It’s a clean sweep from Newbury

IN recent weeks, I have detailed the steady withdrawal of banking facilities from my home town of Wokingham in Berkshire. In doing so, I have been unkind to one sturdy financial remainer: building society Newbury.

My apologies to Newbury – and thank you to local chimney sweep Paul Clarke (Sootbusters of Berkshire) for correcting my error.

While NatWest and Santander have already given up the ghost in thriving Wokingham – and Barclays is about to – Newbury continues to wave the flag.

Although it doesn’t offer a current account and won’t be paying windfalls any time soon, Newbury’s savings accounts are worth more than a cursory glance. They can be operated by post, online and via its branches located in Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire.

A number of its accounts are eye-catching, especially the Senior Saver for over-55s which pays 3.05 per cent interest – and a Junior

Isa, paying 3.65 per cent.

If Charlotte Hall and Justine Ransom, the society’s branch managers in Wokingham, are anything to go by, you will also be greeted with a friendly smile too when using its services.

Paul and his wife are recent Newbury converts and they have been impressed with its service. ‘We even get passbooks,’ he exclaimed, ‘and the society is really involved in the community.’

So, a big shout-out to all those low-key building societies up and down the country which serve with distinction. And if you live in Berkshire and need your chimney sweeping, Paul is your man (sootbusters.org.uk).

HATS off to Doug Brodie, founder of retirement income planning specialist Chancery Lane, who is earning himself a reputation for being a mighty fine scam-buster.

The latest scammers to be targeted by Brodie were those peddling an NHS five-year, fixed-rate bond paying six per cent interest.

Emailed from mail@nhsinvest.uk, the offer said investors could ‘earn a steady income stream while also contributing to the well-being of the UK population’.

Utter lies. Brodie, above, immediately contacted the company that provided the fraudsters with the email address and within hours it had agreed to ‘terminate’ the client’s account.

If only the Financial Conduct Authority were as effective in making life difficult for fraudsters.