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Comparison website ‘misleading’ savers into buying low rates

They compared four major comparison websites, as part of the investigation and found its rivals offered far more choices. Savers who took these inferior “best buys” could lose up to £500 a year in lost interest, according to the programme. 

This figure comprises interest that savers would forgo if they put £1,000 into an easy-access account, £10,000 into an Isa, £8,000 into a 3-year bond and £7,000 into a notice account according to the sites recommendations, compared with the best deals for each product. The savings section has now been removed from the website 

The first comparison site started in 2002, introducing the model whereby firms pay for their products to be included in online best-buy tables. These sites have since become household names, and are widely used to compare financial products such as car insurance and energy suppliers. 

Comparison websites typically have a commercial link with the products they advertises, for example the comparison website may receive a commission every time a user clicks through to a bank or building society’s product website. 

Investors are lulled into a false sense of security by expecting impartial information to be supplied for them to get the best deal.  Whilst quite often people are satisfied with the outcome, there is no ongoing support and advice after. This is where Blacktower can help you.

This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, investment recommendations or investment research. You should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this communication is correct, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions.

Other News

PM Johnson Could Halt the Threat of No-Deal Litigation

Houses of ParliamentBoris Johnson’s elevation to Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has again raised the spectre of a potential no-deal Brexit.

Against this background, it is looking increasingly plausible that predictions of legal action against the UK government by British expats in the EU could become a reality unless the PM takes action. Even in the days before Johnson’s win over Jeremy Hunt in the Conservative Party leadership election, it was warned that expats in Europe could take legal action and sue for loss of rights.

Conservative MP Alberto Costa warned Boris Johnson in a letter dated 20th July 2019*, that unless he was able to tackle the many issues facing expats, his government could be overwhelmed by legal action.

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Done & Dusted

The much talked about UK election is now well and truly behind us, how can the opinion polls have been so wrong you may be asking yourself, it had most investors worried about a hung parliament or even a Labour victory which we were led to believe would send the markets crashing down around us.

Well now you can let out a sigh of relief, or can you, the result was taken well by the UK equity markets and in the short term should provide businesses with a stable political and legislative background in which to invest for the future.

However it is debatable as to whether the UK election results will have any impact on interest rates, the Bank of England voted last week to keep the base rate at 0.50%. Official figures at the end of the last month showed the total size of the economy increased by just 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2015. That was half the 0.6 per cent growth rate seen in the previous quarter and the worst performance since late 2012 – raising fears that the recovery is running out of steam.

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