MSE News: Halifax to pay Isa transfer interest from day one

Milarky

rb10 wrote: »

Loss of interest will still occur in many situations, e.g. if I have a fixed rate ISA, and the bank doesn't get around to sending the cheque for two weeks. I'll then only be earning interest at 0.1%-ish for those two weeks (unless I am transferring to Halifax or Nationwide).

True, and it would not even be a cause for complaint (e.g. to FOS) because '15 business days' is the new 'reasonable' time which companies may take. So these improvements haven't closed off that loophole and [to paraphrase Yogi Berra] it's 'caveat emptor' all over again...

Milarky

Consumerist wrote: »

Only slightly off-topic but new ISA guidelines come into effect from 01 Jan 2011 which should eliminate the loss of interest.

The revised Guidelines implement the following key changes which come into effect on 1 January 2011:

• The maximum time taken for a typical Cash ISA to Cash ISA transfer is cut from 23 to 15 business days
• The new provider will backdate interest to the first day where interest no longer accrues on the funds being transferred from the customer’s existing Cash ISA
• The new provider will start paying the new interest rate from day 16 at the latest, regardless of whether the transfer has completed within the standard 15 business day timeline (pended cases excepted)

It was my understanding that the OFT report required a maximum of two days loss of interest but the new guidlines seem to imply no loss at all.

Having followed your epic argument with masonic and MarkyMarkD on the other thread, this strikes me as being an industry-body endorsement of the validity of the Halifax position; how could the new provider pay interest from day 16 where the transfer has not occurred if [certain people are saying that] Halifax doing it from day 1 are in breach? Logically they're the same thing. So either Halifax and the BBA/BSA are wrong [and certain smug people on here should be put in charge of some legal department] or the case against has been waaaay overstated?