Cash ISAs: The Best Currently Available List

surreysaver

Sussex_Green_Man said:

I opened a YBS Loyalty ISA yesterday (Sunday).  I then opened a KRBS Easy Access Cash ISA-Issue 48 but before transferring funds into it, I re-read the T&Cs.  There is a clause under the declarations which states

" I have not subscribed, and will not subscribe, to another cash ISA in the same tax year that
I subscribe to this cash ISA;"

Given the law has changed I assumed that this was just a lazy cut and paste job but I phoned and talked to the KRBS helpline today to check.  After speaking with a couple of people,I was told that it is NOT a mistake.  The apparently knowledgeable person that I eventually spoke with explained that although the law has changed to allow multiple Cash ISA subscriptions in a single tax year, KRBS (and a number of other banks & building societies) have not signed up for this with the Revenue and can not, therefore, remove the clause.  Apparently it requires them to make significant changes to their 'systems' which they are not intending to do at this stage.

Given that I had already breached the conditions and will want to open other Cash ISAs, the person I was speaking with agreed to lapse my application.

If opening a new Cash ISA, I would advise checking the T&C to ensure you are not agreeing to limit your newly acquired ISA benefits

They're probably just repeating what some unknowledgeable manager has spouted without knowing what they're talking about.
If this were the case, the ISA regulations would state you could only do this with certain organisations.
It would also need to be more prominent in the production description, rather than buried in the T&Cs, where we're all going to presume the organisation just hasn't updated the T&Cs

Sussex_Green_Man

Malchester said:

Sussex_Green_Man said:

So why do you think the KRBS person I spoke with said this?  Do you think he was turing away business just to cover for their not updating the website?  I did push him about when they might 'sign up' to the revenue's new rules but he was very vague.  As there are plenty of options, I'd prefer not to take the risk so KRBS lost my custom in this instance because of what he said but each to their own.

Banks are allowed to not allow more than one cash ISA being funded with them. That would account for the comment earlier about updating systems being difficult and costly. I was told by Lloyds Bank that they were not implementing the new rule as it was voluntary. However there is no way that any financial institution can force someone not to open and fund a second cash isa with another institution as it is clearly within HMRC rules. 

The YBS eligibility criteria state

You may only subscribe to one Cash ISA in a single tax year with us.

Which is why I raised the issue with KRBS and asked if their declaration meant just with KRBS. This was the start of the conversation so, in their mind, there was no confusion.

I subsequently spoke to Melton BS later this afternoon and they, too, said that if I subscribed to their Regular Saver ISA that I could not make another Cash ISA subscription in this financial year.  Their 'How do I manage and open my account?' states

• You may subscribe to only one cash ISA in any one tax year

I asked her if this meant just with Melton BS?  I explained that this was at odds with the new legislation so she said she would consult and investigate.  She phoned me back 45mins later to confirm that what she had said was correct.  If I opened their Regual Saver ISA, I could not open any more Cash ISAs in this financial year.

So that was strike two.

subjecttocontract said:

......and therein lies the problem.
Some will stick rigidly to the declaration and others will ignore the declaration in favour of the Governments relaxation of the rules. Rightly or wrongly it's a recipe for total confusion.

I agree.  It's possible that the people I spoke with and their immediate superiors just haven't been given the right information and if it was just one institution it would be easy to dismiss.  But I pressed the issue with both institutions and they were categorical that if I opened a Cash ISA with them, then I couldn't open any more this year.

If I had the time, I might take this up with the revenue but life's too short.

Does someone with more time on their hands want to take this up?

pecunianonolet

The government isn't even able to follow their own interest reporting rules, nor do the financial institutions with some not reporting interest at all (own experience).

Why the heck would HMRC suddenly change course and penalise thousands of people who now read rules have been relaxed and they open accounts here, there and everywhere when that is exactly what the new policy is for.

An institution may decline you to put 10k in an easy access and 10k in a fix, meaning 2 different accounts with them. However, this imho has nothing to do with following the law, this is simply a testament of unwillingness to update or incapable IT systems to handle this. None of the providers is obliged to offer any ISA product in the first place.

Anyhow, the market is large and everyone offering certain products to more or less attractive rates is interested in your cash in one way or another. I have not subscribed any penny of this years allowance yet but should I end up with 20 accounts of 1k each, well, so it be. The law doesn't stop me from doing this.

I guess at the end of the day HMRC will only check that you have not sheltered more than 20k from tax. Also, let's think logically, there are millions of ISA accounts across the country and I am sure there are a) not enough advisors available and b) not enough budget to pay them all, to go through each and every record. If somebody is over or other things are showing suspicious IT will spit out those for manual checks. Everything else will sail through the system just fine. 

The cost to check that all would far outstrip the additional gain by identifying deliberate rule breakers or those who act in good intent but lost it with the many rules and exceptions in place. 

freehugs_2

Re the annoyingly lacking levels of awareness amongst banks about the ISA rule changes, I opened a new ISA with moneybox today, and they do understand the new rules. I was asked to confirm that I'd not subscribe more than £20k across all my cash ISAs this tax year.

Kim_13

subjecttocontract said:

......and therein lies the problem.
Some will stick rigidly to the declaration and others will ignore the declaration in favour of the Governments relaxation of the rules. Rightly or wrongly it's a recipe for total confusion.

People have been ignoring nonsensical declarations for years I imagine, as I did at least once last year. It said that had not opened another ISA in this tax year (I had, for 23/24 money and the later applications were transfers (prior year and the then current year in full.)

RetSol

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-13159799/Be-warned-banks-tell-WONT-ready-major-Isa-shake-says-SYLVIA-MORRIS.html

pecunianonolet

Kim_13 said:

subjecttocontract said:

......and therein lies the problem.
Some will stick rigidly to the declaration and others will ignore the declaration in favour of the Governments relaxation of the rules. Rightly or wrongly it's a recipe for total confusion.

People have been ignoring nonsensical declarations for years I imagine, as I did at least once last year. It said that had not opened another ISA in this tax year (I had, for 23/24 money and the later applications were (prior year and the then current year in full.)

I opened 7 ISA's last tax year.

1 x Shawbrook 1y fix
1 x Coventry 4 access online (5.05%) when it was available
1 x Virgin Easy Access Exclusive
1 x Virgin Exclusive 1y fix issue 10
1 x WestBrom 60 day notice ISA
1 x Zopa Easy Access
1 x Moneybox

I only subscribed to the Shawbrook ISA in the last tax year.

I wanted too keep my options open as I had a Virgin 1y fix maturing on 29th March. I handed in transfer in instructions to WestBrom in February for 1 quid just to open the account. Instructed a transfer of 500 to Moneybox and transferred a 5er to Coventry. 

The Coventry account was sitting unfunded for months and I only provided transfer in instructions on the 30th of March, Moneybox opened on the 30th with transfer instructions. All the other accounts I have opened before, some even back in 2023.

On the 2nd of April I provided Virgin with maturity instructions to move funds into Exclusive 1y fix issue 11. WestBrom and Coventry transfers were completed on the 3rd of April and Moneybox on the 4th.

All the other ISA's are still showing in apps but unfunded an I am sure if I now start to pay 1 quid into them from this years allowance nothing would happen and in old fashioned 19999 left to fund would appear with all of them.

subjecttocontract

This situation has all the hallmarks of a rushed change of policy by the Gov'. You would have thought they would have consulted with financial institutions, established the feasibility, what would be needed, the lead time, how many were prepared to adopt etc etc. But it seems very little of that was done just so they could make an announcement to grab the headlines. Appalling.

Emily_Joy

Principality advised via the messaging system and confirmed over the phone today that they will allow only one ISA per person for 2024/25 tax year funded by "new money".

slinger2

Emily_Joy said:

Principality advised via the messaging system and confirmed over the phone today that they will allow only one ISA per person for 2024/25 tax year funded by "new money".

So they're not going to let me open two ISA with them funded by "new money"? Fair enough. Clearly they're not in a position to "allow" or not "allow" me to open two ISAs with other companies. Just nonsense.