SmartyPig warning

[parsifal]

Hiya all,

I was very excited to hear about SmartyPig, since saving toward goals is part of my new budgeting system (I use YNAB, which is great). SmartyPig promised the possibility of splitting savings up into sub-categories, something I still can't figure out with my Orange account, though supposedly I should be able to.

Anyway, my girlfriend and I watched SmartyPig's introductory video (on their homepage), and when the video reached the "Goal complete" portion, the only options for withdrawing money they described were a MasterCard Gift Card, and online retailer gift cards. I assumed you could also just withdraw your money, but my girlfriend was suspicious.

So I looked into the SmartyPig Terms and Conditions, and as it turns out, my girlfriend's suspicions were warranted: You can not withdraw money in the normal, "put it into my checking account" way.

If you want your money in a non-gift card form, you have to call an 800 number and set something up that way.

Here's the relevant excerpt from the Terms and Conditions:

Stop/Close A Savings Goal

The Primary Account Holder can stop a Savings Goal at anytime. A goal cannot be closed if there are pending transactions. In most instances, credit card transactions post within 2 banking days and ACH transactions post within 4 banking days. In the case that there are outstanding gifts to a Public Savings Goal, it is the responsibility of the account holder to accept or deny any gifts before closing the goal. Only the Primary Account Holder may close a SmartyPig Savings Goal. Any money or interest earned in an account is the property of the Primary Account Holder. In the case that there are Co-Owners assigned to the account (View-Only or Limited Access) the Co-Owner has no access to or ownership of the funds in the account. When closing a Savings Goal online, the account holder has the option to place the funds on a pre-loaded SmartyPig MasterCard® Debit Card or a Best-In-Class Retailer Gift Card. Funds can be received on a check by calling Customer Support at 888-567-6278. Checks will be made payable to the Primary Account Holder and be mailed to the address in their profile.

Sorry, SmartyPig. You're a little too greedy.

[Megan]

Originally Posted by parsifal

SmartyPig promised the possibility of splitting savings up into sub-categories, something I still can't figure out with my Orange account, though supposedly I should be able to.

You can't actually split your ING savings account, but what you can do is open another ING Savings (or checking) account within the same account name. Once you're logged in, click on the side to open a new account, and open a new savings account. The two will be linked and you'll see all the info on your main account page, but you'll have two different accounts. I use this to help get to my savings goals. It's a great feature

[BrianneG]

I also have a problem with SmartyPig. I just got an e-mail letting me know that their withdrawal transaction had failed and they were charging me a $25.00 fee. I have no idea why the transaction may have failed since there was well more than the necessary amount in my source fund. They have funded my account twice from the same source fund, so I know that they have all of the information correct. I certainly hope that there is a way to reverse this fee.

Anyone else have a similar problem?

[gtwise]

I just use Quicken saving goals. It's free (well that is if you igore the price of Quicken) and I can control my money any way I want. I just contribute to my goals from my savigns account so Quicken will show a lower account balance than there actually is (you can view your actual balance by hiding saving goal transactions, if you choose so) and the money is "transferred" to virtual accounts called saving goals in Quicken. I just don't see why anyone would jum through hoops such as this piggy thing to save. This just sounds lame and one more way to make money off of lazy/dumb people. Their interst rate of 4.3% APY is not that bad though......... I wonder when they will change it on you as they clearly can arbitrarily at any time and I also wonder about the 7 day advanced notice to withdraw your money, that sounds like a pain!

[Lisa23]

This smartypig sounds like another case of lots of fine print, just like many credit cards. No matter what you do, you're bound to slip up, because that's what they're designed to make you do! Thank goodness we have ING. It's the only really direct bank I've ever worked with in my entire life.
Don't mean to sound so negative. Scams are bad, but the legal ones irk me even more!