Halifax ISA where to now?

Deru

That's what I was thinking but was not sure so didn't want to touch it in case I lost the .2%.

Mine's in April just after the deadline. Guess I'll wait.

Thanks.

psychic_teabag

Deru wrote: »

Does anyone know if the .2% bonus for rewards customers would be paid if I redsignated now or do I have to wait the full year?

I redesignated an ISA with Halifax last year. The 0.2% bonus continued unchanged, but then expired on the anniversary of the original opening, while new bonus rate from the redesignation continued.

dfurn

For those who are wanting to change to a Halifax ISA Saver Online from a previous Halifax ISA do please note that some Halifax staff are giving out duff info about this process. I was told to open a new account online and then call back and they would swap the entitlement over from the old ISA to the new. This differed from the redesignation process which I was used to last year. Anyhow when I did this and called back I was told I would actually have to fill in a transfer form and take it into an HX branch. After getting a little irate (it is meant to be an online account remember, and I was spending far too much time on the phone and now I had to do some paperwork) I asked to speak to a manager. I was told speaking to a manager would not make any difference as the process would not change. I said I wanted to anyhow. After a few minutes on hold I was told, surprise surprise, that it all was possible. I spoke to a helpful person in Belfast who explained the Halifax ISA-ISA process formerly known as redesignation is now called conversion, and can be done over the phone. I think this last lady, who I was very nice to, could tell I was somewhat miffed at how annoying this process had been and she asked if I wanted to make a complaint. I said yes, and she offered me £15.00 by way of compensation for my wasted time. So not too bad in the end!!

So remember everyone ask for a conversion and you don't need to fill any forms on or go to a branch, just get on the phone (odd for an online account but there you go).

I'm sure I don't need to remind you of saynoto0870 they have an 0800 number for Halifax savings.

Optimist

Forget phoning them up you can do it online It takes 5 minutes and you just need your sort code and account number.

dfurn

Optimist wrote: »

Forget phoning them up you can do it online It takes 5 minutes and you just need your sort code and account number.

Well filling in this web page admittedly takes five minutes or so but they still might take up to five days to change to the new ISA. The method I described above, once I found someone who knew what they were doing, happened pretty much instantly once she hit the right keys on her computer. Depends how much you want it done right away I suppose.

StinkyMonkey

Optimist wrote: »

Forget phoning them up you can do it online It takes 5 minutes and you just need your sort code and account number.

What about having an ISA Direct that matures later in March (ca/. 20/03)? Should I wait for maturity and the interest to be paid and then what? Call them and ask to move it to the new ISA Saver Online? or do it online?

Not sure when to take action and what action I should take...

Optimist

StinkyMonkey wrote: »

What about having an ISA Direct that matures later in March (ca/. 20/03)? Should I wait for maturity and the interest to be paid and then what? Call them and ask to move it to the new ISA Saver Online? or do it online?

Not sure when to take action and what action I should take...

Personally I would do it online on the day it matures, assuming you want to stick with Halifax.