First Direct 7% regular ISA question

InMyDreams

From the website:

· start saving between £25 and £300 in the first month from your 1st Account
· then make regular payments every month for the next 11 months, by standing order only, of at least £25 up to the maximum monthly balance, which starts at £300 in month 1. The maximum balance increases by £300 each month thereafter.

Now I read this to mean my maximum monthly balance is £600 in month 2, £900 in month 3 and so on to £3600 in month 12.

So in theory, I could pay in £25 in month 1, £25 in month 2 and then £850, say, in month three, and never exceed my maximum monthly balance.

This sounded odd, so I phoned to check. The guy on the phone said that was not the case and no matter how little you had paid in previously, you can’t ever pay in more than £300 in any month.

I can’t understand why they make the above statements on their web site then.

Does anyone have one of these accounts? Has anyone been able to pay in more than £300 in any given month?

Milarky

InMyDreams wrote: »

I can’t understand why they make the above statements on their web site then.

Does anyone have one of these accounts? Has anyone been able to pay in more than £300 in any given month?

It's two statements - not one: a) pay in between 25 and 300 per month b) The maximum [i.e. allowed] balance can increase by £300

But you can't satsify (b) simply by exceeding £300 a month for certain months ( a breach of (a) )

Seems straightforward to me...

InMyDreams

Hi Milarky,
You must be right.
I still think it's ambiguous though, and intentionally confusing.
Statement (a) is explicitly about month 1. It doesn't say 'per month' but 'in the first month'.
The statement regarding subsequent months states 'at least £25 up to the maximum monthly balance'. Why not just say £25-£300? The 'maximum monthly balance' is irrelevant and confusing if you are capped at £300 per month anyway.

isasmurf

The answer is in the FAQs

is there a maximum investment?

The maximum amount you can invest is £3,600 during the first 12 months via 12 monthly standing order payments from your first direct 1st Account. When you open your Regular Saver ISA, the maximum investment is £300 in the first month. However, if your monthly transfer is less than £300 you can amend your standing order at any time to bring your balance up to the maximum monthly balance, which starts at £300 in month 1 and increases by £300 each month thereafter. For example, if you open a Regular Saver ISA with a monthly transfer of £100, by month 3 you will have saved £300. The maximum monthly balance for month 4 is £1,200, (4 months x £300) so, in this example, you could amend your standing order for month 4 to a maximum of £900, to bring your balance to £1,200.