Page 25 - Ian Ackerley News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

BBC News By Kevin Peachey image copyrightGetty Images An influential committee of MPs has ordered Premium Bonds operator NS&I to account for the "anxiety" it has caused customers. The savings account operator has apologised to customers for poor service levels in recent months. The Treasury Committee says it wants reassurances of improvements. Mel Stride, who chairs the committee, said: "Whilst NS&I took steps to keep service levels up during the pandemic, they appear to have been unsuccessful. "The decision to stop paying Premium Bond winners by cheque will be particularly concerning to vuln...

The decision to stop sending out cheques to people cashing in premium bonds, big cuts in payouts and a jump in withdrawals has left NS&I call centres struggling to cope. Photograph: Louisa Svensson/Alamy Stock Photo The state-owned savings bank behind the hugely popular premium bonds has been asked by MPs to explain why its customer service levels have plummeted over recent months. Mel Stride, who chairs the Treasury select committee, wrote to NS&I on Tuesday to set out a series of failings and ask how the bank intended to resolve matters. C...

It meant from November 24, interest rates on NS&I's variable rate products and some fixed term products were slashed. Announcing the decision in September, Ian Ackerley, NS&I Chief Executive, said: Reducing interest rates is always a difficult decision. "In April we cancelled interest rate reductions announced in February and scheduled for 1 May. "Given successive reductions in the Bank of England base rate in March, and subsequent reductions in interest rates by other providers, several of our products have become ‘best buy’ and we have experienced extremely high demand as a consequence....

For almost 160 years, National Savings and Investments has been one of this country's most-cherished institutions. Since its launch by William Gladstone, hundreds of millions of people have entrusted it with their nest eggs.  It has protected the nation's savings through most of Queen Victoria's reign, two world wars, a financial crash and now a global pandemic. Well done NS&I.  But the gloss is wearing thin. For the past few months, The Mail on Sunday has been deluged with correspondence from NS&I customers at their wits' end.  NS&I's phone lines, they say, are jammed; letters are not ans...