Loyalty is not wise during a credit crunch (ING Direct)

Member Name: Tracy_1127

Product:	ING Direct
Date:	29/01/09 (191 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see review

Disadvantages: see review

A few years ago I decided it was high time I got myself a decent savings account. At the time Ing had a number of adverts on TV and after seeing these a few times I decided to investigate. I went online to www.ingdirect.co.uk and found a simple site which gave me all the details of the current interest rate and best of all I could apply there and then. So I did just that.

To apply you fill in all your normal details; name, address, date of birth, choose a pin number and a memorable date to use as your log in details then they ask for a cheque of at least £1 from a normal bank account which is then tied to your Ing account for cash transferrals. This is because there aren't physical branches of Ing so in order to get money out or put it in you have to do it online from your other account. I duly sent a cheque away and waited.

Not long after I received a welcome pack and my customer number and my account was good to go. I set up a direct debit from my current account and transferred a small amount of cash across to check everything was as it should be. This appeared in my Ing account online a few days later so I started shifting my savings across. The Ing interest rate at that time was one of the best you could get without any regular deposits or being penalised for withdrawing money. So basically I could put in or take out cash without incurring any loss of interest or being forced to deposit a monthly amount. This was perfect for me, I wanted to deposit a small amount and watch it grow without having to add to it unless I could afford to and the interest is added monthly so you can see it increase at the beginning of each month.

In those early years I had cause to ring Ing once about something, I don't remember what exactly but I found them polite and helpful. At the time they were one of the few banks that were almost exclusively online (I believe they have one branch somewhere and of course you can phone) so I had a mild worry about this as it wasn't a regular situation at the time. It wasn't a problem though, they are covered under the same laws as other banks and I think their savings guarantee is slightly higher than UK banks as they are a Dutch company.

Over the next few years I would excitedly check my Ing account every month, I recommended them to a number of people and deposited as much as I could afford to. The interest rate stayed higher than many accounts although it was no longer the highest and occasionally I would receive a letter informing me if I deposited a small amount more I'd get extra interest on that amount for 6 months which I did whenever I could.

Onto present day. The credit crunch has of course lowered the interest rate on all savings accounts so they really aren't worth having unless you've got millions. I understand this is not the fault of Ing but my savings are now not growing much at all and I no longer rush to check the amount of interest I've acquired over the last month. At first I decided to sit tight and leave my savings where they were but then I noticed a few ads by the Ing offering a much higher rate of interest for new customers. I'm aware this is standard procedure to encourage new savers but it made me realise my loyalty was misplaced.

All they'd offered me was a slightly higher rate of interest if I could add £25,000 to my account. Now I don't have £25,000 as I'm sure many other Ing members don't either so that didn't help. So unfortunately I have decided to move my cash elsewhere and take advantage of the rewards for new savers via another bank.

This disappoints me because I've always liked the Ing, I've found them helpful, the site is easy to use and I used to love checking my interest every month. The amount of people I have recommended them to means nothing and the fact I have been a member for several years also seems to mean nothing so sadly I've had to concur loyalty to the Ing is not in my best interest.

I'm rating them 4 stars because they are a good online bank and if they offered attainable extra rewards to existing members I wouldn't dream of leaving them. If you don't have an account with them and want to save some cash go ahead, as a new saver you will find their interest rate favourable but if, like me, you've been a member for years and are no longer getting a good rate it's probably time to move on.

Summary: Sadly I'm going elsewhere