# Sneaky banks and really crap term deposits



## schnootle (8 September 2009)

Banks are sneaky f**ckers. A term deposit of mine matured today, a week ago i went into a bank and filled in a form saying that i didn't want to continue at the end - today they rolled it over at 1.5% - yes 1.5%. 

Stopping the account is an easy fix, but my question is - is offering this kind of rate at all acceptable?.  When you can get 5.11% from UBank and near that from Bankwest for savings accounts, and this will most likely rise a bit over the next year not fall.

How many people make the assumption that they will be getting a "fair" rate and simply leave accounts. ie grandparents saving for grandkids etc. Part of me thinks that you should be able simply roll over your term deposit and expect a "fair" rate. Seems a bit sneaky to me - ok they are banks, but still.

my 2c


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## prawn_86 (8 September 2009)

Define 'fair'.

Its no different to any other business. Do you expect all cars should have a 'fair' price? Its a product/service, therefore they can give whatever rate they want if people are willing to take it up. Most people just dont care or cant be bothereed changing, hence why they 'get away' with it.

If you dont like it you could buy shares in the bank then it would be profit to you


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## Krusty the Klown (8 September 2009)

Most people don't realise when you sign an account application with a bank, you are signing a contract with the bank and entering in to a business relationship. You are lending them your money.

This means your savings account is just like any part of a business and should be managed the same way.

They look after their end. It is up to you to look after your end. 

That includes reading the fine print.

Put your cash up for tender and rent it to the highest bidder every 12 months. The same way big biz does with their short term debt.


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## boofhead (8 September 2009)

Wouldn't happen to be CBA? I know they offer that rate for TD under $10,000.

How long ago did it mature? I would get down there and sort it out.

I know CBA give you 1 week from the date of maturity to do something else with the money with no obligation to continue the term deposit.

I was a little unhappy because last month similar happened to me. For some reason online TD moved to in branch TD so I needed to exercise and sort it out in person. Mine was under $10,000 so 2-3 days after maturity I went down in person and sorted it out (put a little more in to get it above $10,000 and eligble for better rates) and the next day they increased their rates by 0.3%.


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## schnootle (8 September 2009)

boofhead said:


> Wouldn't happen to be CBA? I know they offer that rate for TD under $10,000.
> 
> How long ago did it mature? I would get down there and sort it out.




Na its BankSA. I fixed it up, put into UBank at 5.11%, best bank interest i think.


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## GumbyLearner (8 September 2009)

prawn_86 said:


> Define 'fair'.
> 
> Its no different to any other business. Do you expect all cars should have a 'fair' price? Its a product/service, therefore they can give whatever rate they want if people are willing to take it up. Most people just dont care or cant be bothereed changing, hence why they 'get away' with it.
> 
> If you dont like it you could buy shares in the bank then it would be profit to you




The Fair Trading Act (States) and Trade Practices Act (Federal) are worth reading with regard to the conduct of banks/businesses. 

But as prawn mentioned buying shares is also an option.


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## MrBurns (8 September 2009)

Unless you call the bank and demand some respect they give you the "default" rate of F#$%k all.

I have this argument with the NAB every maturity date they are deceptive liars and cheats and rip off thousands of unsuspecting depositors every day.


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## So_Cynical (8 September 2009)

schnootle said:


> Banks are sneaky f**ckers. A term deposit of mine matured today, a week ago i went into a bank and filled in a form saying that i didn't want to continue at the end - today they rolled it over at 1.5% - yes 1.5%.
> 
> Stopping the account is an easy fix, but my question is - is offering this kind of rate at all acceptable?.




Acceptable?...its a bank, there there to rob u blind and take advantage of u at every opportunity....that's how they work, all these little gotchas like overdrawn fees, late fees, BPAY dispute fees, currency conversion fees etc are all part of the business of modern banking.


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## jono1887 (8 September 2009)

MrBurns said:


> Unless you call the bank and demand some respect they give you the "default" rate of F#$%k all.
> 
> I have this argument with the NAB every maturity date they are deceptive liars and cheats and rip off thousands of unsuspecting depositors every day.




do you really think a bank you pay you more than they have to?


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## Julia (8 September 2009)

ANZ are the best I've found in this respect.  Send a letter a couple of weeks prior to date of maturing suggesting you consult them for current TD rates.

Then if you do nothing about, they send another letter within a couple of days of it rolling over with advice as to new rate.

I agree with the suggestion that it's up to us to monitor our end of the deal.


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## jono1887 (8 September 2009)

Julia said:


> ANZ are the best I've found in this respect.  Send a letter a couple of weeks prior to date of maturing suggesting you consult them for current TD rates.
> 
> Then if you do nothing about, they send another letter within a couple of days of it rolling over with advice as to new rate.
> 
> I agree with the suggestion that it's up to us to monitor our end of the deal.




Well they all send out letters at least 2 weeks before maturity. Commonwealth sends one with the list of current rates. I dont think its their fault if you ignore this and let it roll over at a lower rate.


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## Matty (9 September 2009)

I remember a quote, might have been one of the Rich dad poor dad books. Something like "mind your own business" I think that applies here...


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## Krusty the Klown (9 September 2009)

Banks and the people who run them, know how to play the money game - they do this for a living.

They constantly seek out the cheapest source of funding.

We have to do the same thing, play the money game. Constantly seek out the best return for our cash.

Seek out the best return when a term deposit falls due, same way you shop around for a car or fridge, or any other big ticket item. Or any expense for a business

There is no reason you can't treat your personal finances like a business and be ruthless with your business relationships. The same way the banks do to us.


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## Nyden (9 September 2009)

Just go with uBank, 5.11% at call. (Extra .1% if under 150K, and make monthly $100 deposits)

Interest rates are headed up, not down - so why lock in now?


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## MrBurns (9 September 2009)

Nyden said:


> Just go with uBank, 5.11% at call. (Extra .1% if under 150K, and make monthly $100 deposits)
> 
> Interest rates are headed up, not down - so why lock in now?




I just called them, they dont have any transactional accounts ie no cheque books etc but if you just keep an account with the NAB just transfer it over there and do your bills that way.
Seems like they are canibalising themselves, though when everyone starts doing it they'll just shut the branches down and lower the rates, they're sneaky bastards alright.

Might go with that on roll over though.


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## jono1887 (9 September 2009)

MrBurns said:


> I just called them, they dont have any transactional accounts ie no cheque books etc but if you just keep an account with the NAB just transfer it over there and do your bills that way.
> Seems like they are canibalising themselves, though when everyone starts doing it they'll just shut the branches down and lower the rates, they're sneaky bastards alright.
> 
> Might go with that on roll over though.




I dont think thats their strategy... their an internet bank that have lower costs because they are not primarily branch based allowing them to offer the higher fees. They have a simpler business model to other banks..


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## jono1887 (9 September 2009)

MrBurns said:


> I just called them, they dont have any transactional accounts ie no cheque books etc but if you just keep an account with the NAB just transfer it over there and do your bills that way.
> Seems like they are canibalising themselves, though when everyone starts doing it they'll just shut the branches down and lower the rates, they're sneaky bastards alright.
> 
> Might go with that on roll over though.




I dont think thats their strategy... their an internet bank that have lower costs because they are not primarily branch based allowing them to offer the higher fees. They have a simpler business model to other banks..


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## MrBurns (9 September 2009)

jono1887 said:


> I dont think thats their strategy... their an internet bank that have lower costs because they are not primarily branch based allowing them to offer the higher fees. They have a simpler business model to other banks..




I was exaggerating a bit, just cant believe a bank would do something helpful with an angle being involved.


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## Bill M (9 September 2009)

Nyden said:


> Just go with uBank, 5.11% at call. (Extra .1% if under 150K, and make monthly $100 deposits)
> 
> Interest rates are headed up, not down - so why lock in now?




There seems to have been some major developments at UBank. Can you confirm that all can be done by internet now?

When I used them there no internet transactions.

Can you do term deposits on the internet without filling in forms like Rabo Bank?

The 5.11% at call rate, is that a gimmick? How can they offer that whilst the others can not, what's the catch? Thanks.


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## gooner (9 September 2009)

Having worked for a bank, I can let you all into a little secret on product management. This applies to term deposits and those savings accounts where you get extra interest if you make at least one deposit and not withdrawals. The secret is that banks rely on your stupidity.

Have a look at this

http://www.anz.com/common/selector/TermDeposit/default.asp#result

You see the ones marked with an asterisk - these are the specials or the market competitive rates. These are the ones that are advertised. But banks regularly change the specials. Why - because if the special is 3 months, you are likely to ask for it next time (or just let it rollover), but of course will not be on special then cos will have been changed to 4 months.

And those deposit accounts with great rates for deposits and no withdrawals. They are generally very profitable. Why? Because lots of people forget to make a deposit or make a withdrawal so no bonus interest.


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## Bill M (9 September 2009)

Julia said:


> ANZ are the best I've found in this respect.  Send a letter a couple of weeks prior to date of maturing suggesting you consult them for current TD rates.
> 
> Then if you do nothing about, they send another letter within a couple of days of it rolling over with advice as to new rate.
> 
> I agree with the suggestion that it's up to us to monitor our end of the deal.




Bendigo Banks the same. We had 8% for a year but now it's only 4.65% for a year. We asked to take our money out, not enough....:headshake


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