by Andrew Niddrie

Four million UK savers miss out

New research out this week from the consumer’s champion ‘Which?’ indicates that the High Street Banks are offering a raw deal to offline customers. British homes without internet access or who don’t bank online are missing out on the best rates on financial products.

The Which? study uncovered that online savers could be hundreds of pounds better off over the course of a year compared with branch-only savers. It also highlighted that the average rate for instant-access savings accounts available in-branch to be just 0.56%, less than half of that available to online savers (1.14%). Fixed-rate savings accounts and cash ISAS also offered a better range of best-rate products for online customers.

With rumours in the news today that the Government thinks very low base rates may be around for as long as ten years, it will be imperative to many people to access to the most competitive savings deals.

The latest figures from the ‘Department for Work and Pensions’ show that four million people in the UK are digitally excluded, either because they can’t afford or don’t have internet access.

Critics say the banking industry is treating its offline customers unfairly, particularly older people who haven’t grown up with an understanding of the internet. The harsh reality is however, the retail banking sector wants its customers to interact with it online to save costs, and this differential between branch-only customers and online savers will only get greater.

Which? chief executive, Peter Vicary-Smith said

“Not everyone is comfortable or able to manage their finances online and these people are missing out on the best deals as a result”.

The research also found a staggering 355% difference between the best online deals and branch-only deals on travel insurance. As an example, a 65-year old would pay £38 for an annual worldwide policy with Best Buy insurer Multitrip.com, yet the best deal on the high street, Co-operative Insurance’s Home Options policy, cost £173.

Managing Director of Tariam Satellite Internet Andrew Walwyn said

“It’s no exaggeration to say that not a week goes by now without similar stories appearing in the press. We’ve being drawing attention to the costs of not having broadband for at least 2 years.

“Our Tooway solution can give everyone, wherever they’re located in the UK, super fast broadband within one week. Clearly if you’re in a not-spot, there’s an up front cost to going online with satellite broadband, but most customers can recoup this within a few weeks or months just by saving money online buying utilities, insurance, and their general household shopping. The Which? research is great because it highlights the discrimination those in not-spots suffer in terms of financial products. I hope the Government reads the research.

“If you don’t have broadband, obviously the costs in terms of loss of quality of life are more difficult to quantify, but feedback from our customers is that having real broadband at home, literally transforms their family’s lives overnight.

“We’re tremendously busy at the moment because of the launch of the new Welsh Broadband Support Scheme. This means the lucky people of Wales can get our excellent home user solution Tooway set-up and installed for free, but we have plenty of capacity to deal with those affected by the digital divide in England and Scotland as well.

“We’re hoping that the Government recognise how seriously the lack of broadband affects rural homes and businesses, and looks to launch a similar scheme to the subsidy offered by the Welsh Assembly as quickly as possible.”