-interest account, you could take out a payday loan to tide you over for a month and ensure that, once you've made the switch, your savings are gaining in value.

Repayable upon your next payday, it means that you won't have to delve into your savings immediately and won't see your prospects of gaining significant amounts of interest dashed by your urge to spend.



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