When to transfer from maturing ISA into a new ISA

solorize

Hi,

I currently have a '1 year fixed rate E-ISA' with Virgin Money that matures on the
24 Sept 2019. Once this current ISA matures they have stated that if I do
nothing that the ISA will then be transferred into their E-Access ISA with a very
low interest rate.

I have decided that I would like to transfer my ISA savings into another companies
ISA, but am unsure when I need to do this, to prevent any penalty.

Do I have to wait until after the 24th Sept, to sign up to the new companies ISA
and fill out the transfer form. Or can I start the ball rolling now?

Obviously I don't want to jump the gun and have the money taken out of the
current Virgin ISA before it matures and loose the interest.

If anyone can confirm how I should proceed it would be much appreciated.

Albermarle

From memory when you instigate the transfer , there is usually a question asking about money locked into fixed rates and an option to not transfer before a certain date.
Obviously practices will vary from provider to provider . Suggest you find the provider you want and give them a call.

eskbanker

You can safely proceed with opening the new account, and then when you complete the transfer form there will typically be a section envisaging exactly the situation you describe and giving you the option of specifying a maturity date before which the funds aren't to be moved.

If you get the account open and find that the transfer form doesn't give you this option, you'd probably be best speaking to the new provider about it, or just waiting until Tuesday....

solorize

Thank you both for your replies.

What would happen if I left opening the new account until after the
24th Sept, once it matures and then moves into their low interest
rate E-Access ISA.

Would that cause me any problems? Other than not getting
a higher rate of interest directly after the maturity.

eskbanker

If you leave it until after Tuesday to initiate the transfer then there will be a longer interim period of low interest - to be honest, even if you kick it off now it may well not go through on the exact day anyway, as ISA transfers are often far from instantaneous (the HMRC-mandated SLA is 15 working days).

I don't know if Virgin preserve the account number when downgrading the fixed term product to the low interest rate one, or if they can 'convert' a transfer request from one to the other if the number is changed, but would imagine this to be a fairly common occurrence so can't believe it should be problematic.

davidwatts

I had similar queries in mind with the same provider. My assumption would be you can specify the relevant date for transfer with the new company. In the end, though, I took the maturity option of an instant access ISA with a variable rate of 1.25% (sign into your account and it should be one of the maturity options). So I'll wait for it to mature and initiate the transfer at my leisure, without the interest rate falling off a cliff.

solorize

Thanks again for your replies.

If I do as David has done and take that maturity option of having my current maturing Virgin ISA moved into the 'Virgin Easy Access Cash eISA Reward 16'. (Which I believe you can take money out of anytime without penalty).

Can I then transfer over to another companies ISA, even though I
have already moved from one ISA product to another, (albeit within
the same company)?

Or are you only allowed to switch / transfer ISA once per year?

t0rt0ise

You can transfer an ISA as often as you wish.

solorize

Hi t0rt0ise, thanks for your reply.

I have just spoken to Virgin and they confirmed that as long as I
move over to one of their ISA options that are offered to me
on maturity I will keep the same account number. See below:


"When you select a maturity option that is given to you on the online system it will keep the old account number. If you're opening a new account with us, that is not one of the maturity options, then you would get a new account number".

So I think I will do as per David, and switch to the Virgin Easy Access Cash eISA Reward 16, then once that's done look at switching to a better rate with another company, at least this way I can give them my account
number and it will be the same.