Ford Money and Aldermore - 'legit'? (2024)

cricidmuslibale Posts: 619 Forumite

10 February 2023 at 11:19PM edited 10 February 2023 at 11:20PM

Yes is definitely the answer to both your questions above.

Both Ford Money and Aldermore are very well respected and usually very reliable savings providers, and many users of this Forum have accounts with at least one of them and, in some cases, both of them!

(Aldermore in my case but I’d very happy to save with Ford Money too.)

10 February 2023 at 11:35PM

chubsta said:

Following on from a previous post, have £100,000 to split between two accounts in order to get a monthly income from the interest.
These two firms are mentioned on this site so I am guessing they are legit but we have no idea about companies aside from the big UK ones such as NatWest, Nationwide etc, so it is hard to press the button without some reassurance that we are not going to lose the money to a bunch of scammers!

So, trustworthy and decent to deal with? decent customer support, website access to account and such?
Any opinions, advice or experiences would be gratefully received!

They’re legit, but there are better options. Skipton (3.10% AER) and Tandem (3.05% AER) offer monthly interest, and both are entirely reliable. Or, if you can cope with money being inaccessible for 3 months, Zopa (also trustworthy) offer 3.26% on a 95 day access basis, or 3.06% on a 31 day access. There are others too, but these are the ones I use.

chubsta Posts: 437 Forumite

11 February 2023 at 8:03AM

dgpur said:

chubsta said:

Following on from a previous post, have £100,000 to split between two accounts in order to get a monthly income from the interest.
These two firms are mentioned on this site so I am guessing they are legit but we have no idea about companies aside from the big UK ones such as NatWest, Nationwide etc, so it is hard to press the button without some reassurance that we are not going to lose the money to a bunch of scammers!

So, trustworthy and decent to deal with? decent customer support, website access to account and such?
Any opinions, advice or experiences would be gratefully received!

They’re legit, but there are better options. Skipton (3.10% AER) and Tandem (3.05% AER) offer monthly interest, and both are entirely reliable. Or, if you can cope with money being inaccessible for 3 months, Zopa (also trustworthy) offer 3.26% on a 95 day access basis, or 3.06% on a 31 day access. There are others too, but these are the ones I use.

Currently looking at just over 4% with both I mentioned as long as the money is tied up for a few years. Not sure savings interest rates will increase too much so seems like a good deal, I think?

Mortgage free!
Debt free!

And now I am retired - all the time in the world!!

11 February 2023 at 8:51AM

chubsta said:

dgpur said:

chubsta said:

Following on from a previous post, have £100,000 to split between two accounts in order to get a monthly income from the interest.
These two firms are mentioned on this site so I am guessing they are legit but we have no idea about companies aside from the big UK ones such as NatWest, Nationwide etc, so it is hard to press the button without some reassurance that we are not going to lose the money to a bunch of scammers!

So, trustworthy and decent to deal with? decent customer support, website access to account and such?
Any opinions, advice or experiences would be gratefully received!

They’re legit, but there are better options. Skipton (3.10% AER) and Tandem (3.05% AER) offer monthly interest, and both are entirely reliable. Or, if you can cope with money being inaccessible for 3 months, Zopa (also trustworthy) offer 3.26% on a 95 day access basis, or 3.06% on a 31 day access. There are others too, but these are the ones I use.

Currently looking at just over 4% with both I mentioned as long as the money is tied up for a few years. Not sure savings interest rates will increase too much so seems like a good deal, I think?

chubsta Posts: 437 Forumite

11 February 2023 at 9:03AM

dgpur said:

chubsta said:

dgpur said:

chubsta said:

Following on from a previous post, have £100,000 to split between two accounts in order to get a monthly income from the interest.
These two firms are mentioned on this site so I am guessing they are legit but we have no idea about companies aside from the big UK ones such as NatWest, Nationwide etc, so it is hard to press the button without some reassurance that we are not going to lose the money to a bunch of scammers!

So, trustworthy and decent to deal with? decent customer support, website access to account and such?
Any opinions, advice or experiences would be gratefully received!

They’re legit, but there are better options. Skipton (3.10% AER) and Tandem (3.05% AER) offer monthly interest, and both are entirely reliable. Or, if you can cope with money being inaccessible for 3 months, Zopa (also trustworthy) offer 3.26% on a 95 day access basis, or 3.06% on a 31 day access. There are others too, but these are the ones I use.

Currently looking at just over 4% with both I mentioned as long as the money is tied up for a few years. Not sure savings interest rates will increase too much so seems like a good deal, I think?

My apologies, I misunderstood your aim and suggested easy access accounts.

Fixed savings rates rose to 5%+ for five years, briefly. It’s doubtful that we’ll get that high again, so yes, I’d say you’ve got good deals if you go with Ford and Aldermore - for accounts that provide monthly interest.

Thanks - I should have been more specific!

Mortgage free!
Debt free!

And now I am retired - all the time in the world!!

refluxer Posts: 2,947 Forumite

11 February 2023 at 12:14PM

I've taken out quite a few fixed rate accounts with Ford Money over the last few years and haven't had any problems myself plus I don't remember reading about others having any serious problems either. I don't know what their customer support is like because everything has worked so well that I haven't had any reason to contact them... which is how it should be with all banks in an ideal world !

I tend to use their online banking site mainly - they do have an app but for fixed rate accounts this would obviously be limited to checking your balance. Ford Money used to be a 'next working day'-type of bank for transactions but they've got quicker in recent months, meaning that money paid into their accounts before a certain time shows up by the end of the day. If you're looking to set up an account this weekend though, just be aware that transactions may not be processed until Monday morning so I would hold off paying in to it until Monday morning if you want to avoid your cash disappearing for a few days. They do give a fairly generous 21 days to pay into their fixed savers so there's nothing to stop you opening one now and paying into it later.

One thing to note is that Ford Money are one of the banks who will reinvest your money into a similar product by default if you don't submit any maturity instructions at the end of the fixed rate period. They do contact you well in advance (6 weeks) to warn you when the term is coming to an end, but it's just something to be aware of and a good reason for making sure your contact details are always up to date and for sticking a few reminders in your phone calendar as well. Maturity instructions can be submitted via an online form so you don't need to phone or message them.

FWIW, if I was looking to fix for 2 or 5 years now then I would also choose Ford Money over the other options in the top tables and it does't look like Aldermore's rates are far behind. I don't have any accounts or experience with Aldermore but (unlike some other banks) I've not read anything on this site that would put me off applying to them.

Atom would have been a good option if you were happy with app-only banking and looking for a 1 year term, but their 2+ year rates have dropped recently.

Albermarle Posts: 24,886 Forumite

11 February 2023 at 12:56PM

A._Badger Posts: 5,879 Forumite

11 February 2023 at 5:35PM

chubsta said:

Following on from a previous post, have £100,000 to split between two accounts in order to get a monthly income from the interest.
These two firms are mentioned on this site so I am guessing they are legit but we have no idea about companies aside from the big UK ones such as NatWest, Nationwide etc, so it is hard to press the button without some reassurance that we are not going to lose the money to a bunch of scammers!

So, trustworthy and decent to deal with? decent customer support, website access to account and such?
Any opinions, advice or experiences would be gratefully received!

As others have said, they are fine. I have had accounts with both over the years and experienced no problems at all. Generally speaking, it's worth keeping an eye on this forum. Problems, if they happen, soon show up!

Bigwheels1111 Posts: 2,717 Forumite

11 February 2023 at 6:31PM

FindingBBob Posts: 52 Forumite

13 February 2023 at 4:33PM

Bigwheels1111 said:

Had various accounts with Ford money since 15/06/2018.
Never had any issues.
Just a heads up that withdraws take 2 working days.
If I can’t get the isbank deal I wanted on Tuesday I will found my Ford money option.

Not any more - make a request before 1pm, i think, and you get it same day and I think deposits show up within a couple of hour now. they seemed to have upped their game a bit in recent months - though still not instant. But for Fixed, I think Ford are fine.