Barclays contradicting themselves

There seems to be contradictory messages from Barclays about how the ISA is operated. I was told that the branches have no role other than checking the form and ID – they just internal mail to the Barclays ISA Office, Glasgow – which we know as the freepost address. Branches are not allowed to clear ISA cheques – they have to send them to the ISA office, who decide whether to accept the credit and then send it for clearing.

Thus ISAs belong to a separate branch, and only the account holding branch can operate the account. The sort code I’ve been given is 20-44-88. This is Liverpool, not Glasgow (or my local branch) so goodness knows where the account is actually held. The standing order section gave Barclays Bank, Leicester. The application form seems to go all over Britain.

I was very surprised to see posts about local branch staff keying in application details, ‘opening’ accounts and clearing cheques. I was told the ISA office maintains complete control to ensure the regulations are complied with. I’d be interested to know if your sort code is affected by whether the branch keys in your application.

The local branch said once the ISA is opened, branches can’t credit subsequent cheque deposits. They can only internal mail it to ISA branch (normally without a receipt), so it gets credited and sent for clearing a day later. The ISA office says you can’t pay cash in at local branches. They recommend paying into a Barclays current account and then doing an instant telephone transfer. I asked what about people who don’t bank with Barclays, and was told this is a good question and they don’t have an answer.

I have since checked the terms and conditions, and clause 2.2 clearly allows ‘paying in a cash amount into any Barclays branch’. Surely, for cash or cheque, you could just fill in a blank paying-in slip at the counter completing the Barclays sort code plus putting 8 digit account no, and the cashier isn’t going to know? Only if you try to exceed the limits would it be flagged.

I’d like to know the best way of adding the 2007-8 amount to the existing ISA maximizing interest, but this business of local branches apparently not crediting ISAs adds to the confusion of the Bank Holiday weekend issue.