'My name is SIMON LAMBERT and I've got a savings account that pays 0.05%': But it's the best one I could have! My trick to beat the low rate weasels...

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My name is Simon Lambert and I have a savings account that pays 0.05%.

The FCA exposed Britain’s worst savings accounts this week, but perhaps it is us savers with money parked in them who should name and shame ourselves.

In defence of my laughable rate, however, I should say that this First Direct savings account is the best one that I’ve got.

Savvy saving: Rates may be laughable but there are some tricks to make them work for you

In fact, I like this rubbish rate account so much I’ve got three of them.

Why? Because First Direct lets me link them to my offset mortgage, so I only pay interest on the balance in-between.

So my First Direct saver doesn’t really pay me 0.05 per cent, instead it is the equivalent of earning my 2.75 per cent mortgage rate on those savings – tax-free.

I’m a fan of offset mortgages because they have a habit of easily beating standard savings rates. You’d need to earn 3.4 per cent as a basic rate taxpayer, or 4.6 per cent as a higher rate taxpayer to beat the equivalent return on that 2.75 per cent offset mortgage.

Those are impossible rates to currently secure even with a fixed rate bond, let-alone on easy access.

We constantly tell people to move their money to the best savings accounts, yet the reality is most don’t keep on top of this. I’ll admit to being one of them – like many, I suffer from a combination of a busy life and inertia.

Money under the mattress? Banks with low rates take advantage of busy savers with inertia

The beauty of an offset mortgage is that I don’t need to worry about that. I can leave money sat in my current account - or a dud savings deal - and earn a return.

The question remains, however, as to what First Direct is thinking by offering such a terrible savings rate?

After all, you can guarantee that not everyone in that account is using it with an offset mortgage – some are just getting an awful deal.

The answer is that it’s behaving like a classic banking weasel. 

This 0.05 per cent rate savings account takes advantage of all those savers who simply don’t bother or forget to move their money to one that pays a reasonable return.

We flagged this kind of behaviour by banks and building societies offering duff rates when we launched our Rate Honesty campaign almost five years ago.

We wanted one simple thing: banks and building societies to display current rates when you looked at your balance online. 

This scored some victories, with big names promising to publish rates on online statements, but they remain too few and far between.

The watchdog’s decision to force others’ hands is a victory for our campaign – just don’t expect the weasel behaviour to stop altogether.

In the meantime, use every trick in the savings book. There’s no prizes for guessing that an offset mortgage is my favourite one.