Top Cash ISAs Discussion Area

shorty2240

It does help but I realise I worded my question badly.

I am definitely thinking of opening an FD Reg Saver 8%, but I was looking for somewhere to put my money first.

It's currently sitting in an ISA with LTSB where the bonus expired and the interest is awful. So I want to move it, then to drip feed into the FD Reg from another saver to ensure I always put the £300 in per month.

Just wondering if that would be possible to do with an ISA, considering I need to request funds by phone/post it might not be reliable enough.

Consumerist

shorty2240 wrote: »

. . . It's currently sitting in an ISA with LTSB where the bonus expired and the interest is awful. So I want to move it, then to drip feed into the FD Reg from another saver to ensure I always put the £300 in per month. . .

The problem with your plan is that you will be withdrawing from a tax-free ISA to feed a tax-paying savings account. Once you withdraw money from an ISA, the tax-free status on that money is lost for ever. In the short term there may be some gain in doing that but in the long run you will pay tax on that money unless you expect to spend it in the short run (e.g. for a mortgage deposit).

I would say your best option is to transfer the ISA to another manager (who accepts transfers-in) for the best rate you can get. Don't withdraw the money to transfer it yourself but get a transfer form from the new manager.

The FD regular saver would be best suited for up to £300 per month from current income.as suggested in point (3) by badger09 above.

rob_2512

gvlewis wrote: »

Coventry Building Society has a 60 Day Notice Cash ISA paying 3.25% AER. This includes a 0.50% first year bonus.
ISA transfers not accepted.

This account seems to have very complex closure / transfer rules:

15.1 You can close the account penalty-free by giving 60 calendar days' notice of the closure to the Society. ... On the expiry of the 60 day period, you will then have a period of 14 calendar days in which to complete the closure in branch, by post or over the telephone. If you do not make complete closure of the account within this 14 day period, the notice of closure will expire. If you wish to close the account penalty-free after this 14 day period, a further 60 days' notice is required.
15.2 Only one notice of closure is permitted on an account at any time. Continuous notice is not allowed.
...
15.5 When you withdraw funds from or close your account, subject to the deduction of any penalty interest as described in Conditions 14.4 or 15.4 if applicable, this payment can be made by:
(a) electronic payment to your nominated bank account for a minimum withdrawal of £1; or
(b) transfer to another suitable account with us.
16. You can transfer funds held in this ISA (including interest) to another suitable Coventry ISA, or to another ISA manager without loss of tax-free status (provided that any such transfer is in accordance with the Government's ISA rules). On receipt of a transfer instruction, we will process the request by sending the cash and accompanying information to the receiving ISA manager within five business banking days of the date of receipt. Any such transfer will be subject to providing 60 days' notice or otherwise incurring the penalty in accordance with Conditions 14.4 and 15.4 of these Specific Terms.

Does anyone know how this works in practice?

I thought you normally asked the new provider to request funds from the old provider, so how can you ensure that the request is within the 14 day window?

Consumerist

rob_2512 wrote: »

This account seems to have very complex closure / transfer rules: Does anyone know how this works in practice? I thought you normally asked the new provider to request funds from the old provider, so how can you ensure that the request is within the 14 day window?

There is usually an option on transfer forms to (a) transfer immediately and pay any penalty fees or (b) wait until any notice period has expired before transferring.

Additionally, there's nothing to stop you, for example, giving notice to Coventry BS and then wait, say, 4 - 5 weeks before submitting the transfer form and use option (b).

Edit
The transfer, once requested, should take no more than 3 weeks but in this particular case, Coventry BS has committed itself to transferring funds and documentation within 5 working days so there should be no problem if the new manager requests the transfer immediately after the notice period ends.

shelene

Hi,

I'm looking at opening my first ISA so any thoughts on the Coventry 60 day notice ISA 3.10%.????

You can access immediately if required or you can give 60 days notice with no penalty, I'm hoping i dont need to withdraw anything within the next year - but you never know

Anything i should be wary of, or does it seem okay???

Consumerist

shelene wrote: »

I'm looking at opening my first ISA so any thoughts on the Coventry 60 day notice ISA 3.10%.???? . . . Anything i should be wary of, or does it seem okay???

Seems about the best rate variable at the moment. Keep an eye on the rate.

You might want to consider giving 60 days notice soon, in case rates perk up during the ISA season. If you give notice and then don't want to transfer, either cancel the notice or leave it to expire (without penalty) about 14 days after the notice period.

Don't forget the 0.6% bonus expires in November 2013.

ekam88

I was wondering if somebody could help me please?! I am completely useless with anything pertaining to money; the mere mention of a number makes my brain fold in. So, any help would be greatly appreciated!

I have never set up an ISA before and was wondering what would be the best one for me to use if i'm wanting to set aside, say, £100 a month?? And I should mention here that I live in Northern Ireland.

Also, when is the best time to set up an ISA? I know they revolve around the tax year.

And lastly, if I have money in an ISA account for 1 year what exactly happens at the end of that year? Am I advised to take the money out of the account?

Sorry for all the questions. I did warn you I was useless in these matters. Thanks in advance.

le_loup

At the top of this page there is an ISA guide. Take a look there first.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/ISA-guide-savings-without-tax

bullinn1

Hi chaps, my Santander bonus ends shortly ... before I go into branch and ask for their best deal does anyone have any thoughts on whether to leave it with them or transfer - I need access (20k) ... many thanks Roger

ekam88

ekam88 wrote: »

I was wondering if somebody could help me please?! I am completely useless with anything pertaining to money; the mere mention of a number makes my brain fold in. So, any help would be greatly appreciated!

I have never set up an ISA before and was wondering what would be the best one for me to use if i'm wanting to set aside, say, £100 a month?? And I should mention here that I live in Northern Ireland.

Also, when is the best time to set up an ISA? I know they revolve around the tax year.

And lastly, if I have money in an ISA account for 1 year what exactly happens at the end of that year? Am I advised to take the money out of the account?

Sorry for all the questions. I did warn you I was useless in these matters. Thanks in advance.

I have read that article but as I said before my brain can't process these things!:( Think I need an even more dumbed down version of this article! Ha. Thanks.