Are Halifax Cash ISAs Fraudulent?

AmIBeingRobbed

Will readers please respond to this post as if it were an Internet Trial with a finding of Guilty or Not Guilty? The first 12 votes will be used to determine the jury's finding. (No votes from members of the Financial Service Industry permitted.)

I just discovered a Halifax Cash ISA I bought several years ago was paying a negligible 0.5% interest per annum. I phoned to ask the Halifax to explain why it was paying existing investors less than 20% of the interest being offered to new investors. I was told the agreement I had signed entitled Halifax to pay a reasonable interest for the first 12 months and 0.5% thereafter. (I am pretty sure I would not have signed such terms if they were explicitly stated.)

All the current Halifax adverts for cash ISAs all offer a specific interest rate for the first 12 months and make no mention of the interest after 12 months.

I recently read the 2006 Fraud Act which states:

1. It is fraudulent to withhold key information, such as in this case, the interest rate that applies after 12 months. Other failures to provide accurate information include the fact I was not given a copy of the contract I signed. Also I only ever received 2 statements from the Halifax in a four year period.
2. A fraudulent loss can include losses of what a customer would have gained - and this could clearly include loss of interest. (Which comes as a big suprise.)

This is the link to the 2006 Fraud Act. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35/contents

Please respond to this mini trial by internet, if you think Halifax is Guilty or not guilty. Then I can put George Osborne on the spot by passing the proof and the jury's opinion in this case.

In my view, the fact that Halifax does not explicitly state an interest rate to apply after 12 months does not entitle to award negligible interest. Who else agrees?

PS: I have little doubt that in the land of the free, there will be a clause in a Financial Services Act that ensures bankers will not come against 12 worthy citizens facing charges under a Fraud Act. This is a typical expample of how the rule of law does not apply to Financial Services and how poorly the FSA performs. So I am proposing a subsequent vote on the whether the head of the FSA should be dismissed by Parliament for failing to prevent sharp practise.

Linton

Not guilty.

Halifax's Ts & Cs clearly state that the interest rate is variable, and their current interest rate tables show that there is a bonus rate significantly higher than the standard rate. No evidence has been presented that their tables did not indicate the same several years ago, but I would be surprised if they didnt.

I also find that the complainant has been culpably negligent:

1) Failing to ascertain the nature of the investment before parting with his money

2) Failing to monitor investments over a period of several years

I hereby confirm that I am not and never have been a member of the financial services industry.

Moist_von_Lipwig

Not Guilty

For the same reasons as the foreman of the jury stated.

I'm also not a member of the financial services industry.

talexuser

Not Guilty.
I had the same ISA and the terms were perfectly clear when I took it out. The day after the high interest was paid and the rate dropped it was transferred to another high interest (for 12 months) version.

I have nothing to do with the financial services industry.

cashbag

Not Guilty

Same reasons as stated above.

The complainant should be held responsible for their own action (or lack of) & penalised for wasting the court's time. However it would appear that punishment, in the form of a financial penalty, has aready been completed. Case dismissed.


I hereby affirm I am not a member of the financial services industry.

rockitup

Another Not Guilty verdict,

If any of us get lazy and don't bother to check interest rates at least every couple of months, then it is us who are Guilty and we must be prepared to swing from the big oak tree for our penalty... or put up with a miserly 0.5%

innovate

Not guilty

for reasons already stated by others

Hooloovoo

Not guilty.

CLAPTON

the financial service industry is full of crooks and halifax is no exception

while we all ought to be shocked that a large corporation has a business model that depends on cheating people who are not constantly vigilent, nevertheless that's the world we live in.

so, in practice we are not shocked that politicians cheat and lie or large corporations cheat and mislead or exec boards milk the companies for huge unjustified bonuses or that Dave and George were pally with the murdocks

McKneff

Not Guilty me lud.

Orf with their heads anyway.........:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

mbailey

Sorry mate, but another Not Guilty here.

Just because you haven't monitored the account for "Several years" doesn't mean you can now blame Halifax.