Nationwide Flexclusive ISA

Nual

I enquired about the Flexclusive ISA and the new rules about flexible ISAs and got the following reply; thought people might be interested as I havent seen this mentioned elsewhere.

I'm pleased to confirm that the ISA flexibility will apply to the Flexclusive ISA, but the account limits will still apply. So, you can certainly withdraw money but you will only be allowed to pay back in a maximum of £500 a month.
Please be aware that the ISA flexibility scheme doesn't apply until the new tax year on the 6th April.

Ashen

I'm interested in transferring to a Flexible ISA, so just had a look.

However, I don't know where this £500 comes from, as it says for the Flexclusive ISA: "Unlimited up to your annual ISA allowance, currently £15,240, in a branch, online or by standing order"

I do know that the Flexclusive Regular Saver has a limit of £500 per month, but that's not an ISA...

colsten

I am afraid, you have been told utter nonsense. There is no £500/month account limit on the Nationwide FlexClusive ISA. The only limit for new funds is the ISA allowance. The FlexClusive ISA also allows transfers in, and those are most definitely not limited to £500 a month. The answer you got is shocking customer service by Nationwide but it doesn't really surprise me as Nationwide staff have history for not having a clue about ISAs.

Whether the FlexClusive ISA will be flexible, I don't know. I hold one of these and to date have not had any notification of a change to the T&Cs. The Flexibility terms constitute a change to the T&Cs.

Nual

Thanks Ashen and colsten. I thought it was strange and messaged back that I could find no mention of a £500 a month limit on any of their ISAs, I did have a regular saver ISA in the past that had a limit of 1250/ month but not for some time. Not had a reply yet.

colsten

If you are planning on using the flexibility, I would recommend you ask to see the actual T&Cs before you make any commitment.

Shedman

Nual wrote: »

I enquired about the Flexclusive ISA and the new rules about flexible ISAs and got the following reply; thought people might be interested as I havent seen this mentioned elsewhere.

I'm pleased to confirm that the ISA flexibility will apply to the Flexclusive ISA, but the account limits will still apply. So, you can certainly withdraw money but you will only be allowed to pay back in a maximum of £500 a month.
Please be aware that the ISA flexibility scheme doesn't apply until the new tax year on the 6th April.

That's interesting as when I enquired I was told it wasn't going to offer flexibility on the Flexclusive ISA. Left hand right hand ....

Nual

I had this message from them this morning

Thank you for your message, I'm sorry for the confusion caused.

You're right, there's no monthly deposit limit on the Flexclusive ISA - that applies to a Flexclusive Regular Saver, so xxx must have gotten mixed up. I'm very sorry for this.

The ISA flexibility will definitely apply to the Flexclusive ISA as it applies to all ISA products. You can withdraw and then return any amount up to next years allowance of £15,240 without the returned money affecting your subscription.

So previously, if you with drew £500 from an ISA, and then deposited £500 back into the ISA, that would have reduced your subscription amount by £500. From April, if you withdraw £500 from your ISA and pay it back in, it won't reduce your subscription amount at all. However, the amount you withdraw and deposit in one go is constrained by the yearly ISA allowance limit.

Once again I'm very sorry for my colleague's error - the ISA flexibility is new to us too, but I've passed this on to her and her manager as feedback.



?????

colsten

I am afraid, that latest reply is only just slightly better but it's wrong again. It is not true that the ISA flexibility applies to all ISA products. So there is no "[therefore] it will definitely apply to the FlexClusive ISA" - it only applies to the FlexClusive ISA if the FlexClusive ISA T&Cs say so.

I am not entirely sure but I think the response is also wrong regarding how much you can withdraw and deposit in one go. You are certainly not limited to the ISA allowance when you make a withdrawal, so that is definitely wrong. Though it might be that Nationwide will only allow re-deposit for up to the ISA allowance.

You need to ask to see the Terms and Conditions before you withdraw any money with the intention to re-deposit it later in the tax year. The Nationwide messages are no substitute for the T&Cs.

Nual

Thanks colsten
Yes, I replied straight back querying the limits for withdrawal and have asked for a link to the t&cs explaining how this works.

I tried ringing but have no idea what my telephone password/ number is so cant get further than the voice machine.

goRt

colsten wrote: »

I am afraid, that latest reply is only just slightly better but it's wrong again. It is not true that the ISA flexibility applies to all ISA products. So there is no "[therefore] it will definitely apply to the FlexClusive ISA" - it only applies to the FlexClusive ISA if the FlexClusive ISA T&Cs say so.

I am not entirely sure but I think the response is also wrong regarding how much you can withdraw and deposit in one go. You are certainly not limited to the ISA allowance when you make a withdrawal, so that is definitely wrong. Though it might be that Nationwide will only allow re-deposit for up to the ISA allowance.

You need to ask to see the Terms and Conditions before you withdraw any money with the intention to re-deposit it later in the tax year. The Nationwide messages are no substitute for the T&Cs.

I had a similar response when querying the flexibility of ISA products.
AFAIC that response from Nationwide is good enough for me to rely upon and test should it subsequently attempt to change its mind without written notice!

colsten

goRt wrote: »

AFAIC that response from Nationwide is good enough for me to rely upon and test should it subsequently attempt to change its mind without written notice!

That is your choice. I would never action without being fully happy with the written T&Cs myself - and particularly not after the nonsense they have been communicating about the flexible ISA.