Best ISA Transfer - No New Savings

cemeterybird

Hi - I have posted this question on the over 50's section but thought I would post it here too - hope that's allowed?

Sadly late last year I was made redundant and have little chance of getting another job, being a 61 year old woman - so my only income now will be my state pension.

This means there is no way I shall be able to save any new money for the forseeable future and most probably will have to dip into my savings just to get by.:(

I transferred my ISA's to a Santander one last year, of course, only expecting to get a decent interest rate for the one year and sure enough, I have just received a letter stating that, as an existing customer, I will only continue to get a decent rate if I have at least £14K invested (which I haven't), so I guess I shall have to transfer again.

Can anyone offer any advice as to which one is the best to transfer to in my circumstances? The two accounts from which I transferred to Santander last year are Nat. West and National Savings, both account being left open with small amounts still in place.

Thanks for any help......

opinions4u

Halifax ISA Direct Reward 4, assuming easy access is what you're after. Withdrawals by phone or online transfer to another Halifax account (Reward current account or Web Saver Reward allow you to send funds on to accounts with other banks).

Again, it's a decent rate for 12 months, so be aware of the expiry of that period of time!

http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/

Also, the Halifax ISA Promise has two key elements that you may like:

"When you switch your cash ISA to us we will not wait for your current provider, we pay interest from day one of receiving your completed transfer application."

"All cash ISAs will be available to all customers, new and existing."

Which means if they have another good deal in 12 months time, you aren't stopped from having it!

dqnet

Halifax for sure... i've transferred and all working perfect.

zaax

opinions4u wrote: »

Halifax ISA Direct Reward 4, assuming easy access is what you're after. Withdrawals by phone or online transfer to another Halifax account (Reward current account or Web Saver Reward allow you to send funds on to accounts with other banks).

Again, it's a decent rate for 12 months, so be aware of the expiry of that period of time!

http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/

Also, the Halifax ISA Promise has two key elements that you may like:



Which means if they have another good deal in 12 months time, you aren't stopped from having it!

Don't forget their web access is closing for a year. So you will either have to hang the phone for a long time or join the long queue at a branch

cemeterybird

Thanks you two. I'm checking out Halifax and it does seem to be the best for me, in my circumstances.
Does anyone know if it makes any difference as to which site you enter Halifax through - ie: are there any cash back offers for transferring ISA's through the various cashback sites?

cemeterybird

Oh Zaax - I just noticed your posting after leaving my last reply!! Is that correct? I haven't seen that mentioned in any of their advertising! Damn!!!

Voyager2002

Do check out what used to be called Ruffler Bank (I think they are now called Aldermore). Back when I had cash mini-ISAs, I was very pleased with them.

opinions4u

zaax wrote: »

Don't forget their web access is closing for a year. So you will either have to hang the phone for a long time or join the long queue at a branch

That's online access for stocks and shares ISAs (investments).

Nothing to do with cash ISAs (savings) which will contnue to be available online.

cemeterybird wrote: »

Oh Zaax - I just noticed your posting after leaving my last reply!! Is that correct? I haven't seen that mentioned in any of their advertising! Damn!!!

See above! It's not correct .

Does anyone know if it makes any difference as to which site you enter Halifax through - ie: are there any cash back offers for transferring ISA's through the various cashback sites?

For cash ISAs, not that I'm aware of. Halifax often use TopCashback for insurance, current accounts and credit cards though.

cemeterybird

Phew! Thanks O4U - that's a relief..... I am just in the process of opening an account with Halifax! I did wonder why it was letting me do it - I had visions of getting to the end and them stating I had to ring a number or visit a branch!!

cemeterybird

So I have just opened a Halifax account (after Firefox crashed and I had to start from scratch!) to use for transferring from my Santander ISA.... they don't make it easy though!! Now I have the account opened, I cannot work out how to transfer the funds!!

Also, someone asked me on another thread, why I kept my old accounts open with small amounts in them. I don't really know, is the answer!! Is it advisable to close accounts when there are very little funds in them? If I remember rightly, when I transferred my ISA's last year, I wasn't given the option of transferring the total amount in that account (I wouldn't know to the exact penny, as I don't know what interest there is in any particular account at any one time).

So how do you go about closing accounts then, when there is probably a small amount left with unknown interest? Do you write to them, asking for closure and a cheque for any amounts outstanding or is there an easier way? Goodness, I must sound thick!!! lol

spikyone

cemeterybird wrote: »

So I have just opened a Halifax account (after Firefox crashed and I had to start from scratch!) to use for transferring from my Santander ISA.... they don't make it easy though!! Now I have the account opened, I cannot work out how to transfer the funds!!

With ISAs, you have to get your new provider to do the transfer for you. So you need to fill in and return this form:
http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/forms/HX_ISATF.pdf

cemeterybird wrote: »

Is it advisable to close accounts when there are very little funds in them? If I remember rightly, when I transferred my ISA's last year, I wasn't given the option of transferring the total amount in that account (I wouldn't know to the exact penny, as I don't know what interest there is in any particular account at any one time).

So how do you go about closing accounts then, when there is probably a small amount left with unknown interest? Do you write to them, asking for closure and a cheque for any amounts outstanding or is there an easier way? Goodness, I must sound thick!!! lol

It doesn't really matter how much is in the account, I think the point is that if you've left money in them you're probably not earning much interest. And the interest rate is unlikely to improve, so you don't really need those accounts.
As they're ISAs my advice would be to fill out another transfer form for each of them as well and re-unite your money in the Halifax account - you can make as many transfers as you like and you may as well get the tax-free benefit.

Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers