Anyone else finding the application for the Natwest e-ISA confusing?

Shoose

Hi

I need help as I am confused.

I currently have an ISA with the post office. It was opened in Oct08 with transfer of funds from the Abbey.

In this tax year I have paid in £300 into the Post office ISA.

I then saw the NatWest E ISA and thought I transfer both the prior year and current year balance into the Natwest ISA (as a note the 3.51% rate ends today).

I have been told today that current year funds paid into the post office cannot be transfered in. I would need to top up my PostOffice ISA with the remaining £3300 for 2009/2010 tax year (which I do not have) then transfer into the NatWest ISA, or I could just transfer over the prior year balance from the post office, and still pay the 2008/2009 allowance into the post office ISA, which is not a very good rate.

I thought that it was OK to transfer from one provider to another thoughout the year, even if you had paid in current year funds, as long as you didn't go over the £3600 limit.

This has now made me concerned about my husbands ISA. He has his with the Abbey until March 2009. On the 30th March09 the balance (prior tax year and payments made in 2008/2009) were transfered over to the post office. We then paid into the post office account in the 2008/2009 tax year as well. We did not go over the £3600 limit. Was this OK?


I am now really confused as to what you can and cannot do.

Help!

regards

alanwsg

Shoose wrote: »

(as a note the 3.51% rate ends today).

Hi Shoose,
Where did that info come from please?

Shoose

Hi

I phoned the Natwest this morning. They told me after today the rate goes to .77%. I was also told it was ending today when I asked in my local branch on Saturday.

alanwsg

Wow, that's a big drop!
I was expecting it to drop but that's just silly.

Shoose

I know, so I only have a few hours to do the transfer if I decide to!

Would you be able to help with nay of my questions please?

willo65

The Cash ISA plus ends today but looks like the E-ISA is still the same.

masonic

Shoose wrote: »

I have been told today that current year funds paid into the post office cannot be transfered in. I would need to top up my PostOffice ISA with the remaining £3300 for 2009/2010 tax year (which I do not have) then transfer into the NatWest ISA, or I could just transfer over the prior year balance from the post office, and still pay the 2008/2009 allowance into the post office ISA, which is not a very good rate.

I thought that it was OK to transfer from one provider to another thoughout the year, even if you had paid in current year funds, as long as you didn't go over the £3600 limit.

I don't know whether what you have been told is plain wrong, or whether you've been told about a failing specific to Natwest. You are certainly allowed to transfer your whole current year funds paid in so far from one provider to another and then top up if you have any of your £3600 allowance remaining.

Shoose

This is from NatWests website - questions and answers. They seem to contradict each other.

I have paid £700 of my current tax year allowance into a Cash ISA with another provider. Can I open another Cash ISA with NatWest and pay in the remaining £2,900?

No, due to Cash ISA Regulations you cannot have more than one Cash ISA in a tax year.
However, you can pay the remaining £2,900 of your allowance into your existing Cash ISA with the other provider and then transfer it over to us.

How do I transfer a Cash ISA with another provider to NatWest?

Simply complete a Cash ISA Transfer form and take this to any NatWest branch. If you do not currently have an ISA with us we'll open an account for you in branch. If you don't already bank with us we'll also need to open an instant access account, so please bring appropriate ID.

davidlizard

I have spent the last month attempting to open an E-ISA and have given up. For the sake of a few tenths of a percent, its not worth the hassle. I opened an ISAs for my wife and myself with someone else this evening, and it took me less than 1 hour complete.

With the Natwest, I complete the forms for the E-ISA and a nominated savings account. They want to see my documents, so we queue up in the local branch. They cannot open the savings account there and then, but promise to post the forms to me.

A month passes before I hear anything. Calls to the call centre simply get told theres nothing they can do until I get the savings stuff which contains the account numbers.

Eventually the saving account forms turn up, by which time the E-ISA applications have expired. I phone them up, and they tell me I will have to resubmit my E-ISA forms (and revisit town to show them my passport again as they kept no record of it).

However, in the meantime there has been a steady stream of junk mail from Natwest coming through the door offering me stuff I have no interest in such as packaged accounts and loans (and I ticked the boxes to opt out of marketing).

It would be nice to see the Cash ISAs article that recommends NatWest be updated to indicate what a total faff it is getting one set up - reading through the various posts in this thread, forum and on other boards certain proves this to be the case.

alared

Davidlizard
I have to entirely agree with you,a total shambles.
I`ve not even got as far as opening an E-ISA.
I`m still, after a month,trying to to set-up and get access to an E-Saver,which for some strange reason,you need to have first!
Out of curiosity who did you go with in the end?