Barnsely BS 3.0% 1 Year ISA

CosmicTen

I was looking at this account;
http://www.barnsley-bs.co.uk/media/onlinefixedrateisa/?cmpid=110

Seems pretty good for a 1 year lock away cash isa, certainly suits me accept for one thing, in the T&Cs it seems to suggest that you can no longer make additional deposits as soon as the product is no longer available to new members, is this how it works. To quote;

"Please note: You can only make deposits to the Online Fixed Rate ISA whilst the issue remains open to new investors. The Online Fixed Rate ISA is a limited issue product, which means it can be withdrawn without notice at any time."

Bit a pain as I'd like to make new deposits through the year and now wondering if I'd be better off taking a lower % ISA that allows deposits all year around?

Isn't there a similar M&S account coming out today?

Cheers!
Cosmic.

Baldur

That's the price you pay for a fixed rate account (ISA or otherwise), many such accounts will only permit a single opening deposit, although others, like the Barnsley one, permit additional deposits until the product is withdrawn for new business.

If you want to make additional deposits, you'll probably need to look at variable rate alternatives @ 2.8%-2.85%, see http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=4603369&postcount=1

Details of the M&S products are now available on their website.

CosmicTen

The M&S one that I'm looking at now is this;

http://money.marksandspencer.com/save-invest/cash-isa/more-information/

3.0% cash isa for 1 year fixed. The early withdrawl fee isn't really an issue as it's extremely unlikely I would be withdrawing early (unless there was an emergency which wouldn't matter).

There doesn't appear to be anything to stop regular additions through the year. Have I missed anything with this. Seems right for me.

Baldur

CosmicTen wrote: »

There doesn't appear to be anything to stop regular additions through the year. Have I missed anything with this. Seems right for me.

From memory, you'll find threads on these forums relating to the previous issue (4% for 3 years), which suggested that subscriptions made after the account was no longer available to new applicants, were applied to a different ISA account by M&S.

CosmicTen

Oh really! I had a search, couldn't find anything specific so I'll look again. Couldn't find anything in the Ts and C's relating to this so if anyone knows anything let me know. Cheers. Not sure how they could apply new deposits to a new ISA when you're only supposed to have one ISA a year.

CosmicTen

Hold on, I was looking at the wrong t's and c's, they put the variable rate doc on the same page.

Anyway, I found this;

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.

adindas

[FONT=&quot]Dear All[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]How about Halifax ISA direct reward which will also pay, 3% if you have reward a/c with them.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/accounts/cash-isas/isa-direct-reward/[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2743342[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In my opinion this is more interesting as this is not fixed, and unlimited withdrawals during the 12 month reward period is allowed.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]So for the people who could get 3% it is better to have Halifax ISA direct reward rather than all the products mentioned in these thread, am I right to think so ?.[/FONT]
ADINDAS
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

Baldur

CosmicTen wrote: »

Oh really! I had a search, couldn't find anything specific so I'll look again. Couldn't find anything in the Ts and C's relating to this so if anyone knows anything let me know. Cheers. Not sure how they could apply new deposits to a new ISA when you're only supposed to have one ISA a year.

It's not a new ISA, the suggestion was that it was a different account, from memory, which would allegedly entail another £100 fee in the event of closure.

You'll need to search these forums for the relevant threads/posts. As I made a single lump sum transfer, I didn't bookmark them for reference but recall that the above scenario was discussed, along with M&S CS responses to enquiries.

CosmicTen

Thanks for the heads up Baldur. Very interesting and shocking how semi-hidden this is until you really dig. Always happy to dig mind

Thanks adindas, I'll take a look at that.

VT82

adindas wrote: »

[FONT=&quot]Dear All[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]How about Halifax ISA direct reward which will also pay, 3% if you have reward a/c with them.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/accounts/cash-isas/isa-direct-reward/[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2743342[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In my opinion this is more interesting as this is not fixed, and unlimited withdrawals during the 12 month reward period is allowed.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]So for the people who could get 3% it is better to have Halifax ISA direct reward rather than all the products mentioned in these thread, am I right to think so ?.[/FONT]
ADINDAS

That's what I did so I hope you're right!

The reason they stop you being able to add extra deposits to fixed rate savings products is because they run the risk of it being more competitive over its life, and people will pile money into it at the point where it becomes so, and at that point, it is too late for the bank/building society to hedge it at the margin they originally allowed for when they launched it. It's the same reason why they either don't allow withdrawals from fixed rates or will do so only with a penalty - otherwise everyone should just open every fixed rate going and move their money around into whatever is best at the time.

It's less important now when rates are all low, fixed rates seem to be the same as variable rates and only seem to be going down, and there's no prospect of rate movements, but it's the basis of how a bank manages its funding.

CosmicTen

Thanks VT, very interesting reading!