Have I just been HAD by NatWest?

djm1972

Logged into Online Banking today and got a reminder that I "should take advantage of this years Cash ISA allowance" so I duly transferred £3600 from my secondary savings account into my Cash ISA.

Then, I later discover - through forum posts elsewhere that NatWest's e-ISA is paying over 2.5% MORE than their Cash ISA, yet I do not administer my Cash ISA anything other than online.

With only 2 years allowance it's not hugely significant which is why i've not given it much thought in the past, but I've now just blown my entire allowance this year on their poultry 0.60% when I could have been earning 3.20%.

Does this demand a shitstorm; or should I lump it and put it down to "don't let the banks get you with apathy" lesson?

penguine

Look for a better paying ISA that accepts transfers.

bagsacash

The banks must trick a great many people with these sneaky tactics

djm1972

Shitstorm scheduled for Tuesday morning, 9:30AM.

I don't expect anything to come out of it, but it will make me feel better

djm1972

hang-on a minute...

Just had a good look around natwest.com, and in terms of transferring IN to an e-ISA I can't find anything stating that it only applies to non Nat-West accounts.

Does anyone know anything different? As it stands it looks like I can open a NatWest e-ISA and transfer my existing NatWest Cash-ISA (2 years allowance, INCLUDING this year's) into it...

alanwsg

Well I hope you can as it's what I've done.
Already sent the paperwork off to transfer my NW Cash-ISA into my new E-ISA, rung NW to check it was OK first.
Nothing's happened yet but I'm hopeful ....

djm1972

Hi Alan,

Do you mean you're in the same position as me - just invested THIS YEAR'S (i.e. from 6th April 2009) allowance in a bog standard NatWest Cash-ISA and hoping to transfer it to an e-ISA?

alanwsg

No, I've invested this years allowance in the E-ISA.
I also have a Cash ISA that I'm (hopefully) transferring.
But I don't see that it makes any difference, you should be able to transfer the whole lot anyway.

Kavanne

At the moment, you can transfer from a Natwest Cash ISA, or another ISA elsewhere, into an e-ISA. You need to just open the e-ISA with a £0 balance and then fill out the ISA transfer form from their website or in the branch.

djm1972

Thanks all above.

NatWest are starting to take the !!!! with this online/not-online malarky; they must have thousands of customers who transact with them nothing but online, but they are creating all sorts of new "online only" offers for products / services that thousands of their existing customers have been doing only online for years - but not offering them the same deal.

I'm still going to go out of my way to visit my branch on Tuesday as I feel this deserves somebody at branch level being on the receiving end of one of my shitstorms.

KTF

Online only accounts cost less to administer so the rates will be better. As with most things its always worth looking around first rather than 'assuming' you are getting the best deal.

Taking it out on the branch staff wont solve anything but if it makes you feel better...