Financial companies use various marketing gimmicks to win our custom. However, you should disregard any freebies and, instead, make sure that the important stuff stacks up.
A few years ago, I joined the opt-out lists maintained by the free Mailing Preference Service and Telephone Preference Service.
That's why I no longer get much junk mail or many unwanted sales calls at home. Naturally, the Royal Mail does its bit by popping promotional material through my door with my post. And, of course, pesky advertising arrives daily from local estate agents, gyms, home-improvement firms, curry houses and, obviously, pizzerias!
Then again, not all my unsolicited mail goes into the recycling bin. I usually read all the financial advertising, just to keep an eye on what offers are circulating, and to look for ideas for articles. And, sure enough, earlier this week I received a brochure that got me cursing financial marketing. It came from credit-card issuer MBNA, in the form of an invitation to apply for its Platinum Plus card.
Now, this isn't an entirely nasty bit of plastic, although there's nothing special about its standard interest rate of 15.9% APR. For example, it does have an introductory rate of 0% for nine months on balance transfers. This is better than the six months that most cards offer, but twelve-month deals are available.
However, one niggle is that MBNA charges fees for balance transfers: even new customers pay a 2% 'handling fee' of up to £35 for each debt switched to this card. Very few other providers do this (only the new Barclaycard deal springs to mind), so this charge is one reason not to apply for an MBNA card.
Another thing that annoys me about MBNA's offer is the promotional leaflet itself. It features the obligatory attractive woman on the front (clichéd or what?), together with an offer for a "FREE Cordless Digital Home Phone ". This obelus (little dagger sign) directs readers to a four-line footnote that explains the terms and conditions attached to this freebie. Honestly, have you ever seen the word 'free' in a financial ad without an asterisk (*) or obelus next to it?
I think it's sad that advertisers try to reel us in with 'free' gifts. Do these companies really think that customers are taken in by these spurious offers? Well, they obviously do, because the freebie is a frequently used marketing gimmick. What's more, financial companies who often sell intangible products - are among the worst offenders. Scraping the bottom of the barrel is financial advertising aimed at parents, young people and children, where awful products are cynically endorsed by cartoon characters or celebrities.
Free gifts and other tricks are no substitute for quality products that offer long-term value. If you want to make the most of your money, ignore all marketing ploys. Instead, if you're being offered a banking, borrowing or savings product, check its rates and charges against those of the Best Buys. For credit cards, go straight to the Summary Box, also called the Honesty or Schumer Box. If you're looking into an investment or pension plan, check its charges first - and don't pay too much heed to its past investment performance, unless it's bad.
When it comes to freebies, cashback, donations to charity and so on, remember that customers ultimately foot the bill for all of these marketing expenses. You'd do well to remember the words of Tom Cruise in feel-good film Jerry Maguire: "Show me the money!"
More: We show you the money in our Credit Card, Savings, Mortgage and Investing centres.
