I opened an Egg savings account whilst I was still running another postal account, with which I was less than happy, and which I subsequently ditched. The initial attraction was clearly the high rate of interest combined with 'instant' access, controlled at the time by telephone or post.
I was impressed by their Welcome Pack, which had helpful notes made on each and every page (both then and since), detailing what each page pertained to. e.g. "this letter is about your savings account balance" etc. There was little margin for end-user error, which is clearly a testament to the experience Prudential have in the financial world.
I arranged a direct debit from my current account to start accumulation on a monthly basis, and started diverting further funds directly to Egg as they were received, instead of putting them in another savings account or my current account (as had been my previous practice). The deposits were credited promptly, usually appearing 3 days afetr I posted them off, which included any delays in the postal service. The interest rate remained good compared to other market-leaders, and was much slower to fall than some other providers when Bank of England base rates started reducing.
The advent of internet access was a considerable advantage to me, although did cause a small scare when I tried to access my account from work, and found myself locked out by my work's firewall. This locked me out at home too until I could re-establish my security by phone. Annoying this may be, but it did help to reassure me that my funds would be reasonably secure in spite of on-line access.
My main gripe with Egg is one common to the rest of the banking fraternity in this country. Why does it take 3 days to credit my current account with money transfered from my Egg account, when it disappears from my Egg account on the same day? Transfers are supposed to occur electronically these days and yet a same-day transfer costs an extra £25. Furthermore, banks still have the audacity to refer to the 'efficient' tansfer of funds by their normal 3-day method. Carrier pidgeons could do better!
However, I am impressed enough by Egg to expand my product profile, incorporating an Egg card to which I have transfered my other credit card balances thereby enjoying a lower interest rate than is available elsewhere. Purists would note that I could reduce the interest charges to zero by wiping the balance from my savings account, but I'm silly enough to enjoy seeing a positive balance on at least one arm of my finances. I will have to keep an eye on Intelligent Finance to see if their interest rates for deposits match Egg's, in which case another move may be on the cards. However, I'm happy to sit on my clutch at Egg for the time-being.
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Advantages: Simple application process. Very flexible personal finance. Low APR Disadvantages: Telesales staff very pushy with the payment protection sales.
alflavor 22.09.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
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