Coventry 3.25% ISA - yes or no?

hamski

Tried a transfer via bacs but was refused ,rang call centre and was told only way for initial payment was by cheque. Strange for an internet account not to allow online payments but agree still one of the better isa options at the moment

realaledrinker

hamski wrote: »

Tried a transfer via bacs but was refused ,rang call centre and was told only way for initial payment was by cheque. Strange for an internet account not to allow online payments but agree still one of the better isa options at the moment

I put £5,100 in by BACS the other week even though supposedly not possible.

Using their 40-63-01 sort code & last 8 digits of the account worked without a hitch. Another slab left the current account today for DS's account so fingers crossed!

2010

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

Er, no it's not. Or they wouldn't be paying 3%+ on savings accounts, and they'd all be making enormous profits.

Read and learn

First of all, what is the base rate?

It's the interest rate at which the Bank of England lends money to banks and the savings rate it offers to them if they place funds on deposit with it.


http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/savings-and-banking/article.html?in_article_id=497311&in_page_id=7

Saver-Rob

Found this easy to set up and very competetive. Great account!

MarkyMarkD

2010 wrote: »

Read and learn

First of all, what is the base rate?

It's the interest rate at which the Bank of England lends money to banks and the savings rate it offers to them if they place funds on deposit with it.


http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/savings-and-banking/article.html?in_article_id=497311&in_page_id=7

The "thisismoney" comment is very misleading.

The Wikipedia definition expresses it far more accurately:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_England_base_rate

The official bank rate (also called the Bank of England base rate[1] or BOEBR) is the interest rate that the Bank of England charges Banks for secured overnight lending. It is the British Government's key interest rate for enacting monetary policy.[2] It is more analogous to the US discount window than to the Federal funds rate. The security for the lending can be any of a list of eligible securities (commonly Gilts) and are transacted as overnight repurchase agreements.

So, cutting through the verbiage, to borrow at that rate the banks have to have an equivalent amount invested in Government stocks - Gilts - i.e. they have to have lent the Government the same amount in the first place!

The "thisismoney" wording suggests banks can just go and borrow vast amounts at BBR, and therefore that they are profiteering by charging higher rates to customers. Clearly that is rubbish.

Being able to borrow back money you've already lent the government, in the form of gilts, at 0.5% is scarcely a big wow. And the borrowing is overnight - not long term - and therefore completely useless for lending to customers. It is just a mechanism for sorting out imbalances between banks at the end of each day, not a funding choice for the banks.

2010

2010 wrote: »

Already have access to the Cov. online and just applied and accepted within a minute.

New ISA account should show up online shortly and initial payment can then be made by BACS,cheque or transfer from another Cov. account.

Just to add to the above,I wanted to fund this by transferring money from my Coventry Postal account.
This account is what it says and withdrawals can only be made by me writing to them and requesting a cheque (not less than £1,000) by return post, which then has to be cleared through my bank.

I posted a letter on Monday asking if it was possible for them to transfer money from my Postal account to fund my ISA.
This was all done and dusted on Tuesday with no loss of interest or the rigmarole of cheques going to and fro.

Top class service and common sense from the Coventry who are probably the best building society in the country for customer service and efficiency.

frames1_uk

Thank you for this thread. Have just filled in online application and am about to send off.

Are Coventry part of a larger group?

Thanks

2010

frames1_uk wrote: »

Are Coventry part of a larger group?

Thanks

No they`re independent.

frames1_uk

thanks. Any ideas why this doesn't feature in any best buy table? Should that worry me before I part with my cash?

2010

frames1_uk wrote: »

thanks. Any ideas why this doesn't feature in any best buy table? Should that worry me before I part with my cash?

The only thing you have to worry about is if you don`t get a move on it`ll be withdrawn.
It`s a limited issue.