Barclays Tax Beater Cash ISA - experiences so far (merged)

FTSE_in_Mouth

Hi all

I just thought I would let you know some of the recent issues my partner and I went/are going through to get the ISA's set up.

My partner an I both opened '07/'08 ISA's on the 4th of April the day before the deadline. All our paperwork was processed by people at two different Barclay's branches and we fully expected paperwork to arrive promptly to tell us that the '07/'08 ISA's were up and we could put in £3600 each towards the '08/'09 allowances.

This was not the case. About 2 weeks ago we got letters saying that the processing was still taking place. My partner noticed that they had spelt her name wrong so she phoned and they told her to go back with her passport to change the name (again, this was the same ID they used when they filled in her details) and she got it changed. They confirmed that the IS would still show up as opened on the 04th of APril so she could get her '07/'08 allowance. The cheque was cashed on Thursday the 24th of April and the paperwork she received on Friday says the ISA was opened on the 21st of April 2008. she is going to phone tomorrow to find out about whether she has actually got an '07/'08 ISA or an '08/'09 one.

My story hasn't even gotten that far. I opened mine on the 4th, received a letter saying it was being processed about two weeks ago and then I received a letter yesterday saying that their 'Account Opening' system had malfunctioned. I have to go back into the bank and provide them with just my ID. I have no idea what's going on but their customer service agent is going to get an earful. I have also noticed that my surname is now incorrectly spelt too. I hope that I get my '07/'08 allowance. I am also losing tax free interest. I am not a very happy camper at the moment. I will consider my options and ask for advice once I have a handle on exactly what is happening.

FIM

gillbee

I opened mine for 07/08 a few days before the deadline and the paperwork which I received at the weekend shows 21st of April opening. I'm in the same boat as your partner as the confirmation letter does not show anywhere the actual tax year your cash has gone to.

The same thing happened last year however and the advisor confirmed it was opened for the correct year. The open date was the date they got round to doing my application. They backdated interest so I didn't lose out.

Hope it works out for you.

Aussieonabudget

I have had a similar experience to some people but am hoping that it is all sorted now. I opened an ISA in branch on the 30th March, got a letter dated 1st April saying the account opening was in process, then a letter saying the account was opened on the 11th April. I was concerned that this would be for the 08/09 tax year but when I rang up I was told that the account had a 07/08 sort code so it was all ok. Does that make sense to people, can they tell from a sort code? Can I trust that they are correct and am not going to be penalised for paying in too much when I pay in another 3600 this year?

Lokolo

Aussieonabudget wrote: »

I have had a similar experience to some people but am hoping that it is all sorted now. I opened an ISA in branch on the 30th March, got a letter dated 1st April saying the account opening was in process, then a letter saying the account was opened on the 11th April. I was concerned that this would be for the 08/09 tax year but when I rang up I was told that the account had a 07/08 sort code so it was all ok. Does that make sense to people, can they tell from a sort code? Can I trust that they are correct and am not going to be penalised for paying in too much when I pay in another 3600 this year?

They could, don't see why not, Banks set up their own sort codes anyway.

However, I would just pay the £3600 in and see what happens. The banks won't do anything, only IR (or HRMC, can't remember) and they may think you have but if you explain to them about Barclays they won't mind. You have the letter from the 1st April saying its being opened and thars all you need.