Glad to see that we can now view the rates for our reviews. Maybe next time Ciao should test the new...
Glad to see that we can now view the rates for our reviews. Maybe next time Ciao should test the new system before installing it?
Member since:21.10.2000
Reviews:938
Members who trust:330
I have recently opened an Egg savings account. I am impressed so far but have a cautionary tale to tell.
I have recently been forced to leave my job as a result of continued ill health and have received three months pay in lieu of notice. It’s not a lot after 30 years service, but that’s another story!
I wanted to put this money somewhere where it would earn a reasonable interest, but where it would be accessible, as I need it to live on for the foreseeable future.
I logged onto the Egg website and read all the terms and conditions and decided that this was the savings account for me. I chose the Internet only account, thus getting the highest rate of interest, currently 6.3% per annum or 6.13% if paid monthly. There is also the Egg Savings Account, which can be operated by Internet, telephone or post – 6% per annum or 5.84% paid monthly. The lowest rate of interest is 5.5% per annum or 5.37% paid monthly on the Egg Savings Account with cashcard.
I did have to log on once or twice before I got access to the information I needed, but apparently this was due to essential maintenance on the site ann is not a regular occurrence.
I set up my account on line with a minimum of fuss. There were all the usual questions, name, address and so on, and security questions such as mother’s maiden name to enable secure access to the account. I also set up a variable direct debit from my First Direct account so that I could transfer money from that account into Egg, and also two destination accounts for transfers out.
I received a letter in the post a couple of days later asking me to sign and return a form to confirm the details that I had set up. I did this and received a welcome pack containing the information about the account details together with instructions on how to use the account.
When I received my notice payment from work I logged into my Egg account and requested a transfer using the variable directdebit system. I wanted this to be done as soon as possible as the amount was loosing interest all the while it remained in my current account. This request was made on 1st February.
I rang Egg today, 7th February, to ask when the amount requested would be transferred to my Egg account and was told 23rd February! I was amazed as I expected everything to be so quick and organised. I have now asked that this transaction be cancelled. What I will now do is log into my First Direct account and request the transfer from there. I have already made a smaller transfer in this way and so I know that it will only take 3 days, which is a bit different to 23!
I have spoken to Egg again today to be told that it takes 10 days to set up a variable direct debit and as I requested it on 21st January it would be finalised on 6th March. Sounds more than 10 days to me! At least I have been assured that it will not cost me anything to cancel this transfer so that I can resend it from First Direct so that's something.
The moral of this story is this. The Egg account still looks to be the best for my requirements but the request for transfer must always be made via the account containing the money, NEVER via the destination account.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
21 January to 6 March sounds like 10 "business" days, excluding public holidays. I don't use direct debits for transfers - I always use BACS as it's much quicker.
belinda9 15.02.2001 23:13
Iam also with Egg, I have a credit card and a savings account.
I wanted to transfer a small amount of money into my savings account using the variable direct debit and it only took about a week.
I do like their site though.
One day though i accessed my savings account only to find I had no money there, when I phoned they said they were updating the site.
Phew I thought somebody had hacked into my account.
True to their word the next day I discovered it was still there.
MARKMAN 08.02.2001 14:51
Seems like Egg is a good idea in principle, they just don't have all the creases ironed out yet.
Advantages: great interest rates. 3 days to transfer money. easy to maintain account. Disadvantages: some of you may find the adverts on the website pretty annoying
randhawa 28.12.2002 (29.12.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Egg Accounts
Feb 7th, 2001
very helpful by (70%):
helpful by (30%):
