Saga Motor Insurance (saga.co.uk) has been voted the motor insurance provider with the best customer service according to readers of This is money, the Daily Mail’s personal finance website.
5,000 people responded to the survey to identify which of the UK’s financial service providers are the most trusted and which offer the best customer service.
As well as scooping the award for best motor insurance provider for customer service, Saga also came runner up for best home insurance provider in both the most trusted and best customer service categories.
Barclays Bank PLC (group.barclays.com) has just launched four new savings and investment products.
The new range includes a cash ISA paying an initial 3.06% gross/3.10% AER interest variable, a fixed rate investment ISA that offers either an income or growth option paying 20 per cent or more over five years, and a new instant access account.
The Golden ISA – Issue 2 is the cash ISA option, available to new and existing Barclays customers and can be opened instantly, with customers getting automatic confirmation of the funds and account number as soon as they have finished filling out the application. They can open with a minimum of £1, the 3.06% gross/3.10% AER variable includes a 1.00% fixed rate gross bonus for 12 months. Transfers in cannot be made from an existing ISA.
The cash option provides customers with flexibility as they can either put the full cash ISA allowance away in one go or save regularly over the course of the tax year.
To widen the range of choices available, a Fixed Rate Investment ISA product available for customers who are prepared to invest for a fixed five year term has been added to the range. Customers can choose between income or growth options paying a fixed, tax free, annual rate of return of 4.0% (income option) or 22.25% (4.45% per annum, growth option) over 5 years. The minimum investment is £3,600 and is open to new ISA business. Customers can choose to seek advice around investing through Barclays’ Financial Planning Managers via the telephone or branch or opt to purchase online or by telephone if they don’t require advice.
Customers can invest up to £7,200 in the 2009/2010 tax year with a maximum of £3,600 in the Cash ISA or the entire amount in the Investment ISA, this rises to £10,200 in the 2010/2011 tax year of which £5,100 can be saved in a cash ISA. Customers aged 50 or over on 5th April 2010 can invest the higher amount (£10,200) during the 2009/2010 tax year. Funds in the investment ISA need to be committed for five years, as customers who withdraw early may not get back all of their investment.
