Anyone know the best TOISA rate at the moment?

pchelpman

I'm thinking of moving from the Lambeth B/S (I'm on their highest TOISA rate). I need a good rate to move otherwise all the moneylaundring/POCA aggro in moving won't make it worthwhile (e.g. ID proof, delays in transfers/lost interest etc.)

Thanks for the help.

isasmurf

Except in ignorant Bank and Building Society marketing speak, there is no such thing as a "TOISA", if you're looking to transfer just look at Cash ISA accounts.

The history of TOISAs is this:
These type of accounts have always been cash ISAs. When your TESSA matured you could transfer into a Mini Cash ISA or the Cash component of a Maxi ISA. Apparently, some people didn't want to move the matured TESSA away from where the TESSA account had been held because there were incentives (higher interest rates) to keep it there, but not have the cash ISA there. So, I suppose not to confuse Joe Bloggs they rather needlessly introduced the TOISA so you could transfer the matured TESSA into a separate Cash ISA, but with the restriction that you couldn't put any more subscriptions in that ISA during that tax year. At the end of the tax year, the TOISA marking on that account disappeared and it became a cash ISA. Unfortunately, Joe Bloggs has been confused anyway because Joe Bloggs thinks these are a different type of ISA.

pchelpman

Hi isasamurf

Don't want to dampen your obvious enthusiasm for these things but I should perhaps have mentioned that I am a qualified financial advisor (amongst other things) although I don't practice as much as I used to. Other things get in the way.

I appreciate what you say. My position is that I had a TESSA with the Lambeth then, when it came to an end, the cash was transferred to a "TOISA". It's been there ever since.

As I don't advise professionally in cash deposits I just wondered of any of you knowledgeable folk would know of a better cash "hole" for my funds than where they are at the moment. I believe that, although the TOISA doesn't actually "exist" in an ongoing form, the tax exempt status of the money means that the receiving institution - whoever may be the beneficiary of the cash - will want to know so they can continue the tax free benefits. Or so I believe. Unless someone else can educate me differently in this!!

All suggestions most welcome.

Ta.

isasmurf

Well, I think you've just proven my point that introducing the "TOISA" label just confuses everyone - even financial advisors. Any accounts that were opened as a TOISA were and are Cash ISAs in disguise. You didn't need to transfer the TESSA into a TOISA, you could have transferred it into an exisiting Cash ISA if you wanted to. Once the money was transferred to a Cash ISA, or these disguised Cash ISAs referred to as TOISAs it simply became ISA money and there is now no need to prove that it came from a TESSA all those years ago. Therefore you can transfer any money in an account that was held in an account opened as a TOISA to any Cash ISA to retain it's tax free status without proving what it used to be.

Top Cash ISAs
Top TESSA only ISAs Grrr... it'd help people understand if banks stopped offering these. :mad:

pchelpman

As you say "cash ISA TOISA" investments are not the same as the popular £3000 "cash only ISAs". In any one year an investor could have invested in both. The whole issue of cash ISAs, stocks & shares ISAs, life insurance ISAs, now overseas investment ISAs as well has confused many folk over the years.

Thanks for the list. I had thought of the Harpenden but, after speaking to them, I could see the POCA/moneylaundering/ID exercise was going to be a nightmare. Maybe I'll go for the Halifax but I still wonder what hoops they will try to make me jump through before I can transfer then money across.

Perhaps they will be assured by a recent passport photograph.....

(then again, maybe not!!!)

cheerfulcat

isasmurf wrote:

Except in ignorant Bank and Building Society marketing speak, there is no such thing as a "TOISA", if you're looking to transfer just look at Cash ISA accounts.

Many ToISAs are in fact GEBs and as such, are very difficult to transfer. Staff seem unable to comprehend that you can have a *cash* ISA linked to the stock market...