RBS / Virgin One Account - withdraw interest rate cuts

[UnhappyBank Custommer]

Well we are now ONLY paying 1% more than we should be...oops that should be 2% after yesterday

 

Bet you all can guess what the message is on the V1 phone is today, wonder how many different people we are going to get telling us the same message!

:evil::evil::evil::evil::evil:

[kungfu]

I have been with Virgin One for 9 years.

I like the product itself as it suits my way of handling my finances.

But now, I can get the same facilities at a cheaper rate elsewhere, so I am moving my mortgate as soon as possible.

I get the feeling they want close this product down, as every time I go to my local RBS branch to pay a cheque into the Virgin One account, they offer to find me a better mortgage (aren't they under the same umbrella?).

 

New customers always get the best deals. BE A NEW CUSTOMER!

[kungfu]

one more thing ...

 

If anyone can come up with a standard complaint letter and publish it here , that would help. something that we can send to Virgin/RBS, the tabloid editors, and other consumer groups.

 

Tony Hethrington at the Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday is pretty good at taking up this kind of consumer complaints.

[Oneaccountneedtopassoncut]

Well....addendum....48270 views at this time..I don't mean to be inaccurate!

[DuffNCustard]

On the BBC news website this morning there is an article about the PM putting the squeeze on the banska to pass on the rate cut. In the article there is a table showing the banks and the rates they apply to mortgages before and after BOE cuts, for the first time the Virgin One account appears in the table - wonder if its due to us lot writing in to our MPS etc. The Virgin brand is very 'special' to those companies who wield it and although Virgin One account was 'sold on' its still bears this name - there are lots of other Virgin market offers - aviation, entertainment etc - they live by the brand and DIE by the brand - lets keep the bright light of publicity shining on our account. I have a Virginmedia package - internet etc - I'm going to contact them and say that I don't like the way Virgin treat me as a bank customer and I'm thinking of transferring to one of their competitors. TIME FOR US ALL TO START RATTLING THEIR CAGE!

[roundel]

Interesing that V1 have already announced that they have dropped the full 1% of the 4/12/08 announcement. Must be due to the complaints that they have received.

 

From the BBC:

However, One Account SVR customers with RBS will see a one percentage point fall after failing to have the November Bank rate cut passed on in full.

 

Only from 31/12/08 though

 

BBC NEWS | Business | Banks face pressure on rate cut

[flemingos]

Having been a fervent supprter of Virgin One since 1997, like most here I have become very disillusioned this year. So finding these posts, have gone back to the guff that came out with the deal 11 years ago...

 

Although the contract is to remain competitive, I did find in "The Essential Guide": "Our aim is always to be lower than the Halifax Standard Variable rate (where your facility is 75% (or less) of the value of your home) which is used as an industry benchmark".

 

With that in mind, Halifax SVR is 4.75% today, and the equivalent rate from my letter of 2 December for 50.01-75% is 5.20%, suggesting we should see at least a 0.45% cut now.

 

As to the marketing "promise" which I too recall, seems that held good until April this year. Within 48 hours of every movement whether up or down for the first 10 years I would see exactly the same in a letter arriving on my doorstep.

 

Since April the picture is somewhat different:

 

Month MPC decision RBS decision Cuml effect

April -0.25% 0% -0.25%

May no meeting

June 0% 0% -0.25%

July 0% +0.25% -0.50%

Aug no meeting

Sept 0% 0% -0.50%

Oct -0.5% 0% -1.00%

Nov -1.5% -0.5% -2.00%

Dec -1.0% ?

 

Seems to me that the cut should be 3%, otherwise it looks like blatant profiteering to me...now where are those Banking Guidelines?

[Grappa]

I have checked through my paperwork and the following is what has happened to the lowest (

 

Start - Feb 08, rate tracked the BOE base rate up and down and was 1.1% above base rate

 

April 08 - base rate down 0.25%, OAR (One Account Rate) no change - difference now 1.35%

 

July 08 - base rate no chnage, OAR up 0.25% - difference now 1.60%

 

October 08 - base rate down 0.5%, OAR down 0.5% - difference 1.6%

 

November 08 - base rate down 1.5%, OAR down 1% - difference now 2.1%

 

December 08 - base rate down 1%, OAR down 1% - difference 2.1%

 

January 09 - base rate down 0.5%, OAR down 0.2% - difference now 2.3%

 

So in 9 months the difference between base rate and One Account Rate has increased from 1.1% to 2.3%.

 

The letter dated 10th May 2001 informing me that the rate had gone down by 0.25% had the following in the second paragraph "our promise is that we'll follow the base rate and pass the benefits of interest rate cuts on to our customers straightaway. This is something few other lenders offer..."

Clearly in the past 9 months, they have not done this. We have lost out on 1.2% of cuts.

[the main man]

This is a copy of the letter where they promise to pass on the benefit of interest rate cuts straight away.

 

Untitled Document

 

Has anyone had any joy with the FOS as yet?

[DuffNCustard]

Crack open the Bolly - they've given us 0.2% of the 0.5% base rate cut according to the BBC NEWS website. I need to lie down and rest !!

[flemingos]

Hi Grappa,

Interested [sic!] by your rates table - you seem to have an additional 1% reduction in the VOA rates than I have seen (plus I haven't had the letter with the 0.2% yet)! What actual interest are you paying on

Thx

[eva4charlton]

Hi there, newbie, very long-term accountholder here, anyone know what Virgin One have decided to do about last week's 0.5% rate reduction? All weekend there has been the usual "under review" message, this morning nothing. Am I being over-pessimistic to think they've decided to pass nothing on to us? :-xThanks.

[eva4charlton]

Got an answer for my own enquiry - I wasn't being overly pessimistic. I just rang Virgin One and their interest rates will be staying the same on this occasion. Interest rates being linked with the base rate was the main reason I went with V1 in the first place - they probably need the 2% to fund their bonuses.

[DuffNCustard]

Time tp instigate a mass protest?

[roundel]

Interesting to note that, according to the BBC website article at BBC NEWS | Business | Banks react to interest rate cut , RBS themselves reduced their SVR rate by 0.19% - less than half of the rate cut by the BoE, and infinitely more than the 0% drop we now see.

 

Only problem from my point of view (as I'm currently moving home with my VOA): It's a damn fine mortgage, and difficult to beat... so, at least for the time being, I'm staying put.

 

John

[rogertvr]

Well I got home tonight to a letter from Virgin One dated 12 February 2009 (where's that been in the interim period then????) stating that they're holding my interest rate at its current level.

 

So that's another 0.5% they've managed to cream off us all following the 0.5% decrease in the base rate that the BoE announced at the start of this month.

 

It's simply not good enough. At least I have the satisfaction of recommending anyone who might have been interested in taking a V1 mortgage that they don't bother.

 

It seems the days of them playing fair are long since over. I am an extremely disillusioned, disappointed and angry customer

[DuffNCustard]

Well someones got to pay Fred The Shred his pension -

[UnhappyBank Custommer]

It is a fine product but when times get better we must remember how we have been treated. I joined when we were promised rate tracking!! as shown in the letter posted earlier...

 

(Link here Untitled Document)

 

Its a pitty we can't use this letter in some legal way, obviously the word PROMISE means nothing anymore. if there is any body out there who could advise it would be good to hear from you.

 

We must all vote with our feet when we can find better products to suit us all....... DON'T FORGET V1 we will remember!

[DuffNCustard]

We've tried, nothing doing at the moment. But what goes around comes around. Iam so utterly peed off with the banks and other shysters ripping me off (just don't get me started about Tescoids et al) that I am busy paying off all my credit cards then I'll hit the mortgage and the whole lot of them can go to hell in a hand cart. I'll run the most basic bank acccount that I can to have my salary paid into and remove all surplus and stuff it under the mattress rather than let thes Robber Barons use it.

[UnhappyBank Custommer]

Not counting todays rate cut can anyone tell me how many % we are adrift from what we were PROMISED it should be?

 

As to printing money, if i did that i would go to prison but hey its always Joe Public who suffer.... Anybody got a good photo copier?

[the main man]

Since last April their is record...

 

0.25% cut not passed on in April 08

0.25% increase (blamed on Libor rate) July 08

0.5% not passed on after the Nov 08 1.5% base rate cut.

0.3% not passed on as part of the Jan 09 0.5% base rate cut

0.5% not passed on as part of the Feb 09 0.5% base rate cut

 

So not including todays cut I make it 1.8%

 

Also....keep up your complaints!! The FOS are now looking into the whole OA scenario

[annoyedatRBS]

I have also found a letter from them dated Sept 1999 (after a rate increase, following 7 previous rate cuts) where they say:

"One account customers - unlike many others - have benefited in full from each of the seven rate cuts we've had since last October. And when the base rate falls again, you can be sure we'll follow suit - straightaway".

Those were the good old days.

I've now written to them enclosing that letter and asking them to backdate the rate cuts they've not passed on. I can guess what their response will be......

[UnhappyBank Custommer]

Does anybody know if V1 know about this Forum??

[the main man]

I'm sure they do, especially the one over on MSE:)

[c_allen]

It seems to me that the word "promise" in a signed letter = contract.

I could be wrong but i'd say that a contract is just 1 party "promising" another party to fulfill thier "promises" as long as the other party fulfills it's "promises".

I know i'm probably wrong in law but i thought i'd throw my thoughts out anyway;)