Stroud & Swindon Building Society

Advantages: Low rate
Disadvantages: You get what you pay for

...We remortgaged a few years ago and took advantage of the Stroud and Swindons offer at the time, a fixed rate of 0.99% fixed for a year, provided you stayed on their standard, variable rate for a further 2 years, after the introductory rate had expired. We thought this would suit us, as we were aiming to save up as much money as possible in that first year, with low payment amounts, so that we would have reduced the amount outstanding by the time the interest rate went up again. We had however expected to have completed the transfer by March and it didn't got through until mid May and we therefore missed out on two months and a half of the low interest period. Apart from that everything went as you'd expect it to, until we missed one months payment when my son was born. I called them and explain that I had been in the hospital giving... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Best interest rate
Disadvantages: What a rigmarole to open an e-savings account!

...Nationwide is a fine building society, and their e-savings account is an excellent product with an unrivalled interest rate, so why on earth do they make it so difficult for members to open an account? You need to provide four secret passwords, and time and again you are given various numbers which never seem to work. Letters to the press have only reflected my own experience, which is that several calls to the Nationwide call centre in Swindon are necessary, and each time you are told that more and more numbers and codes are needed. After several weeks, I got my own account working, and it’s fine, very quick, and the transaction are posted on-screen within hours of being made, but did I really need to amass eleven secret pass numbers and codes (which. of course, shouldn’t be written down) before this was possible, when Egg needs only... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average off topic

Advantages: No bank charges; competitive interest rates
Disadvantages: None

...for taking money from other banks or building societies.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful