Dear Listener

It is Remembrance Day. And Coventry Building Society has been trying to sell me a story about its special Poppy Online Saver (2) savings account which pays 3.15%. And pays £10 to the poppy appeal for every £20,000 in the account. Would I do it because it’s 11 November today and the Saturday of remembrance weekend tomorrow? No. Would I do it because of its chart-topping rate? Ah now you’re talking. But – and yes, Coventry, your but does look big in this – there are withdrawal restrictions. Four withdrawals are penalty free. But the fifth and any others incur a 50-day interest penalty on the amount withdrawn. So if you put in £20,000 Coventry gives £10 to the Poppy Appeal. But then if your fifth withdrawal is £2325 you will be fined £10. Snap. I would prefer to put the whole lot into the next best savings account which pays slightly less (3.10% but move it after a year when it falls to a pathetic 0.5%) but has no penalties. If you want to save, save. If you want to donate to th  e poppy appeal make a donation and Gift Aid it. Now, if only it had been a straight 3.15% and no penalties (despite the 1.15% one year bonus) I would have mentioned it for that reason alone. But as it is, I will send the building society to Coventry.

Another story came to me from a tweet rather than a PR person. Bank of Ireland is selling 14,000 of its mortgage customers in Great Britain to The Mortgage Works (a subsidiary of Nationwide). One tweeter said that would push up the standard variable rate of interest charged from BoI’s 2.99% to TMW’s 4.79% - which is a 60% rise. Nationwide tells me no decision about the rate they will pay has been made and anyone on a fixed rate or a discount rate will keep that until it ends. She also said that the SVR of 2.99% has been guaranteed “until March 2012” unless Bank Rate rises. After that, well, it could rise. I was also told that the average loan to value of the transferred customers was only 50% and that none of them was in arrears. So why are these low risk customers being moved to Nationwide’s TMW which specialises in buy-to-let and offers residential customers LTVs from 70% to 85% and also has a much higher SVR than the main Nationwide SVR (it calls it by different names) of  3.99% for new customers and 2.5% for pre-2009 customers. I was told that was the deal and TMW was the most appropriate part of the business to take them on. So will their SVR rise by 60% from 2.99% to 4.79%? No-one knows. But I wouldn’t bet on it staying at 2.99% after 1 March.

***IN MONEY BOX THIS WEEK***

Payment Protection Insurance – delays and tax. Can’t say more. But prepare to be surprised.

Have the joys of online banking been ruined by the need to carry around a security device to access your account and move money around or, in one case, even to check your balance? Or is it a price worth paying for cutting the amount of online fraud?

The last Airmiles flight is boarding soon – if you do not leave the departure lounge and go to the gate soon you may miss it and lose all your Airmiles.

And we will be looking into Jones v Kernott. Ms J and Mr K were joint owners of the home where they lived together for more than eight years and had two children. In 1993 Mr K moved out. They cashed in an insurance policy so with his half he could put a deposit down on a home of his own. Ms J lived in the joint home, paid the mortgage and supported the children. Fifteen years later Mr K said he wanted half the value of the property. The Court of Appeal said that he was a joint owner, albeit absent, and that he was therefore entitled to half. The Supreme Court disagreed and awarded him just 10%. Does the law on cohabitees and property need clarifying? And just what is the difference between inferring and imputing? The justices explained that at length.

There may be another story – about chip and signature cards for those who, for one reason or another, are unable to enter a PIN – but if not this week, then next.

That’s our agenda to fill 24 minutes of prime time Radio 4 on Saturday at midday, repeated 9pm on Sunday or of course online anytime www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/moneybox.

There is more information on the stories on our website www.bbc.co.uk/moneybox where you can also download transcripts and send us ideas or problems you want us to look into. And why not Have Your Say on online banking security devices?

This newsletter is available at bbc.co.uk/moneybox/newsletter around the time it hits your inbox (tell your friends who don’t subscribe). And you could join more than 13,800 people who follow me on Twitter to enjoy (or rant about) my random but timely thoughts on money and a few other things whenever I’m awake at twitter.com/paullewismoney.

Money Box Live on Wednesday is coming from Harrogate Grammar School Academy with questions from students and perhaps their parents on student finances. That’s on Radio 4, Wednesday at 3pm.

Best wishes,

Paul

PS I will be on BBC One Breakfast on Saturday trailing one of our stories. And back on Breakfast later in the week, probably on Thursday and usually around 0640 and 0820 talking about a money story and answering emails and tweets. But the time, and occasionally the day, can vary. Or, as this week, be cancelled.

e-mail Paul Lewis