a&l isa is the best- true or false?

homersimpson_3

a&l pays 5.2% up to april 2007 (part of 5.2% is bonus).
today i read in another forum that if you transfer from a&l to another provider
you have to pay transfer fee.
how much is transfer fee? when this is taken into consideration is it worth transfering to a&l anyway? do all providers charge transfer fees? if not why?
thanks

magentadreamer

The blurb from the A&L website doesn't mention a transfer fee when transferring to another ISA provider

"How can I transfer my Direct ISA funds to an ISA with another provider?
If you want to transfer your Direct ISA funds to another ISA provider, please follow these steps:

Step 1: Call 08703 333 444 (calls are charged at the national rate)
Step 2: Press 2 for Savings
Step 3: Select Direct ISA
Step 4: Enter your 12 digit Customer ID and 5 digit customer PIN
Step 5: Press 9 to speak to an advisor (advisors are available between 9am and 8pm Monday to Friday and between 9am and 1pm on Saturday)

The advisor can then take the details of your new provider and the amount you wish to transfer. The transfer will be completed within a maximum of 30 days or within a timescale specified by you, as long as this is not less than 14 days.
Remember - DO NOT put your Direct ISA funds into a non ISA account if you want to transfer them into another ISA because they will lose their tax free status."

tipsychick

I think if a transfer fee is charged, it will be by the lot that you are leaving rather than by A&L. It would have been in their terms and conditions when you originally signed up with the company you're currently with.

HTH.

jimclark1967

A&L do not charge a fee to transfer your ISA either in or out. They used to charge £25 for outbound transfers but that was dropped last year.

JC

RichyRich

I applied for one of their ISAs a few weeks ago now, sent off the ID they wanted and not heard anything back. I spoke to Chris in Customer Services and he told me that they had received it, and I should hear by the end of the week before last (grr!). Tried faxing them on a few occasions, their fax machine isn't answering ever.

Anyone else having these problems or is it just my bad luck?

Rich

tipsychick

I heard the day after I applied, as did my mum and brother. They sent some kind of confirmation through in the post and the account was ready for me to activate on line.

Can't see really what they've got to decide on. I'm pretty sure they don't run a credit check for an ISA. Don't they just take you're money, so to speak?

RichyRich

Yes, but they said that their online ID check wasn't sufficient so to send ID, which I did, but not got anything back. Said there was a backlog but should get everything thru soon. Will ring them again.

Cheers, Rich

sly_dog_jonah

My experience as a new A&L customer here. Applying in-branch probably quicker than online, given people's experiences above?