ISA Cooling off period?

AndyPK

Hi.
A virgin money isa matured, and 2 days ago became a VirginMoney ISA 1 year fix. 

Is there a cooling off period ?  I guess not 

masonic

What do the T&Cs say? There might well be a cooling off period.

AndyPK

When you can close your account

If you change your mind, you can close your account without charge within the first 14 days of opening it. If you do change your mind, all you need to do is write to Jubilee House, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne,

NE3 4PL, or visit one of our Stores. If your account is not a postal account, you can also call us on 0345 600 7301*. Best of all, we’ll still pay you any interest earned. You can’t change your mind if your account is a Fixed Rate Bond.

After the first 14 days, you can close

your account at any time unless your KPIS says otherwise.

masonic

The T&Cs state that the KPIS have priority over the general T&Cs, and that the KPIS includes the ISA Key Facts. The ISA Key Facts states "If you are not happy with your choice of account within 14 days of making your first deposit, we will help you close your account and you will not lose your right to invest in another Cash ISA for that tax year. If you would like to take advantage of this 14 day rule, you must send your cancellation in writing to Savings Operations, Virgin Money, Jubilee House, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 4PL. When you close your account, we will make sure our reports to HM Revenue & Customs reflect the correct position. If you do cancel your account, the full amount of your investment, together with any interest earned, will be returned to you."

So you cannot do it by phone or by visiting a branch as for general savings accounts, you have to write to them. It is unclear what would happen to your allowance from prior tax years (given we are so close to the end of the tax year, the whole ISA will soon contain prior year money if it doesn't already). You will need to find out about this before posting your cancellation request.

AndyPK

Thanks.
Using the post system isn't really going to work.  I will ring them Monday and see what they say.

masonic

Failing that the transfer out penalty is only 60 days interest, which, if you have the 0.35% paying account, is less than £1 per £1000 saved.

AndyPK

Thanks. I was worried the penalty maybe more than the gain! 
I don't think I would choose that option though. It's not big sums of money here. 
My intension is to try and transfer the ISA to NW 0.75% 18 months and then add approx £4K before the tax year ends ! 

masonic

AndyPK said:

Thanks. I was worried the penalty maybe more than the gain! 
I don't think I would choose that option though. It's not big sums of money here. 
My intension is to try and transfer the ISA to NW 0.75% 18 months and then add approx £4K before the tax year ends ! 

If your Virgin Money ISA has "matured", it seems unlikely it would contain any money from the current tax year. Does it?

If it doesn't then it looks like the NW ISA allows an initial deposit when opening and a transfer to be started. Completing an ISA transfer before the end of the tax year is probably impossible at this point (only 4 working days left in this tax year), unless your existing ISA is with NW. You would just need to get Virgin to convert your fixed rate account to an easy access account to avoid the penalty.

If the VM ISA does contain current year money, you would need to top up before starting the transfer to NW.

AndyPK

I don’t think there is any requirement for the transfer to be completed within tax year. It’s old Money so doesn’t matter afaik. 

masonic

AndyPK said:

I don’t think there is any requirement for the transfer to be completed within tax year. It’s old Money so doesn’t matter afaik. 

You stated "My intension is to try and transfer the ISA to NW 0.75% 18 months and then add approx £4K before the tax year ends !"

You cannot add £4k from this tax year after the end of this tax year. It will come from your 21/22 allowance if deposited after 5th April. So you will need to add the £4k before transferring the VM ISA. It can be deposited into either ISA if you have not paid into a cash ISA this tax year.

AndyPK

Yeah. Sorry bad writing from me. 


Mon. Tried phoning them. 3x 15 mins on hold. 

So sent then a letter