Inactive Account

I received one of those form letters from my bank regarding the "high interest" (2.5%) savings account I have with them. It said that my account was inactive, and if I didn't conduct a transaction in the next 90 days, the account would be subject to a $20 fee.

Alrighty then. On to the website I go, looking for something to do. Lo and behold, all the other investment products I qualify for earn a lower interest rate (if that's possible ;), and most are non-redeemable!

Isn't that convenient.

I called the toll-free customer service number, ready to give them a piece of my mind, only to have the rep who answered offer to do an internal transfer (out then back in) of 1 cent, to activate my account for another year. Done.

It started me thinking about the other products they had available (for example, term deposits at under 2%) and I thought, why on earth would anyone buy them when a mere savings account offers better interest? Especially in today's shaky economy, when people may be unwilling or unable to tie up their cash?

Beats me. Your two cents?

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