Dot ComUnity Credit Union - ISA

Archi_Bald

christh wrote: »

Edit: Okay, just had a call back and they said they need a letter from the FCA (?!) stating the final balance and that it is an ISA. Is that not what I provided? Okay, the piece of paper with the cheque on it doesn't say it's an ISA but surely that would suffice?

That is appalling. They clearly don't have the first clue if they bring the FCA into the debate. I would complain to the top of the FSCS if I were you.

rebecca1

Well, I have had an exciting day!
Called FSCS and they said they don't know why the £5.00 had been added to the ISA cheque (it shouldn't have been) the guy said if I returned the cheque they are happy to issue 2 separate cheques but could not tell me how long that would take.
He did however, say that they had spoken to the HMRC about this and I should do the same!
So, 40 minute wait on the HMRC line, I explained to 2 persons what I needed and they could not help me and would refer it to a senior person who would call back but could not say when!
I then called Shawbrook Bank who I have an existing year ISA with, explained the situation and they said they would not accept the cheque as it was not from an ISA provider, therefore the tax wrapper element would be broken... ( one to remember when it comes up for renewal ) !


So, do I just go ahead and pay the cheque into my Personal account and raise another one for the correct amount that matches the statement and approach another ISA provider to see who will accept it?


Any ideas gratefully accepted....


Rebecca

Ed-1

rebecca1 wrote: »

Well, I have had an exciting day!
Called FSCS and they said they don't know why the £5.00 had been added to the ISA cheque (it shouldn't have been) the guy said if I returned the cheque they are happy to issue 2 separate cheques but could not tell me how long that would take.
He did however, say that they had spoken to the HMRC about this and I should do the same!

So, 40 minute wait on the HMRC line, I explained to 2 persons what I needed and they could not help me and would refer it to a senior person who would call back but could not say when!
I then called Shawbrook Bank who I have an existing year ISA with, explained the situation and they said they would not accept the cheque as it was not from an ISA provider, therefore the tax wrapper element would be broken... ( one to remember when it comes up for renewal ) !

So, do I just go ahead and pay the cheque into my Personal account and raise another one for the correct amount that matches the statement and approach another ISA provider to see who will accept it?

Any ideas gratefully accepted....

Rebecca

I would be very wary about doing this if you definitely want to keep the ISA protection. While the ISA regulations completely permit you to use your own funds, as I wrote in my Regulations vs Practice post a bit back in this thread, it is totally at the discretion of the ISA provider you approach whether or not they accept the deposit as a "defaulted ISA subscription" that does not count as new money towards the allowance. As people are finding, many ISA providers are being very cautious about accepting these deposits and some aren't even accepting the FSCS cheques with other evidence so you'd have an even harder time convincing an ISA provider to accept your own funds for such an ISA deposit (even though the regulations allow it).

christh

Archi_Bald wrote: »

That is appalling. They clearly don't have the first clue if they bring the FCA into the debate. I would complain to the top of the FSCS if I were you.

Quite. Anyone else tried HSBC? Here's the latest nonsense from them:

I can only repeat what my manager has found out from our procedural support team. We need letter from FCA stating that it was an ISA and closing balance. You haven't got correspondence from FCA as letters you've shown me are from FSCS. I can't assist further until you will obtain required papers. Hope that clarifies.

gwapenut

^ Might be time to inform their CEO that their senior staff don't seem to understand the relative roles of the FCA versus FSCS etc
stuart.t.gulliver@hsbc.com

The FSCS helps consumers. The FCA, among other things, helps investigate banks who tax dodge. Not sure why your contacts at HSBC are so preoccupied with the FCA currently....

Bhamstudent

Ok - so another Nationwide update. Spoke to their customer services team today who have confirmed via their ISA helpdesk that they are accepting FSCS cheques and are aware of the situation.

I've been given an appointment at my local branch who have been informed of the situation and are happy to process everything (apparently). I've been told to take in as much information as I can...I'll keep you all updated (my appointment is not until next Tuesday)

MARTYM8`

So has anyone successfully managed to bank their cheque and transfer it into an ISA account yet?

Seems like possibly only First Direct and Virgin money – and possibly Leeds – are being helpful to customers.

Why is it the job of the customer to prove they are right – when a simple search of the FSCS website would confirm what we are claiming is genuine. Why haven’t the FSCS done any communications on this to the major providers – because when the likes of HSBC, Nationwide and others don’t know what is what its very worrying. Why did the administrators combine the £5 payment - not protected – on an FSCS cheque with ISA funds which are protected.

christh

gwapenut wrote: »

^ Might be time to inform their CEO that their senior staff don't seem to understand the relative roles of the FCA versus FSCS etc

The FSCS helps consumers. The FCA, among other things, helps investigate banks who tax dodge. Not sure why your contacts at HSBC are so preoccupied with the FCA currently....

Thanks for that, Gwapenut. Yeah, I'm shocked that the branch could make that kind of mistake. Either they're incompetent or they don't want my money! Both worthy of note by senior management.

Well, I called up the FSCS regarding the FCA / FSCS with incredulity that was shared by the operator I spoke to. Was informed about the £5.02 problem and how to separate it into a separate account, and the fact that HSBC's contact at HMRC could give them all the info they require in addition to my ISA statements and cheque letter.

I fired back a slightly less polite reply to HSBC. Knew I should have dressed up like Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can And gone to the main branch of HSBC where perhaps they have more of a clue.

Edit: Slightly less polite reply seems to have worked. They called me back and said they'd sort it all out if I visit their branch tomorrow. Still gonna give them what-for over the FCA / FSCS thing.

MARTYM8`

Bhamstudent wrote: »

Ok - so another Nationwide update. Spoke to their customer services team today who have confirmed via their ISA helpdesk that they are accepting FSCS cheques and are aware of the situation.

I've been given an appointment at my local branch who have been informed of the situation and are happy to process everything (apparently). I've been told to take in as much information as I can...I'll keep you all updated (my appointment is not until next Tuesday)

Yes – I have now spoken to Nationwide and after a brief check with her colleagues they have confirmed that branches should now have been briefed on this and what they need to do. The Head office indicated that you should be able to pay the cheque direct into your ISA – I will wait and see what they say about the £5!

Have booked an appointment on Tuesday as well at one of their London branches – so hopefully I will be able to get this sorted.

ST£V£

I took both mine and my daughters cheques to Skipton Building Society yesterday and had no problems at all in handing them over.

The £5 is already showing in an easy access savings account.

In our cases the ISA parts need to added at head office, as it was a web only ISA that had been taken out (the branch terminals were unable to do the updating)

The t&c of the ISA also state that interest is backdated to the date on the cheque.

So fingers crossed that everything goes as planned.

Steve