Top Cash ISAs Discussion Area

David_Mee

CharlotteP wrote: »

If you put the full amount into an ISA do you have to leave it in there until April to get the interest or do they do it monthly? I only ask as the one i have already updates the interest received after April 5th

I have a Kent Relliance Isa that i opened in 2000 can i put £3600 in there now and then open another ISA and put £3600 in there also?

You can only invest up to £3600 in any one year (April-April) and can only put money into 1 Isa in each year. You can put £3600 in on April 5th and then another £3600 on April 6th as these count as different years but for now you can only put £3600 into 1 account. Once you cross a year boundary you loose that years entitlement (Otherwise you could go back and put 8x£3000 in to cover all the missing years ;-) )

CharlotteP_3

Ok thanks thats clear now.

purplestar133

djpeteboy wrote: »

I was all set to open my Barclays Cash ISA as they are the highest interest rate recommended in Martin's Article and then on Radio 4 heard that Barclays have invested heavily into the regime in Zimbabwe - I think they have loaned £750M to the leaders of the regime. What does anyone else think - can I in any way justify investing my money with a company that supports a regime like this? Is money saving more important than ethical banking...?

Thanks for posting that, I had no idea Barclays had done such a thing. Makes you think doesn't it? Can't answer your question...

JimmyTheWig

CharlotteP wrote: »

If you put the full amount into an ISA do you have to leave it in there until April to get the interest or do they do it monthly? I only ask as the one i have already updates the interest received after April 5th

Unless there are specific terms that say the money has to be left a certain time then no, you don't have to leave it that long.
There is a difference between when interest is calculated and when it is paid.

In the general case interest will be calculated daily (e.g. the longer you have your money in there the more interest you will get) but paid annually.
So if you withdraw your money half way through the year then on April 5th (in your case) you will get half the amount of interest that you would have done had you left the money in there the whole time.

BulletCraig

Just received my papers through from Icesave and have successfully logged into my account. However, on the accounts summary page it has the following:

"Rate Details
Interest rate (gross pa*): 0.50%"

What is this referring to? The rate I signed up for was 6.10% so I'm guessing (hoping) it's not referring to that?

gowgowuk

BulletCraig wrote: »

Just received my papers through from Icesave and have successfully logged into my account. However, on the accounts summary page it has the following:

"Rate Details
Interest rate (gross pa*): 0.50%"

What is this referring to? The rate I signed up for was 6.10% so I'm guessing (hoping) it's not referring to that?

Is it not the interest rate if the amount on your account is less than £1000?

BulletCraig

gowgowuk wrote: »

Is it not the interest rate if the amount on your account is less than £1000?

I'm not sure. The minimum amount you can open with is £1000 but it's sitting at £0 just now as it's a new account. I was just going to transfer the full £3600 in until I spotted this interest rate. Obviously I don't want to transfer the money in and be stuck with a horrible interest rate for the rest of the year.

isofa

http://www.icesave.co.uk/easy-access-isa-questions.html

You must have £1000+ in the account to get that rate, it's advertised on their site and their T+Cs... (£1000+ 6.10% gross)

In addition: "Your Easy Access ISA will be opened on the date that your initial deposit is received."

If in doubt, give them a call: 0845 605 6050

Dudette40

I have a Cash ISA with the Halifax. I have had it for 5 years. I get 5% interest. I feel uneasy about it with the current HBOS troubles. Am I correct in wanting to transfer and to whom do you recommend?

JimmyTheWig

Dudette40 wrote: »

I have a Cash ISA with the Halifax. I have had it for 5 years. ... I feel uneasy about it with the current HBOS troubles. Am I correct in wanting to transfer?

I don't think this is grounds to switch.
In the very unlikely event of HBOS going belly up the first £35,000 would be covered. I believe the maximum you could have in this account is half that figure.
The only concern would be how quickly you could get at your money if they went bust - i.e. how long the compensation would take. But if it's been in there for five years I'm guessing you don't necessarily need it at short notice.

I get 5% interest. ... and to whom do you recommend?

Only getting 5% interest, however, is grounds to switch.

The top pick from this site that allows transfers in is Icesave. See http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/best-cash-isa#best

Remember that you need to contact the new organisation (e.g. Icesave) and tell them you want to transfer your cash ISA to them. If you withdraw the cash from Halifax then it will lose it's ISA status.