It will pay to take closer interest in savings

One result we cannot expect from last week's interest rate rise is an across-the-board fair deal for savers. As sure as rain at Wimbledon, rises for savers will not be passed on in full to all customers. Changes will dribble out and hundreds of older accounts will still pay less than 1 per cent.

Despite years of consumer lobbying and redrafts of the voluntary banking code, banks and building societies - with a few exceptions - are up to the same old tricks; constantly launching accounts paying good rates that eclipse older ones. Under their code they must inform customers if rates move by more than 0.5 per cent away from the Bank base rate. But only a minority of customers will read the dull-looking advertisements making this public or scrutinise information conveyed in mailshots.

The only way they will change their ways is if large numbers of savers take a serious interest. The result could be fewer headline-grabbing rates but better returns on average for the majority of depositors. Borrowers have learnt to shop around and fierce competition among mortgage and other credit providers is keeping borrowing rates down, even though the general trend, as signalled by the Bank of England, is upwards. If savers want a better deal, they should check their rates after the dust has settled in a few weeks' time and if they don't measure up to what is quoted in our weekly best buy tables, get moving.

Another area where consumers must fend for themselves is in the credit and loan markets. Last week the government got headlines for changes in credit laws, touted as a major new package of protection against misleading deals. But much has been left out. For example, the new information given to credit card users will not include a requirement for graphic warnings about the effect of making minimum payments only on card debt. Industry practice was once to require a 5 per cent minimum monthly repayment. Now 3 per cent is the norm and a new card from Halifax requires just 2 per cent of an outstanding balance. The Consumers' Association says the new rules on calculation of annual percentage rates do not deal with the variations between the timing of interest charges; some lenders start charging interest earlier in the account cycle than others.

You certainly should not expect the new laws to protect you from over-borrowing. There are no rules to standardise the exchange of information on borrowers' repayment patterns.