New AIB SSIA-type account??

I received a phone call from my local AIB last week inviting me a representative to discuss opening an "SSIA-type" savings account. She was very vague but was very anxious to make an appointment for me to meet the rep. I did find out that the account would run for a max of five years and I would get the first three premiums free. She wasn't prepared to discuss interest rates or bank charges relating to the account. I'd have to meet with the rep. Has anyone heard of this account? Any advice?

Why don't you ask the rep to send you details, with particular reference to fund choice and charges? If it's a good product, it will stand up to scrutiny without any hard-sell pitch. Be clear on two things: -

• There is no SSIA-style savings plan in existence in Ireland at present. The Government haven't sanctioned any replacements. Any that claim to be are rather pale imitations with no Government contribution.
• "...and I would get the first three premiums free..." Make no mistake - they're not free. They will make money out of it over the term. So the charges over the remaining term are clearly greater than three months contribtuions.

If my interpretation of this is correct, this is appalling behaviour by AIB and I would take it up with the Financial Regulator.

It would appear to me that you are being lured into a meeting under false pretences. I doubt very much if this is a ‘deposit’ type of account, so let’s rule that one out.

I would hazard a guess that one of their ‘reps’ is trying to sell you a unit-linked savings plan with Hibernian.

The reason I say this is because, if you invest an initial lump sum of 3 times the annual premium invested at commencement then a loyalty bonus is paid on the fifth anniversary. This bonus is equivalent to 25% of the regular premiums paid in the first year.

Did you have a unit-linked SSIA with them?

How does the person that called you know that you have €5,400 to invest up-front so that you can avail of the ‘loyalty bonus’?

Thanks for the replies and comments. I wouldn't be as clued in to these matters as I should be.
F Kruger, no, I didn't have a unit-linked SSIA with them. My SSIA was with EBS and the proceeds never went near AIB. They don't know whether I have 5,400 to invest up-front. I got the impression that they wanted somewhere between 120 and 1,000 a month. There was no mention of a lump sum. Maybe they were saving that for the meeting!

To be honest, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the details because I didn't like the way I was being fed a few (selective) tidbits to whet my appetite.

nolo77 said:

I received a phone call from my local AIB last week inviting me a representative to discuss opening an "SSIA-type" savings account. She was very vague but was very anxious to make an appointment for me to meet the rep. I did find out that the account would run for a max of five years and I would get the first three premiums free. She wasn't prepared to discuss interest rates or bank charges relating to the account. I'd have to meet with the rep. Has anyone heard of this account? Any advice?

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Did she speak with a Nigerian accent?

Did they ask to meet you in the bank or down a dark alleyway? Bring cash maybe?

Seriously though, your brief description of the phonecall above would not surprise me. I have seen AIB offer such overpriced and unsuitable products to customers it appears that they are either a) stupid or b) convinced that their customers are stupid. I would not bother to ring them back.