halifax

The_Son

Hi. Looking for more help for my Dad. Had a few grand and when depoisted told he had to speak to someone! (no idea why he HAD to like). Anyway got talked into a 4 year fixed isa that is completly usless for what he needs. I know he signed etc but my dad really isnt good with it. Anyway when i seen it it has a 14 day cancel on it and got him to ring them they told him that if he does cancel he may get back back less than he put in and he also wont be able to open a isa anywhere else this year. So 2 questions.

1) Surely if he cancels in 14 days he should get back what he put in?
2) is that right abouth no other isa? i know you can only have 1 per year but does that count as it aint really started

psychic_teabag

I don't know about halifax in particular, but other ISAs I've seen confirm that if you cancel during the cooling-off period, you can still open another ISA.

If he was to simply withdraw the money and close the account, it is true that he'd get less back (penalty for early access) and lose the option to open another ISA, but I agree with you that cancelling should be different.

EDIT: page 3 of http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/pdf/cash-isa-account-conditions.pdf clearly states that if you cancel, you can open another cash ISA. (But if you cancel after the 14 days, you are effectively closing it and cannot open another one.)

jonmcclelland

i can confirm that I closed an ISA transfer I opened with Halifax within 14 days. You can cancel your intention in the branch or in writing. I did mine over the counter and just explained the situation.

Gromitt

Yes you can cancel, but you must state that you wish to cancel under the 14 days cooling off period. Don't let them fob you off with closing the account instead, which will mean you'll lose 320 days interest (which could mean you get back far less than what you deposited)

Mikeyorks

The_Son wrote: »

2) is that right abouth no other isa? i know you can only have 1 per year but does that count as it aint really started

No it's not right.

If you cancel it in the cooling off period then it's construed that it was never opened.
If you close it and withdraw all the cash after the cooling off period - then it's more complex. But you can still open one elsewhere under the self transfer rules. You can only do that once per tax year.

The_Son

Thanks everyone. So really they have just lied to him to put him off cancelling it!!! I just hope the letter gets there within 14days