Ten worst places to put your money 1. Highstreet banks

The main highstreet banks (HSBC, Barclays, Natwest etc) want to run our current accounts. They don’t make much money from this. But it gives them the chance to do what they call “cross-selling” – using their contacts with us to flog us all kinds of (usually overpriced and underperforming) rubbish. Deposit accounts, mortgages, insurance, pensions, investments and so on. But, apart from some very rare exceptions, you’d be a fool to buy�any of these products from your highstreet bank. For deposit accounts you’ll usually get much better rates from the former building societies. Mortgages – go to a specialist mortgage broker. Insurance – why pay a huge commission to your bank when you can buy more cheaply�direct from an insurance company? Pensions – anyone saving with a highstreet bank is going to pay so much in charges that they’re going to end up awfully poor. Investments – time after time it has been shown that banks (especially HSBC and Barclays) have cobbled together and mis-sold appalling investment schemes which have made billions for the banks and lost billions for their gullible customers. Never ever put any money into any investment being pushed by your highstreet bank!

So the lesson is – “only bank with your bank”. Only let your highstreet bank run your current account. If you do any other business with the likes of HSBC, Barclays, RBS, Lloyds, Natwest then the chances are that you are a fool and are�being ripped off. You have been warned.