Help to buy ISA - Explanation please

Tiglet2

The bonus can't be claimed after completion. Your solicitor should have advised you when it was prudent to close the account, bearing in mind how long it might take to get the closing statement and then for the solicitor to claim the bonus. Did you not have many days between exchange and the proposed completion date? The solicitor will provide a completion statement which will show the flow of money in and out on your transaction. If there is a surplus of funds following completion, you will get this back (to buy furniture etc), but you will lose the bonus if it is not claimed in time.

jesskfawcett

Thanks Tiglet. I had three weeks between exchange and completion, so not a lot of time. Unfortunately my solicitor hasn't handled any Help to Buy ISA purchases before, so was unaware of the process.

I think my only hope now is to ask my solicitor to apply for an expedited bonus claim - I can't post a link as I'm a new user, however I found some HM Treasury conveyancer guidelines online which mention this.

UPDATE: To make matters worse, I've now discovered that Barclays, where I held my ISA, made a mistake and didn't close my account - even though they released the funds - so my account statement isn't even on its way and Barclays are not even able to tell me when it will be generated.

Takmon

jesskfawcett wrote: »

Thanks Tiglet. I had three weeks between exchange and completion, so not a lot of time. Unfortunately my solicitor hasn't handled any Help to Buy ISA purchases before, so was unaware of the process.

I think my only hope now is to ask my solicitor to apply for an expedited bonus claim - I can't post a link as I'm a new user, however I found some HM Treasury conveyancer guidelines online which mention this.

UPDATE: To make matters worse, I've now discovered that Barclays, where I held my ISA, made a mistake and didn't close my account - even though they released the funds - so my account statement isn't even on its way and Barclays are not even able to tell me when it will be generated.

If you closed the account in a branch you might be able to get a print out showing the balance at the time of closing. Even though this is not a closing statement it can be used as part of the expedited claim process to get the bonus.

jesskfawcett

Thanks Takmon.

I closed it over the phone, but will definitely pop into my local branch as soon as the statement generates on their system (could be 24 hours).