Cash ISAs: The Best Currently Available List

sparkiemalarkie

soulsaver said:

 Virgin Money (still)

Just to be aware - If you've chosen to submit a complaint via the 'Chat' route (to avoid the call holding and the potential for a frustrating cut off) VM issue a complaint reference in the chat .

I asked if a transcript of the chat is emailed or saved.
They said it will be (only) in the letter acknowledging the complaint.

So best make a note of complaint reference, other wise when their letter possibly get's 'lost in the post' and/or  'we have no trace...' you'll not be starting the clock ticking all over again.

I took screen dumps (& photos) of the chat as it went along.

Gosh it's exhausting for you!

My money is still in the fixed rate ISA but I'm anticipating problems so wondering if I need a contingency plan.
I have an Exclusive Fixed ISA 9 open @ 5.5% but it's unfunded and probably past the funding window or do I open the Fixed ISA 10 @ 5.25% in case everything goes pear shaped ?......

sx

soulsaver

Don't worry, I don't find it exhausting, I've been in commercial contract compliance all my adult life; I just do it by the numbers. 

I'd guess your's will be OK, but if your worried....

You could phone them and check that it's recorded correctly and get the transfer reference while you're there.

If you remain unsure you could apply for their latest fixed ISA as a fall back and not fund it. It'll be available at 31st for sure because its still on sale now and it's another VM fix with 30 days from off sale date. CASH ISAs | Virgin Money UK. Then if the 4 to 7 doesn't work you'll have maybe the 4->9 or for sure the matured 4->10.

What date did Iss 9 go off sale?

Qyburn

Zopa still listed here as not accepting transfers in. Has someone tried it and found it doesn't work?

refluxer

Qyburn said:

Zopa still listed here as not accepting transfers in. Has someone tried it and found it doesn't work?

They do now accept transfers in - the MSE info is out of date.

https://www.zopa.com/help/article/can-i-transfer-an-isa-with-another-provider-into-my-smart-isa

sparkiemalarkie

soulsaver said:

Don't worry, I don't find it exhausting, I've been in commercial contract compliance all my adult life; I just do it by the numbers. 

I'd guess your's will be OK, but if your worried....

You could phone them and check that it's recorded correctly and get the transfer reference while you're there.

If you remain unsure you could apply for their latest fixed ISA as a fall back and not fund it. It'll be available at 31st for sure because its still on sale now and it's another VM fix with 30 days from off sale date. CASH ISAs | Virgin Money UK. Then if the 4 to 7 doesn't work you'll have maybe the 7->9 or for sure the matured 7->10.

What date did Iss 9 go off sale?

I had a text saying that I could add to it until18/01/24....
I have opened an issue 10 @ 5.25% just in case...

I think I'm going to see how things pan out before I start any conversations with the ISA team...who knows, it might just work out as planned. 

soulsaver

sparkiemalarkie said:

soulsaver said:

Don't worry, I don't find it exhausting, I've been in commercial contract compliance all my adult life; I just do it by the numbers. 

I'd guess your's will be OK, but if your worried....

You could phone them and check that it's recorded correctly and get the transfer reference while you're there.

If you remain unsure you could apply for their latest fixed ISA as a fall back and not fund it. It'll be available at 31st for sure because its still on sale now and it's another VM fix with 30 days from off sale date. CASH ISAs | Virgin Money UK. Then if the 4 to 7 doesn't work you'll have maybe the 7->9 or for sure the matured 7->10.

What date did Iss 9 go off sale?

I had a text saying that I could add to it until18/01/24....
I have opened an issue 10 @ 5.25% just in case...

I think I'm going to see how things pan out before I start any conversations with the ISA team...who knows, it might just work out as planned. 

Up to you, but the normal CS can tell you what's recorded and the reference without access to the ISA team. 
Shouldn't be holding long if you can make it early on.

pecunianonolet

I've got a Virgin Money fix maturing on the 31st March (Sunday) and it's time to look for options, open potential accounts with long funding windows early to secure rates, etc. Reading @soulsaver story doesn't provide me with much confidence of it going smooth with Virgin.

Having my eye on the Zopa Smart ISA at 5.08% because it is a flexible ISA (just in case) and I like interest to be paid monthly. (I know there is a lot more flexibility from 6th April with the new rules).

Moneyfacts states minimum opening amount is £1. Am I able to open the account early (now) to secure the rate and instruct Zopa to start the transfer on Monday 1st April and the account is at £0 balance until then? The £1 minimum funding seems to be only relevant for fixes so if I leave it at £0 I not break rules with oversubscribing.
https://www.zopa.com/help/article/does-the-smart-isa-have-a-minimum-deposit

I can't find any info on a funding window and only that the transfer can take up to 15 business days. https://www.zopa.com/help/article/how-do-i-fund-my-smart-isa

Will I start to receive interest from Zopa from the day the transfer starts e.g. 1st April or only from the day funds are credited? A bit worried that the money is in limbo for a few weeks not earning anything if Virgin turns out to be a pain and Zopa only starting to pay from the day funds are received? Are both of them doing things electronically as I am not keen to handle paper and even less so to rely on snailmail. 

What is the notice period for Zopa Smart ISA should they reduce their rates? Can't find anything and they only state 14 days for a Smart Saver here https://www.zopa.com/help/article/can-the-interest-rate-change I would think the 14 days applyfor the ISA too?

Do people think we will see some movement up or down closer to the financial year end? My assumption would be down. Principality have reduced their rate from 5.06% to 5.0% the other day, which might be an indicator. Metro Bank not an option as table topper as the next branch is over 200 miles away. 

I know, still 7 weeks away from maturity but a lot of key dates until then so a lot that can happen. If I can secure any rates, I'd like to act now while there are still 5.x% opportunities.

• Consumer price inflation 17th Jan, 14th Feb and 20th March
• MPC meetings 1st Feb, 21st March
• Spring budget on the 6th of March

refluxer

pecunianonolet said:

I've got a Virgin Money fix maturing on the 31st March (Sunday) and it's time to look for options, open potential accounts with long funding windows early to secure rates, etc. Reading @soulsaver story doesn't provide me with much confidence of it going smooth with Virgin.

Having my eye on the Zopa Smart ISA at 5.08% because it is a flexible ISA (just in case) and I like interest to be paid monthly. (I know there is a lot more flexibility from 6th April with the new rules).

Moneyfacts states minimum opening amount is £1. Am I able to open the account early (now) to secure the rate and instruct Zopa to start the transfer on Monday 1st April and the account is at £0 balance until then? The £1 minimum funding seems to be only relevant for fixes so if I leave it at £0 I not break rules with oversubscribing.
https://www.zopa.com/help/article/does-the-smart-isa-have-a-minimum-deposit

I can't find any info on a funding window and only that the transfer can take up to 15 business days. https://www.zopa.com/help/article/how-do-i-fund-my-smart-isa

Will I start to receive interest from Zopa from the day the transfer starts e.g. 1st April or only from the day funds are credited? A bit worried that the money is in limbo for a few weeks not earning anything if Virgin turns out to be a pain and Zopa only starting to pay from the day funds are received? Are both of them doing things electronically as I am not keen to handle paper and even less so to rely on snailmail. 

What is the notice period for Zopa Smart ISA should they reduce their rates? Can't find anything and they only state 14 days for a Smart Saver here https://www.zopa.com/help/article/can-the-interest-rate-change I would think the 14 days apply for the ISA too?

I don't think you'll be securing the current rate by opening a Zopa Smart ISA (Access pot) so far in advance - I'm fairly sure the Access pot wouldn't have an issue number associated with it so, if the rate decreases between now and April, then I suspect it'll decrease on all accounts, just like it would with the Smart Saver. I couldn't see any mention of a rate change notice period in the ISA T&Cs I have but, as you say, I suspect it would be the same as it would be for the Smart Saver account.

I can't answer your transfer questions because transfers-in weren't possible when I opened my Zopa ISA (so any T&Cs I have saved aren't helpful in that respect) but, in theory, the receiving bank should back-date any interest due to the date the funds left the sending account. I recently arranged an ISA transfer into a small building society and the date the funds were credited to the account was the date the cheque was issued (so the date the funds would have left the sending account) rather than the date they received it through the post. This presumably only tends to be an issue when funds are sent by cheque though - electronic transfers should be fairly instant and therefore loss of interest shouldn't be an issue, although it's possible that the receiving bank could take time to properly process the payment, I guess.

Zopa do seem to imply that they do ISA transfers electronically (which would be appropriate for an app-only bank), however they haven't yet made it onto the BACs ISA transfer provider lists offered by either Cynergy or Shawbrook. This could simply do down to the fact that they've only been accepting transfers-in for less than a month, though. 

A few other things to bear in mind if you're considering Zopa - their Smart Savings Hub (which includes all Smart Saver and Smart ISA pots) has a £100k limit and they don't allow partial transfers-out from their Smart ISA, so you can't split a large ISA balance by partially transferring away in the future. This also has implications when taking out multiple combinations of pots that includes Fixed ISA pots, as you wouldn't be able to transfer your ISA funds away before any fixed period had ended, without paying a penalty. Access and Fixed ISA pots are all considered to be part of the same Smart ISA and have one, collective reference number.        

pecunianonolet

refluxer said:

pecunianonolet said:

I've got a Virgin Money fix maturing on the 31st March (Sunday) and it's time to look for options, open potential accounts with long funding windows early to secure rates, etc. Reading @soulsaver story doesn't provide me with much confidence of it going smooth with Virgin.

Having my eye on the Zopa Smart ISA at 5.08% because it is a flexible ISA (just in case) and I like interest to be paid monthly. (I know there is a lot more flexibility from 6th April with the new rules).

Moneyfacts states minimum opening amount is £1. Am I able to open the account early (now) to secure the rate and instruct Zopa to start the transfer on Monday 1st April and the account is at £0 balance until then? The £1 minimum funding seems to be only relevant for fixes so if I leave it at £0 I not break rules with oversubscribing.
https://www.zopa.com/help/article/does-the-smart-isa-have-a-minimum-deposit

I can't find any info on a funding window and only that the transfer can take up to 15 business days. https://www.zopa.com/help/article/how-do-i-fund-my-smart-isa

Will I start to receive interest from Zopa from the day the transfer starts e.g. 1st April or only from the day funds are credited? A bit worried that the money is in limbo for a few weeks not earning anything if Virgin turns out to be a pain and Zopa only starting to pay from the day funds are received? Are both of them doing things electronically as I am not keen to handle paper and even less so to rely on snailmail. 

What is the notice period for Zopa Smart ISA should they reduce their rates? Can't find anything and they only state 14 days for a Smart Saver here https://www.zopa.com/help/article/can-the-interest-rate-change I would think the 14 days apply for the ISA too?

I don't think you'll be securing the current rate by opening a Zopa Smart ISA (Access pot) so far in advance - I'm fairly sure the Access pot wouldn't have an issue number associated with it so, if the rate decreases between now and April, then I suspect it'll decrease on all accounts, just like it would with the Smart Saver. I couldn't see any mention of a rate change notice period in the ISA T&Cs I have but, as you say, I suspect it would be the same as it would be for the Smart Saver account.

I can't answer your transfer questions because transfers-in weren't possible when I opened my Zopa ISA (so any T&Cs I have saved aren't helpful in that respect) but, in theory, the receiving bank should back-date any interest due to the date the funds left the sending account. I recently arranged an ISA transfer into a small building society and the date the funds were credited to the account was the date the cheque was issued (so the date the funds would have left the sending account) rather than the date they received it through the post. This presumably only tends to be an issue when funds are sent by cheque though - electronic transfers should be fairly instant and therefore loss of interest shouldn't be an issue, although it's possible that the receiving bank could take time to properly process the payment, I guess.

Zopa do seem to imply that they do ISA transfers electronically (which would be appropriate for an app-only bank), however they haven't yet made it onto the BACs ISA transfer provider lists offered by either Cynergy or Shawbrook. This could simply do down to the fact that they've only been accepting transfers-in for less than a month, though. 

A few other things to bear in mind if you're considering Zopa - their Smart Savings Hub (which includes all Smart Saver and Smart ISA pots) has a £100k limit and they don't allow partial transfers-out from their Smart ISA, so you can't split a large ISA balance by partially transferring away in the future. This also has implications when taking out multiple combinations of pots that includes Fixed ISA pots, as you wouldn't be able to transfer your ISA funds away before any fixed period had ended, without paying a penalty. Access and Fixed ISA pots are all considered to be part of the same Smart ISA and have one, collective reference number.        

Thanks for your detailed response @refluxer. I am aware of the point of no partial transfers out. I've got another fix maturing with Shawbrook end of April so that would allow me at that point to either transfer to Zopa (if still competitive at the time) or elsewhere if needed to give me a split solution if I need it. I am not planning any new ISA fixes at the moment so penalties and transfer issues are not a problem either. 

About the rate and securing it that's a good point. I guess you don't know as transfers were not possible at the time you funded yours but perhaps others know if you can initiate a switch and set the date that far into the future and if this would allocate you an issue number?

refluxer

@pecunianonolet I've made a number of posts about Zopa Smart ISAs in the past (including dedicated posts like this one) and they rarely get any response, although I'm guessing they didn't used to be on many peoples' radar due to transfers-in not being possible, previously.

Now that transferring in is possible, I would expect to see more posts about them in the future, particularly as they're currently the highest-paying flexible, easy access ISA that can be opened without visiting a branch (Metro) and that doesn't have withdrawal restrictions (Moneybox).

There have been numerous posts recently about problems caused by requesting ISA transfers-out in advance of a fixed rate ISA maturing - I've personally always waited until the ISA matures into an easy access ISA before requesting a transfer and have never had a problem although, admittedly, this was in previous years when rates were either fairly static or rising (and holding off on fixing had a benefit) whereas the rate situation is now looking a little different for the future.