howardb

Anybody got one of these accounts and got anything good or bad to report?

Looking at using one for a mortgage, but it sounds too good to be true.

Goldfinger

Howard - they are good but I personally prefer the Woolwich Open Plan (see Woolwich) ... I work for a bank and had a good staff discounted rate but switched for an inclusive price of £25 to the Woolwich last year - happy customer. My wife also has a savings account which is off-set against my mortgage - makes sense!

Phil

Funkii Munkii

Howard

Hi I have the One Account have had it about 2 years and cant grumble, it gives u a bit of freedom if things are tight one month and if u use it properly i.e put everything you possibly can on the Virgin visa, they will only take the money out at the end of the month when hopefully your next wage packet goes in, basically your monthly income being left alone lowers the amount you owe which in hand reduces monthly interest payments, mortages can be paid off about 10 years earlier by this method, especially if u can shove a couple of grand in there, ok u dont get interest on the 2 grand but you dont pay interest on the 2 grand either, i know it doesnt sound like it makes sense but it does.

A lot of the banks/Building societys are doing this "Oz" style mortgage now so there must be a lot of choice.

All in all it beats a normal repayment

Dave

Chris L

Used to be with First Direct - who were outstanding. I really only changed to Virgin One as FD didn't offer this kind of flexible all-in-one account (they do now - typical isn't? ).

I've had the One Account for roughly 8 months and I'm impressed. It made buying the house easy and it has also made doing up the house easier too. Having a 'pot' of money is useful as it saves you having to organise loans etc - however it is also very tempting when the words 'Impreza' and 'modifications' get mentioned in the same sentence

I'd find it hard to go back to an 'ordinary' account again. Out of interest, the Virgin One operation is now entirely run and owned by the Royal Bank of Scotalnd (they bought out Richard Branson's stake a while back, but kept the rights to the name).

Certainly would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone.

Chris

john banks

Changed from Virgin 1 to Egg. Saved ££££ on interest in only 2 years after switching, and Egg is almost as flexible except it is not a current account. You can however, move up to your balance into your current account by transfer within 24 hours if the amount is over £5000, otherwise takes a week if less. Handy if you see a nice wagon you want to buy Virgin's rates are not very good.

Sideways

I've got a nice wagon for sale John.
Its even got a Dawes in the glove box ( unfitted )

Regards Jason.

Alpine

I looked at the whole virgin thingy.. I was well interested but also worried that I would keep 'dipping' into the pot for my next 'new-thing'. In the end I decided to move to Egg which while not as flexible as Virgin, (Not a current account) gives me the flexibility I need and allows me to offset savings against mortgage interest.. This seems especially good it you're a high rate tax payer as you get the benefit of all your interest without the tax man having his cut..

Gordo

I've got one and it's great.

Basically it's an overdraft secured on your house so you don't need to worry about savings accounts any more etc. e.g. if you put the money in your account it saves you whatever the mortgage rate is. i.e. at 5% you are effectively saving at 8.3% gross for a higher rate tax payer. it's also a cheap way to buy cars etc - again effectively borrowing using the house as security and therefore at a much cheaper interest rate without the hassle of organising loans. as interest is calculated daily you save merely by havign your wages in there each month and pay off the mortgage earlier. it's a great way of putting bonuses against the mortgage (for those lucky enough to get them!) whilst you can still spend it when you want to.

RBS bought it out last year so their banking network is behind it for paying in cheques, cash withdrawals etc. just looking at moving and happy to stay with them.

G

MattN

it looked crap to me.

high interest and only good if you've got a pot of money to actually offset against the mortgage. Buy cars etc using credit cards at 0%.

Very expensive mortgage if you don't have exactly the right circumstances.

DJ Dunk

iTrader: (5)

Can someone explain the Vigin 1 thingy in laymans terms ? Being a bit thick when it comes to mortgages

How does it work, who does it suit etc...

Looking to change later this year and would like to get some facts.

Thanks

[Edited by DJ Dunk - 3/14/2002 12:43:42 PM]

Goldfinger

DJ Dunk - feel free to email me offline and give me your number, we can have a chat about it if you want ...

Cheers
Phil

howardb

Many thanks for the replies. I shall visit the Woolwich this weekend and get details of the account mentioned. Ive asked Egg for details of their Mortgages. There is a similar Mortgage from Intelligent Finance. Guess Ive got a lot of reading to do!

druddle

I went the way of the Woolwich Open Plan mortgage and have been very pleased with how easy it is to use.

Dave

Steve Hartland

Changed to the Woolwich when we brought the new house about 18 months ago, done all the usual account changes, both wages payed in, any bonuses payed in, taken out the tracker mortgage, so rates are pretty low at the moment, and over paying while the rates are low, and we are able to. I've been amazed how much we have payed of the mortage already, so very pleased with it. I use the internet banking facility, which is good, but VERY VERY slow.

Cheers Steve.