subject: Uk Consumers Are Forced To Accept Low Rates [print this page] It is bad news for the consumers in the United Kingdom as they are now forced to accept low rates as all banks are currently offering poor returns. The consumers arent left with many choices as these low interest rates are being offered by all the banks. The whole idea of earning some interest from the banks has been jeopardised by these low interest rates.
The Daily Mail reports that rates have been cut on 31 fixed and variable savings accounts since the beginning of August, with some firms reducing the returns on their best paying accounts by 0.5 per cent. This has become a major worry for the consumers who looked towards the bank interest rates a as source of return,
Jason Riddle, from Save Our Savers, expressed his belief that British consumers are now forced into signing up for low-rate savings accounts. He told the website: "The current trend is to reduce the rates being offered even further in the knowledge that, with all banks paying such low rates, savers have little option but to take what is on offer."
Standard Life Bank has reduced its best deal by 0.5 per cent, while Norwich & Peterborough will reduce its rates by 0.25 points on three accounts from October. The recent global financial turmoil has raised questions on other alternatives of investing money. For many people lower returns are acceptable as long as they are sure that their money is safe.
Last month, National Savings & Investments pulled its tax-free three-year and five-year savings certificates the last available accounts which beat inflation. The economy might be showing signs of recovery but for the individual consumers in the United Kingdom the end of financial worries seems to be a distant dream. Rising inflation and lower interest rates at the same is making life more difficult for the consumers.
