M&S Money 4% ISA

gwapenut

What about depositing this year's allowance in your old ISAs and tehn applying to transfer the whole lot to M&S in one go - are there any rules to stop that?

bandana999

gwapenut wrote: »

What about depositing this year's allowance in your old ISAs and tehn applying to transfer the whole lot to M&S in one go - are there any rules to stop that?

Nothing to stop you, in fact that is the way to do it.

Porcupine

No, can't see why not. Assuming your old ISA will let you pay that in, of course.

nicp01

does the fixed rate apply to the amount of money you trxfr in...AND subsequent monthly top ups over the 4 yrs??

Baldur

nicp01 wrote: »

does the fixed rate apply to the amount of money you trxfr in...AND subsequent monthly top ups over the 4 yrs??

See http://money.marksandspencer.com/pdf/ISFRTermsAndConditions.pdf

3. Deposits
(i) You can make a lump sum deposit by cheque or debit card (Visa Debit, Maestro, or Solo cards are accepted).
(ii) Monthly savings by Direct Debit are not available.
(iii) You can deposit money in one or more of the Fixed Rate Bonds the periods for which are outlined in 2(i) above, and make further deposits, subject to the Cash ISA subscription limit given in 5(i) below.

Stompa

Baldur wrote: »

3. Deposits
(i) You can make a lump sum deposit by cheque or debit card (Visa Debit, Maestro, or Solo cards are accepted).
(ii) Monthly savings by Direct Debit are not available.
(iii) You can deposit money in one or more of the Fixed Rate Bonds the periods for which are outlined in 2(i) above, and make further deposits, subject to the Cash ISA subscription limit given in 5(i) below.

I spotted that yesterday, and have to say I find it rather surprising. Does it really mean that I can add further lump sums (at any time before it matures, and subject to yearly ISA limits) to my 3 year fixed rate (4%) cash ISA and get 4% on it until the end of the existing 3 year term?

Since item (iii) above only refers to 2(i), and not specifically to 2(ii), the implication seems to be that you can continue depositing even after the bond has been withdrawn.

I must have missed something surely?

Baldur

Stompa wrote: »

I spotted that yesterday, and have to say I find it rather surprising. Does it really mean that I can add further lump sums (at any time before it matures, and subject to yearly ISA limits) to my 3 year fixed rate (4%) cash ISA and get 4% on it until the end of the existing 3 year term?

Since item (iii) above only refers to 2(i), and not specifically to 2(ii), the implication seems to be that you can continue depositing even after the bond has been withdrawn.

I must have missed something surely?

I haven't really considered it, as my one-off deposit will take me perilously close to the FSCS limit in year one - so my focus has been in the facility to transfer easily, at a fairly minimal cost of £100, in the event that rates increase significantly.

Without clarification from M&S Money, your interpretation looks feasible, given the wording but thoughts of the likes of Nationwide, who open separate 'bonds' (at possibly different rates) for additional funds after the opening deposit are also 'nagging' at the back of my mind.

Stompa

Baldur wrote: »

I haven't really considered it, as my one-off deposit will take me perilously close to the FSCS limit in year one - so my focus has been in the facility to transfer easily, at a fairly minimal cost of £100, in the event that rates increase significantly..

Indeed, that was the main attraction for me too. But the prospect of being able to add a further £5100 now, and again in April sounds quite attractive. Especially if it all ends up residing in a single bond with a single £100 early withdrawal penalty.

Baldur wrote: »

Without clarification from M&S Money, your interpretation looks feasible, given the wording but thoughts of the likes of Nationwide, who open separate 'bonds' (at possibly different rates) for additional funds after the opening deposit are also 'nagging' at the back of my mind.

Yes, that sounds a more likely scenario to me, but the wording would seem to imply otherwise.....

I also recall some posts where people had done transfers and added new money at the same time and ended up with two bonds because M&S said it wasn't possible to combine them.

Porcupine

Yes, that was the argument I had with them earlier in the thread. They were fairly adamant that each payment created a new bond. But maybe they've changed the rules in response to my complaint, I don't know. They also allow you to split your ISA into flexible, 1yr, 2yr and 3yr chunks so that might be the meaning of the wording... but each chunk has a different withdrawal penalty.

If you plan to do this, make sure you get in writing (email is good) that you can add extra money into the same bond without creating a separate issue and that there will be one £100 fee for the whole lot.. Otherwise it becomes very expensive to withdraw.

Stompa

Porcupine wrote: »

Yes, that was the argument I had with them earlier in the thread. They were fairly adamant that each payment created a new bond.

Yes, having just spoken to them it seems you are correct. Any further deposits will create a separate bond, which is a shame! It seems to me that their T&C's are therefore somewhat lacking in clarity.