Top Cash ISAs Discussion Area

Consumerist

uksavergirl wrote: »

Does anyone have any experience of the M&S ISA? Thinking about the 1 year fixed. I can invest the full amount, but nervous about locking it in for too long in case I need it towards the deposit on a house. I was looking at Santander, but all of my savings are with them already and I want to spread the risk a bit.

Hi uksavergirl and welcome to the forum.

Better to avoid fixed-term ISAs if you're likely to want access to your funds within the fixed-term period.

I also need one for my husband. Is it better to get a different one - again spreading the risk, or should we just both go for the one we think is best?

The FSCS covers each of your savings individually up to £85k each in separately licensed institutions. If you have less than £85k each then your savings will be safe wherever you put them. If either of you have more than £85k then you should make sure the money is split between separately licensed institutions. You can usually find FSCS information on an institution's web site.

uksavergirl

Consumerist wrote: »

Hi uksavergirl and welcome to the forum.

Better to avoid fixed-term ISAs if you're likely to want access to your funds within the fixed-term period.
The FSCS covers each of your savings individually up to £85k each in separately licensed institutions. If you have less than £85k each then your savings will be safe wherever you put them. If either of you have more than £85k then you should make sure the money is split between separately licensed institutions. You can usually find FSCS information on an institution's web site.

This is the first time I have done this, so sorry if it turns out wrong. Thank you consumerist for your wise words though - that's really helpful actually. I am now considering premium bonds so that we have the instant access to them. Are there any kind of guarantees on those or do we just assume that the government won't go bust. Apologies if that's a naive comment!!!

innovate

Have you read the Premium Bonds article on the main site? Don't want to put you off (I have some myself) but it really is gambling. Whilst you are guaranteed to get your deposit amount back, you have no guarantee whatsoever that your money will grow with inflation.

I wouldn't worry about the UK going bust just yet, or in the next couple of years - - if it happened, our savings would be the least of our worries

Consumerist

uksavergirl wrote: »

Are there any kind of guarantees on those or do we just assume that the government won't go bust.

Must confess that premium bonds are not really my thing but would echo innovate's words of caution. That said, premium bonds are backed by HM Treasury and are therefore about as safe as you can get in the UK.

Provided you deposit no more than £85k in any one UK bank then your savings will be safe and will be earning some interest towards your house purchase. Some UK banks, however, share the same licence (e.g. Santander, Alliance & Leicester, Abbey) so they would be regarded as a single institution for the purpose of the FSCS guarantee.

If it's the licensing issue which is worrying you then you can always post again here to ask some-one to check the facts before you commit your savings.

redsquirrelsuk

I opened a Cash ISA with Northern Rock in November last year (2011) as I had taken early retirement. The rate was (and still is) 3.05% which I am happy with. I know that Virgin took over Northern Rock earlier this year and I note that their Cash ISA rate is lower - 2 Questions:
1) Will Virgin reduce my interest rate to match theirs at some point
2) I will have some money to put into this ISA later this year, will they allow me to add to my current ISA at this rate?

Thanks

innovate

Consumerist wrote: »

If it's the licensing issue which is worrying you then you can always post again here to ask some-one to check the facts before you commit your savings.

There's a pretty good "Which banks are linked" tool

Consumerist

redsquirrelsuk wrote: »

I opened a Cash ISA with Northern Rock in November last year (2011) as I had taken early retirement. The rate was (and still is) 3.05% which I am happy with. I know that Virgin took over Northern Rock earlier this year and I note that their Cash ISA rate is lower - 2 Questions:
1) Will Virgin reduce my interest rate to match theirs at some point
2) I will have some money to put into this ISA later this year, will they allow me to add to my current ISA at this rate?

1) Not if it's a fixed-rate ISA. If it's a variable rate then it is possible the rate could change either way at any time.
2) If it's a fixed-rate (fixed-term) ISA then often the manager will not allow further contributions after the initial deposit(s).

Might be able to be more specific if you could say exactly which ISA you've got.

redsquirrelsuk

Its a fixed rate ISA, which is why I went for it. Martin recommended it last year as being a good deal. That was before the take-over by Virgin though.

Consumerist

Looking at Virgin Money's current fixed-rate offering, they do allow additional contributions to their fixed-rate cash E-ISA. It seems likely that Northern Rock also allowed further contributions to their fixed-rate ISA before being taken over by Virgin.

I would suggest you phone Northern Rock / Virgin Money to confirm.

uksavergirl

Thank you for this information. The linked licences information is very interesting and useful.

With regards to premium bonds, as we won't be keeping our money there long term, I think I am prepared to take the risk. I don't want to lock in my money and therefore the rates that normal savings accounts pay are much lower. I appreciate that the chance of winning one of the larger sums is minute, but hopefully one or two £25 here and there will come my way and that could keep it level with what I could achieve from a savings account (maybe). It is certainly better than it sitting in a business savings account, which is where it is now!