Rachel Springall, Finance Expert at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, said:

“Savers who don’t review and switch from their closed easy access accounts have been getting short-changed for too long. It really does come down to savers moving their money proactively because for three years the average return on closed savings accounts has failed to keep up with live easy access savings accounts. However, the stark change in the average returns today is how the margin of difference between closed and live accounts has shrunk. This might seem to be a good change on the face of it, but the biggest driving force has been rate cuts to savings accounts, fuelled by Bank of England Base Rate cuts and wider market uncertainty over future interest rates. These rate cuts can lead to apathy among savers if they see little gain in reviewing and switching accounts.

“Customer loyalty is still not being repaid and not every closed savings account will fall in line with the Consumer Duty rules, which have been in effect for almost an entire year. Savers who only have small pots might feel there isn’t enough incentive to switch, but there will also be loyal customers under the assumption that they are getting a fair return on their hard-earned cash. Any indifference about moving pots is dangerous, particularly when inflation erodes the real return on savers’ hard-earned cash. The income tax threshold freeze until 2028 will also add insult to injury when savers edge up into a higher rate tax-bracket, subsequently halving or removing their Personal Savings Allowance (PSA), meaning savers must check their pots regularly and take advantage of their tax-free ISA allowance.

“The convenience of keeping savings pots in the most flexible easy access savings accounts with the biggest high street banks is costing savers, as some brands pay less than 1.50%. That is almost half what they can get compared to the market average (2.74%) and around a third of some of the best easy access rates on the market (4.50%). Savers to need to look beyond the most prominent brands, as challenger banks and mutuals are working much harder to entice deposits. It is also worth noting that not every savings provider will have a closed savings account, but is up to savers to make some time to investigate if they have got any lost pots out there.”

Definition and overview of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Consumer Duty rules on closed products and services: For the purposes of the Duty, a closed product or service must meet both of the following criteria: 1) there are existing customers who took out a contract before 31 July 2023, and 2) the product or service hasn’t been marketed or distributed (including by renewal) on or after 31 July 2023 Importantly, a product that was closed to new customers on or after 31 July 2023 is not a closed product for the purposes of the Duty. These products became subject to the Duty on 31 July 2023.