Tell us you cash ISA questions

sevenonine

MSE_Sally wrote: »

Hi folks,We've just updated our Cash ISA guide to include FAQs at the end. We'd love to know if we've missed anything so if you've got an ISA question we've not already answered, post it below and we'll try to help.Thank you :)MSE Sally

I have a stocks&shares ISA opened in 2008 which has lost an appalling amount so I am thinking of selling it and asking for the funds to be transferred to a cash ISA opened in the 2015-16 year where I still have a balance available to complete the £15,240. So my question is whether this transfer is allowed (once it is in cash form).

colsten

No transfer will count against the annual allowance.

sevenonine

colsten wrote: »

No transfer will count against the annual allowance.

I have not yet transferred the whole amount £15240, there is still a balance of about £8,500 to be transferred; so can I transfer the funds which will be cash held in my S & S ISA once the shares are sold?

colsten

You can transfer as much as you like. £15,240 doesn't come into it.

No transfer will count against the annual allowance.

sevenonine

Sorry for not acknowledging your advice till now. Many thanks for clarifying this point.

darthpaul6

Hi All,

First time Forum-er. Apologies if this question has been asked and answered elsewhere; I did have a look around but wasn't able to find anything.
Back in September I opened an ISA with Coventry BS (Fixed Rate ISA (30) off the top of my head); the one paying 2.55%. I transfered some funds over, but when I tried to add to those at the turn of the year they returned the money, saying subscriptions to the account have ended. I hadn't noticed that clause at the time I opened the ISA (apparently should have paid more attention), but have since noticed that most (if not all) Coventry's ISAs contain the same kind of clause.

After you've opened a Fixed Rate ISA, we won't contact you to let you know when it closes to new investors. To find out if it's still available, contact us or check our website here.

They told me I could transfer the money from the old ISA into a new one, (issue 33) at 2.15% (but it would cost me 120 days' interest). Since then the (33) has also gone, and their best rate is now the (34) at 1.70%

My question; is this kind of clause common across ISA providers? I've not come across it before and it seems as though its designed to encourage deposit of large sums (in order to get the better rate on such) very quickly rather than drip-saving across the year. Had I proceeded as planned, I would have transferred another sum only to find the (33) was closed to new investment too. If I wanted to add further funds up to my yearly limit, my only option would have been transferring again to the lower interest (34), costing me another 120 days' interest!

I know I can look outside of Coventry's ISA offerings, and fully intend to, but wanted to know if this sort of clause is actually the norm.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Romburner

I believe it is a common praactice when the ISA is fixed rate, fixed term. Coventry is usually 'deposit allowed within 30 days of account opening or until the account is no longer offered to new investors - whichever is the longer'.

As they seem to be cutting and cutting the rates it means that you will have a very limited window to deposit the funds. Your best bet would have been to put money into higher paying current accounts and save in those until you have your full ISA allowance then before the tax year deadline, open the ISA and dump the lot in.

I have 2 Coventry ISAs and I am shocked to see how bad their rates (for new ISAs) have got in the last couple of weeks as they were regularly the 'best buy' on MSE (I locked mine in at better rates a couple of years ago though so not wishing to move them....).

colsten

It's common not just for ISAs but for any fixed term savings account that you only have a limited window at the start of the account for making deposits. In return, you get a better interest rate than in instant access / multiple deposit ISAs or standard savings accounts.

You should re-visit your approach to savings. No recently available ISA rate has come even close to the rates you can get in the best current and Regular Saver accounts. With the exception of the HTB ISA for eligible people, a cash ISA is a real waste of money for most people these days. This is particularly true if you plan to spend the money in the next few years

flipa

I have an ISA.
I want to open a first time buyer ISA.
I am only allowed to transfer £1000 to open it, then up to £200 each month.
I have more than £2k in my current ISA.
So where is the best place to save the rest of my leftover ISA money, where I can set up a DB to transfer £200 each month to the new ISA?

Would it be a standard bank account?

colsten

One of the best interest paying accounts.