We all know that there are money saving websites out there, indeed, I have not only used them myself, I used to be a moderator for one of largest ones, so, broadly, I am a fan and I think they are generally a force for good.
However, they are useful to a point – they shouldn’t be followed blindly, nor taken as a replacement for professional advice.
So, for instance – last week I saw a couple who were looking for a fixed rate mortgage and they asked me to advise them on the best product of that type. Before I advise someone, I take a fairly detailed overview of their circumstances and in this case, the overview revealed they had substantial savings attracting 0.1% interest. I advised the clients to take an offset mortgage – a particular kind of mortgage that uses savings to offset interest on the mortgage – they can save people a great deal of interest on their mortgage.
2 points here -
1. They’ll save in excess of £1000 a year, every year, as a consequence of my advice
2. No comparison website would have revealed this.
The next point, a telecoms company called Swiftcall have decided to pull out of the UK residential market. That’s fine, and their website makes this clear, they are not accepting new applications for their products and will cease providing their products from 30/11/09. They have done everything right.
So, it’s odd that they still feature on one of the major price comparison sites.
So, moneycomparison sites – broadly good, but are no substitute for advise on big ticket items and shouldn’t be relied upon as accurate.
I note that more and more providers, including some that I recommend, are now advertising as a virtue the fact that they are not listed on comparison sites.
It’s an interesting development.
