Virgin Money Easy Access Cash ISA Exclusive Issue 2

[Deleted User]

I discovered this account last Friday. It was mentioned on another thread but I feel it is so good that it deserves a thread of its own to highlight it for anyone who may have missed it.

It's essentially an easy access ISA account paying (currently) 3% pa variable. As an ISA, the interest is tax free, so is equivalent to 3.75% pa for anyone who already earns £1000 or more in a tax year on taxed accounts.

The "exclusive" bit simply means that you have to have a Virgin Money current account to open the ISA. Lots of people will have, like me, opened a VM current account to benefit from the (previously) market-beating interest rate on the linked M Plus Saver account.

You can pull out money as needed from the ISA without penalty. It is also a "flexible" ISA so any money pulled out can be replaced before the end of the tax year without the re-deposit counting towards the £20K annual ISA allowance. 

Alli in all, a very competitive home for easy access money.

cricidmuslibale

I very much agree with you! Very well summarised, thank you for doing so!

RG2015

There have been some problems with this as discussed on the Best Cash ISA thread. See the link below.

I have had account for two years now but the only confusion was with the issue number and incorrect rates being displayed.

Please note that the interest is only paid annually on the last working day of December or upon closure of the account.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/401374/cash-isas-the-best-currently-available-list/p509

Qyburn

I just opened one from scratch, opening an "M Plus Current" account first, then opening the ISA.  They seem (so far) perfectly happy that the current account and associated "M Plus Saver" both have a zero balance. I'm transferring in an existing ISA so we'll see how long that takes to complete.

There are few glitches, it seems Virgin is not particularly joined up.  The login for the current account and ISA is completely different from the login that I had already for a former ISA. And it's possible to get lost with the wrong login link. And I really don't like the fact that an online login via web page needs to be authenticate with their smartphone app.

However for a savings account these can be lived with, I wouldn't put up with it for a current account.

frankie

VM are useless. Don't answer their phones, emails or tweets. Terrible customer service.
 

clowning

They answered my secure message within a couple of hours earlier this week

MiserlyMartin

frankie said:

VM are useless. Don't answer their phones, emails or tweets. Terrible customer service.
 

I agree, they are virtually impossible to contact by phone. Shocking service, really.

Millyonare

Great thread and good spot.

cricidmuslibale

Qyburn said:

I just opened one from scratch, opening an "M Plus Current" account first, then opening the ISA.  They seem (so far) perfectly happy that the current account and associated "M Plus Saver" both have a zero balance. I'm transferring in an existing ISA so we'll see how long that takes to complete.

There are few glitches, it seems Virgin is not particularly joined up.  The login for the current account and ISA is completely different from the login that I had already for a former ISA. And it's possible to get lost with the wrong login link. And I really don't like the fact that an online login via web page needs to be authenticate with their smartphone app.

However for a savings account these can be lived with, I wouldn't put up with it for a current account.

I’m able to log in online via the web page each and every time without needing to authenticate with the smartphone app. I use an OTP instead. I think the key here is not to download the app in the first place though, because I believe that once you do that, you no longer have the OTP option. Of course I may be wrong about this; if so, I’d be very willing to be corrected!

kaMelo

You are correct, if you don't download the app then a OTP is used but, if I remember correctly, logging in without app verification limits daily withdrawals to £500.

etienneg

kaMelo said:

You are correct, if you don't download the app then a OTP is used but, if I remember correctly, logging in without app verification limits daily withdrawals to £500.

I fell foul of this some time ago when I had just current accounts and linked savers. Withdrawals had always been small (<£200) so had worked fine, but wanting >£1,000 in one go caused an issue. I only learned of the need for app verification during the ensuing online chat. It is on their web site, but not where it's easily found, and I had missed it. I'm pretty good at reading documentation including T&Cs when I open accounts, but not mentioned in any of this at all.

I generally use online as I find apps difficult (poor eyesight and clumsy fingers!), so I asked if there was an alternative. They sent me one of those keypad devices specific to my login, which produces the OTP code. This works just fine, with no problems at all. Now I have this, I really like Virgin. The online screens are clear and simple to navigate. Transfers happen virtually instantaneously every time.

I can't comment on the phone service as I've never rung them! Avoiding doing so is my answer to this issue - not just with Virgin. These days people seem to ring for the simplest of things that could often be handled differently. I do wonder if this is why there are such horrendous delays - again, not just with Virgin. Perhaps it would help everyone if we all kept our calls to an absolute minimum?