TRACKER funds used to be a little-known type of investment fund mostly used by big investors such as managers of pension funds. For savers who missed out on last year’s windfalls, this could be a chance to spread bets for the seemingly inevitable next round. The Bradford & Bingley has a membership account that can be opened with as little as pounds 10 a month; savers can still open accounts with the Portman for pounds 100; and the Nationwide gives membership on balances of as little as pounds 1, though new account holders are required to sign away windfall rights to charity.. And that’s assuming existing savers find out about the new deals. In many cases, not surprisingly, institutions appear rather keener to woo new savers than to look after existing ones.OPENING balances required for building society accounts carrying membership appear to be falling gradually. The society’s traditional instant account pays as little as 1.8 per cent.Savers can always transfer, of course, although in some cases they might face penalties if they are in a notice account.

This is a better rate than on most of its notice accounts – even on quite high balances – and much better than on its passbook-based instant access Prime Gold account, which pays as little as 1.5 per cent.Or consider the Stroud & Swindon’s new Branch Instant deal, which pays a flat rate of 6 per cent on an account whose only real restriction seems to be that deposits and withdrawals must be at least pounds 100. Take the Woolwich’s new instant access Card Saver, which pays a flat 7 per cent on as little as pounds 50. For example, a household with a cooker, dishwasher, fridge-freezer, microwave, tumble drier, TV, video and washing machine might be charged at least pounds 595 for five-year individual warranties. Norwich Union Direct’s multi-appliance policy would cost just pounds 332 for the same cover.. LAST week’s decision by the Bank of England to hold base rates at 7.25 per cent is unlikely to mark the end of competition for savers.

Rates on the best instant access deals have been rising steadily and in some cases now pay better returns than on accounts requiring notice, those with fixed rates or with other restrictions. At the same time, a big gap has opened between the returns on offer from many of the new deals and those on traditional instant access accounts. Shoppers should remember that even if they do want cover, there is generally no burning need to buy the warranty when they buy the appliance – any time before the manufacturer’s own one-year cover runs out is normally fine, which if nothing else gives time to shop around.Which? says fixed-cost multi-appliance policies – which cover a known range of appliances for a flat fee – often offer much better value than buying individual extended warranties. But there is also an irritating element of window dressing in some of these moves.
Banks and building societies are back to their usual game of launching whizzy new accounts while keeping existing “loyal” savers on less attractive rates. The closing of the gap between instant and notice accounts in part reflects the expectation that interest rates will soon fall.

Even with washer-driers, the least reliable appliance looked at, the cheapest warranty costs three times more than the average person spends on repairs over the first five years.Such costs look particularly high given that, unlike, say, car or house insurance where you could face potentially enormous losses, the most you will have to pay if electrical goods break down is the cost of a new appliance.For people who remain worried about the cost of repairs, Which? prefers multi-appliance policies sold by, for example, Norwich Union Direct and TSB, the bank.The magazine, which is published by the Consumers’ Association, notes that new appliances are normally automatically covered by a manufacturer’s warranty for their first year, and even after that you might still be able to get an appliance repaired for free under the Sale of Goods regulations by going back to the shop where it was bought.Shops have long been criticised for overselling warranties. But warranties for the same period can cost over pounds 200 in some cases.
Which? cites the example of washing machines, where you could pay as much as pounds 220 for a five-year warranty on a machine costing pounds 350. The Bank also gives links to other regulators and brief descriptions of their remits. It is also possible to e-mail the Bank from the site.Advice on investment features heavily on the web sites from Imro, which regulates managed investments, and the Securities and Futures Authority, which governs stockbrokers. SFA has guides on complaints and arbitration, and extensive information on the Investor Compensation Scheme.But even if there is little the regulators can do to spice up the content of their sites, they could make them far more interactive and, therefore, more useful. It, too, has advice and information for consumers: “Money in the Bank” explains what happens to customers’ savings if a bank fails. Any that are not listed but take deposits are breaking the law.

The Bank’s website has a mass of general information about its history, role, and even about banknotes. This is a genuinely useful safeguard, but it would be better still if regulated firms were listed on the Web.The Bank of England does exactly that, with its list of authorised “deposit takers”. This shows every bank, building society or savings institution allowed to take our cash under the 1987 Banking Act. The FSA gives sound advice: its site warns that “deals which look too good to be true usually are”. It also offers a series of essays on problem financial products – a fact sheet on pension mis- selling, for example – and “Investor Alerts” highlighting dubious deals the FSA knows about.It encourages browsers to call the FSA to check whether a firm is listed on its central register (and so is an authorised investment company), before buying its products. They are expected to average around pounds 600, and will be handed out in the summer. Motor insurance premiums rose by an average of 5 per cent last year but motorists should brace themselves for bigger rises this year to cover insurers’ rising costs, according to Touchline Insurance, part of GAN group.We still spend an average of 32 hours a year sorting, checking and paying bills, according to research by organisations encouraging the use of direct debits.