Savings market chaos adds insult to UK's injured savers: Accounts with top rates vanish in just two weeks
Savers are facing chaos when trying to pick a top account.
Some deals are disappearing within days of being launched. And a flurry of moves by banks and building societies last week, which pushed some rates up and others down, is forcing savers to rethink almost daily which account is best.
The changes also mean the gap between the best and worst accounts is wider. If you are earning a poor rate, you still need to move.
You might not earn much more interest, but at least you will have the satisfaction of making your money work as hard as it can while rates stay at their historic lows.
![Confusion: A flurry of moves by banks has forced savers to rethink which account is best](http://web.archive.org./web/20170215130304/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/07/19/01FCE71C00000578-0-image-a-10_1486497177569.jpg)
Confusion: A flurry of moves by banks has forced savers to rethink which account is best
You can earn as much as 1.1 per cent in the best easy-access account - but only 0.01 per cent in the worst, from big banks such as NatWest. On £10,000, that's a difference of £110 interest a year or just £1.
But you need to act quickly. Nottingham Building Society has closed its top-paying E-Saver at 1.02 per cent to new customers after being on sale for just a fortnight.
In unprecedented moves last week, some providers, including Post Office, Saga, Virgin Money and Sainsbury's Bank, edged rates up on some accounts.
But others, including National Savings & Investments, TSB and Nationwide, dished out cuts.
And some launched new, top-paying accounts. Leeds Building Society launched a new version of its Limited Edition Online Access saver at a near top 1.05 per cent, while AA Savings, where the deposit-taker is Bank of Ireland, revealed a new easy-access online deal at 0.86 per cent exclusively for members.
![Tough times: Nationwide cut the rate on its Instant Isa Saver to 0.5 per cent](http://web.archive.org./web/20170215130304/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/08/09/14A187D700000514-4201116-image-a-1_1486545700196.jpg)
Tough times: Nationwide cut the rate on its Instant Isa Saver to 0.5 per cent
Saga pushed up the rate on its Telephone Saver for new customers to 0.8 per cent and its cash Isa rate, including a bonus for 18 months, to 0.95 per cent.
But Nationwide cut the rate on its Instant Isa Saver to 0.5 per cent.
While it raised the rate on one account, Virgin Money cut the rate on another.
Its standard Easy Access Saver, which lets you make as many withdrawals as you want, now pays a miserly 0.25 per cent, down from 0.5 per cent.
You need to plough through a host of terms and conditions to ensure any top-paying account suits your needs.
The top online easy-access account from French-owned RCI Bank pays 1.1 per cent. Next comes Leeds BS Online Access at 1.05 per cent, followed by Virgin Money Defined Access Saver at 1.01 per cent.
RCI is a simple savings account, while the Leeds BS deal lasts only until February next year.
Then the society will move your money into another easy-access account. It will not announce the rate or the exact account until nearer the end date.
Virgin Money's deal lets you make only up to three withdrawals a year - if you make any more, the rate drops to 0.25 per cent.
The Virgin deal is on offer in the High Street, too. Other top deals here include Coventry BS Easy Access Saver at 0.85 per cent or Kent Reliance and Newcastle BS at 0.8 per cent.
They pay over ten times more than Halifax Instant Saver's 0.05 per cent and eight times as much as Nation-wide Instant Access Saver's 0.1 per cent.
On easy-access cash Isas, top deals include Virgin Money at 1.01 per cent, but you can make only three withdrawals a year.
It's double the rate you will earn in the M&S Advantage Isa, once among our best buy tables, which cuts its rate from 0.8 per cent to 0.5 per cent next week.
Fixed-rate deals are also edging up. On taxable bonds, Charter Savings Bank pays 1.38 per cent for a year. In the High Street, Leeds BS pays 1.2 per cent for 15 months.
sy.morris@dailymail.co.uk
EDITOR'S FIVE OF THE BEST CURRENT ACCOUNTS
Halifax's Reward account will pay you a £3 monthly bonus and £75 for signing up. You must pay in £750 a month, stay in credit and have two active direct debits.
![Halifax](http://web.archive.org./web/20170215130304im_/http://mailonlinecreative.co.uk/thisismoney/best-current-accounts/logo-haliax.jpg)
First Direct regularly tops polls for customer service. Its First Account offers £125 for joining and has a £250 interest-free overdraft beyond that an authorised overdraft costs 15.9% EAR. You must pay in £1,000 per month.
![First Direct](http://web.archive.org./web/20170215130304im_/http://mailonlinecreative.co.uk/thisismoney/best-current-accounts/logo-first-direct.jpg)
Santander's 123 account pays 1.5% interest on balances up to £20,000 and also gives 1 to 3% cashback on bills. You need to pay a £5 a month fee, pay in £500 a month and have two active direct debits.
![Santander](http://web.archive.org./web/20170215130304im_/http://mailonlinecreative.co.uk/thisismoney/best-current-accounts/logo-santander.jpg)
Nationwide's FlexDirect pays 5% interest on up to £2,500 and has a fee-free overdraft. Watch out these are both for the first year only and you must pay in £1,000 a month.
![Nationwide](http://web.archive.org./web/20170215130304im_/http://mailonlinecreative.co.uk/thisismoney/best-current-accounts/logo-nationwide.jpg)
M&S; Bank's current account has a £50 gift card for joining, plus you get an extra £5 a month top up for the two years. It has no qualifying criteria.
![Marks And Spencers](http://web.archive.org./web/20170215130304im_/http://mailonlinecreative.co.uk/thisismoney/best-current-accounts/logo-m-and-s.jpg)
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