Bank of Santander Scam

You've seen one bank or building society window display advert poster offering a low percent for ISAs or Savings Accounts and you've seen them all. Yesterday however I saw one in what was Bradford and Bingley Building Society but is now the Santander Bank which actually caught my eye. I was so impressed that I made enquiries about it in a branch of West Bromwich Building Society to find out if it was a good deal. (My thinking was that Santander themselves were bound to tell me how amazing the advertised deal was). The headline of the advert was/is:

£1,000 interest up front for every £12,000 deposited.

What the West Browich Building SocietyManager Said

The interest rate works out at 3.36% (most High Street are offering 4% at the moment). The money has to be lodged with Santander for three years so if the customer dies or needs to withdraw the money there is a claw back clause. The offer seems much better than it is. It is actually pretty poor. Santander will be making an additional £250 from each of the customers who fall for this.