Top Cash ISAs Discussion Area

JimmyTheWig

NikkyWikky wrote: »

where shud I put the 3600 on April 5th. should i put it into Alliance and Leicester or open a Barclays ISA and put the 3600 in there? My financial knowledge is not up to scracth but have been advice to keep the money together as the compound interest will result in more interest then 0.25% difference.

You will get compound interest whether you keep them together or seperately.
To get the best return for your money, open a Barclays ISA for the £3600.

Assuming you open the ISA and fill it as soon as the tax year starts then you will get £9 more by doing it with Barclays over the year. As the rate includes a 1% bonus for one year I presume you'll be transferring it out at the end of the year so you only really want to be looking at the difference in that year.

Would it be easier for you to put the £3600 into the A&L ISA?
Would it then be easier to transfer just the A&L ISA at the end of the year rather than the A&L ISA and the Barclays ISA?

Is this ease worth £9 - only you can make that decission.

JimmyTheWig

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

you only really want to be looking at the difference in that year.

A purist may argue, though, that it gives you an extra £9 that is able to earn interest tax free. By keeping this earning interest in an ISA for 25 years you would be an extra £11 better off in interest than if you found the £9 yourself at the end of the year and put it in a savings account.
But I didn't think that was worthy of putting in the main response!

NikkyWikky

Thanks JimmyTheWig it makes sense now since i'll be transferring at the end of the following year. I guess it boils down to the fact is the hassle worth £9. I like the purist argument, anything to get away from the tax man getting hold of the money!

Thanks for the advice.

Cheers Nik.

pigeonpie

Barclays advise that tomorrow, 28th march, is the last day for applications to be received in time, not 4 April as per the MSE ISA page. I put in an app last week as well and got a phone call from a call centre purporting to be Barclays on my mobile last night asking for my d.o.b and post code. As I'd just got a letter from Barclays with both correctly spelt out, I refused to give details. However when I called them today, Barclays say the call last night was genuine, so I told them what I thought lol.

As to withdrawal charges, the small print of many/all (?) ISAs says that payment out must be by CHAPS or similar, for which there's a fee (c £20) if it's not to an account at the same bank.

Anyone who has done A&L instead know when their last date is? My OH wants to do their ISA but their online system won't accept his last address foreign postcode on the app form, so can you sort it out by phone after hours? thanks.

meanscot

I'm thinking of opening a new Direct cash ISA Issue 4 for 2008/09 with Alliance & Leicester (6.25% variable). Also to transferring present ISA fund (12K plus) from Abbey to A&L as Abbey 6.5% only held till end of April 2008.

I contacted A&L by phone and was assured there were no charges for transferring in or out.

I am a bit concerned that as I don't have an A&L current account (and don't really want another current account) that I will be charged £20 for a CHAPS fee if I ever need to transfer any money from my ISA to my Nationwide current account.

If I open an A&L current account to transfer my cash if I need some from my ISA, will I be charged a CHAPS fee for transferring the cash onward to my Nationwide account ?

The A&L operator also said it would be quicker if I made an appointment with local A&L branch as there was a large backlog of online application and visiting the bank with appropriate paperwork would be quicker.

Is this a ploy to offer me other products or are things backlogged using the online application route ?

meanscot

bristolleedsfan

NikkyWikky wrote: »

Hi All,

just a quick question. I got an ISA account of 9K (which includes my tax allowance fot the current year) at Kent. I'm transferring this across to Alliance and Leicester. On the 5th of April I can put in another 3600. I've seen Barclays are offering 6.5%. Now my question is where shud I put the 3600 on April 5th. should i put it into Alliance and Leicester or open a Barclays ISA and put the 3600 in there? My financial knowledge is not up to scracth but have been advice to keep the money together as the compound interest will result in more interest then 0.25% difference. Any ideas or explainations on this?

Thanks in advance.

Nik

Assuming u dont need the money for 12 Months, you might like to also consider Bradford and Bingleys new 6.25% Fixed Rate ISA for your 2008/09 : 3600.00. ( no transfers in)

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=808195

When factoring in gains from transferring ISAs u also need to consider which providers fully back date interest to the date of the outgoing transfer cheque. ( MSE poster reports have indicated that neither Icesave or A+L fully backdate interest as described above)

( Examples of whom fully backdates interest on ISA transfer in(s) are Nationwide BS, Abbey PLC, Halifax PLC,Saffron BS )

coxymw

Sorry guys if this has already been anwered - simple question.

I'm an existing Barclays customer and got to end of online registration process when the T&Cs required me to tick this box:

"I apply to subscribe for a mini cash ISA for tax year 2007/2008 and each subsequent year until further notice."

This was a pre-requisite.

Anyone know if this is one of the downsides of such a good rate, as I don't presume this is standard for all ISAs? I don't want to feel I have to go with barclays again in 08/09

If I do agres, does anyone know what the process if for giving notice next year? (i.e is it going to be a pain in the !!! to do?)

10_66

I think you'll find the answer in the attached thread.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=823187

You don't have to give any notice for transfers out of the Tax Haven ISA, it's instant access. You'd simply complete an application form and transfer form from the new provider you choose to transfer to, and send/give the forms to the new provider. They'll arrange for the transfer.

kebv

dhitchmough wrote: »

Opening a Premier Current Account with Alliance & Leicester gives access to their Cash ISA (Issue 2), which gives 10% till 1st June 2009. Sounds to good to be true. Any comments? http://www.alliance-leicester.co.uk/savings/index.asp?page=prem-isa&ct=premierhome06

and also:

meanscot wrote:

I am a bit concerned that as I don't have an A&L current account (and don't really want another current account) that I will be charged £20 for a CHAPS fee if I ever need to transfer any money from my ISA to my Nationwide current account.
If I open an A&L current account to transfer my cash if I need some from my ISA, will I be charged a CHAPS fee for transferring the cash onward to my Nationwide account ?

Hi All,

This is my first time posting and I've had a quick look through the threads to check I'm not repeating too much.....

I'm just starting to think about putting money aside in ISAs etc and I wanted to do a sense check on the following idea which relates to the above posts:

- I've got about £1500 and a regular monthly £200 to put into an ISA for this this coming Tax year (08/09) and was looking at the A&L ISA Issue 2 at 10% providing I open a Premier Current Account with them and transfer £500 in (and then immediately out) every month.
- If i'm not transferring an existing ISA into the A&L one but "starting a new one", I assume it can be 100% cash.
- I'm putting the money away for my wedding next year, so the high rate until June 09 is good for me. (I may need to withdraw some earlier for deposits etc.)
- I have a good credit rating.
- I have a lloyds TSB Curent account which I'll keep as my main one.
- I also have a Virgin Credit Card with 15 months 0% and I can pay off the balance in 14 months.
- Should I Stooz the remaining £1800 on the Virgin card into the A&L ISA from the start and then pay it off with the £200 per month instead? (Virgin charge 3% Balance Transfer fee to current accounts)

I hope that makes sense. Is there anything I'm missing or I've not understood? I've heard A&L are not too hot on customer service.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

gingerdennis

Barclays advertise that their 6.50 rate has a 1% bonus for one year. I therefore assumed that after that year any isa held would be at 5.50 rate. I have received an email from Barclays isa team saying that their standard cash isa is 4.26%. am I missing something, why would the rate be so different. ? advise would be welcome