Top Cash ISAs Discussion Area

bruirn

Spiggle wrote: »

Ok, specifically on the A&L guaranteed 3.5% now closed Flexible ISA account: if you opened the account before the rate drop then you will have the guaranteed rate for 12 months from date of opening on your balances up to a maximum of £10,200 (2009-10 allowance and 2010-11 allowance).

The information IS on the website and states the following:

Tax Efficient Accounts

Flexible ISA (accounts beginning with 897, 898)

Annual GrossGross p.a./AER tax free£1 - £10,200 3.50% 3.50%
Rates effective from 22 February 2010. For 12 months the rate will be 3.00% above the Bank of England base rate, but is guaranteed not to drop below 3.50% for 12 months. From 6 April 2010 the annual Cash ISA limit is £5,100.

It appears that people are looking for the information as if the ISA was available now which we all know it is not. The web address for the information quoted above is http://www.alliance-leicester.co.uk/savings/interest-rates.aspx scroll down a long way or when looking for interest rates on the A&L site shoose 'closed issue accounts' from the type of account search drop down menu.

I hope this now clarifies the issue.

Spigs

Thanks Spigs. So just to double clarify:

I opened a A&L Flexible ISA with £3,600 at the 3.5% rate last week. If I now put in a further £5,100 into it the total sum of £8,700 will gain interest at a rate of at least 3.50% for the next 12 months.

KTF

Yes, it will be 3.5%

ccctuk

I hope someone would clarify information about withdrawals.
Martin says "Providing you've picked an easy access ISA you can withdraw the money whenever you want just like a normal savings account".
I've got a one year fixed term cash ISA. Does it mean that after a year I could still withdraw money without penalties?
thank you

KTF

After the fixed term is over the ISA normally moves to an instant access account but you would have to confirm with the provider that this is the case.

Spiggle

bruirn wrote: »

Thanks Spigs. So just to double clarify:

I opened a A&L Flexible ISA with £3,600 at the 3.5% rate last week. If I now put in a further £5,100 into it the total sum of £8,700 will gain interest at a rate of at least 3.50% for the next 12 months.

Yes bruirn, you will get the guaranteed minimum of 3.5% for 12 months from the date of opening the account on the total balance. Presumably you opened the account between 29th March to 1st April but whatever the date was you will get the minimum 3.5% until maturity in 2011 (28th to 31st March using my presumption).

Hope that helps,
Spigs

bruirn

Spiggle wrote: »

Yes bruirn, you will get the guaranteed minimum of 3.5% for 12 months from the date of opening the account on the total balance. Presumably you opened the account between 29th March to 1st April but whatever the date was you will get the minimum 3.5% until maturity in 2011 (28th to 31st March using my presumption).

Hope that helps,
Spigs

That certainly does help; thanks very much I opened the ISA on the 30th March so your presumption was spot on!

Stompa

Spiggle wrote: »

The information IS on the website and states the following:

OK, thanks for that. My difficulty was that mine is a Santander account, so I can't enter the first 3 digits of the account number on the A&L site, and as far as I can see Santander don't have a similar (enter first 3 digits) method of getting the rate (in fact I don't see it mentioned at all).

I'm reasonably confident that I'll be getting the full 3.5% on contributions from both years, and I guess the 12 month guarantee will have started from when the initial 2009/10 contribution was made.

peterbaker

Spiggle wrote: »

It appears that people are looking for the information as if the ISA was available now which we all know it is not. The web address for the information quoted above is http://www.alliance-leicester.co.uk/savings/interest-rates.aspx scroll down a long way or when looking for interest rates on the A&L site shoose 'closed issue accounts' from the type of account search drop down menu.

I hope this now clarifies the issue.

Spigs

It helps Spigs as circumstantial evidence of what some of us non-A&L Santander clients were looking for ... As Stompa says, we don't have the same thoughtful 'closed issue accounts' information on the Abbey/Santander site, but what you found was very helpful thanks, and I have now invested some 2010/11 money on the strength of it :money:.

Stompa

peterbaker wrote: »

As Stompa says, we don't have the same thoughtful 'closed issue accounts' information on the Abbey/Santander site

It does have 'Previous Interest Rates' and 'Savings - products no longer on sale', but neither mentions the Flexible ISA unfortunately.

Spiggle

Glad I could help,
All the best,
Spigs