A number of saving account providers are failing to keep their customers properly notified about interest rate changes, it has been revealed.
According to new research by Which? Money, only four of the 12 high street banks and building societies it investigated provide guarantees that customers will be informed of all rate changes affecting their saving accounts.
The consumer watchdog found that Cheltenham & Gloucester, First Direct, Co-op and ING Direct were the only institutions guaranteeing to keep customers informed of all cuts either by email or letter
Customers who are concerned about the amount of interest being accrued on their savings may wish to switch accounts.
Most major banks only promise to tell customers about rate cuts of more than 0.25 per cent, while some even claim they might not notify savers about smaller changes.
Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of Which?, said that the research showed "outdated and inconvenient methods of notice" are leaving savers "in the dark", at a time when it is more important than ever for them to be on top of their finances.
"This is just another example of banks treating their customers badly. As our latest savings satisfaction survey shows, once again it's the smaller players that offer better service and have happier customers."
However, the British Bankers Association (BBA) has claimed that all banks will always inform their customers of any significant cuts in interest rates on their accounts, as stipulated by the Financial Services Authority.
It explained that as a "minimum standard", banks will notify customers each time a reduction of greater than 0.25 is made, or if smaller cuts add up to a 0.5 per cent fall in the space of a year and there is more than £500 in the account.
To put this in perspective, the BBA calculated the effect of a 0.25 per cent interest rate reduction would amount to £1.25 on a balance of £500 in the course of one year.
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