'Onerous' obligations for savers are often contained in accounts which are described as 'flexible', Which? pointed out today.
Consumer group Which? confirmed today that some banks were advertising savings accounts as "easy access" and "flexible" - when they actually carried "onerous" restrictions.
Principal researcher at the group Rebecca Fearnley said in new analysis that the question of whether or not withdrawals limits - where a saver can only dip into their funds on a certain number of occasions - should be prominently highlighted in promotional material was a crucial issue for the sector. Which? advice also states that customers should be vigilant in putting their money into an easy-access account without first checking to see if it comes with strings attached.
The remarks follow revelations last week from financial information firm Defaqto. A new report from the organisation showed that a total of one in five of all savings accounts advertised as "easy access" carry withdrawals restrictions - including one in four of the 100 accounts which carry the top rates of interest.
In addition, the Defaqto figures showed that 38 percent of the "top 100" carried an introductory bonus rate for new customers, which dropped after a limited time period. Returns levels from accounts have become increasingly important for savers over recent months, with sharp rate cuts from the Bank of England bringing the average rate carried by an account down to below 0.2 percent a year.
Rebecca Fearnley, principal researcher at Which?, said: "Accounts with strict withdrawals have been around for a long time. Banks are trying to hang on to their money even more these days, so maybe they are increasing in number."
She added: "It's a question on whether banks should really be able to advertise an account that’s easy access if they're putting a lot of quite onerous restrictions on getting to your money on your account. You'd be hard-pressed to force the banks to make them more flexible but whether or not they should be able to call them flexible accounts is more questionable."
Recent research from Nationwide showed that one in four Britons do not put money into savings accounts.
