Fixed ISA Maturity

MACKEM99

Good afternoon.

I have a Fixed Rate  ISA with the Coventry which matures on 30 Sep 23.  I was thinking of moving to their higher rate or perhaps elsewhere.  I am currently getting 2.47% which is paid monthly.  I am aware that I will lose 120 days interest if I move the ISA before maturity, so will wait.  Of course I run the risk of current offers not being available at the time.

I called them to ask how long before the ISA matures can I ask them to move to another of theirs without losing interest.

I was like pulling teeth.  Basically they said wait till I receive my maturity letter for me to decide what to do.  When I asked roughly when this will be they said "sometime before" but could not give me a date.

I am aware, and have done it before, where I asked another provider to move my Fixed Rate one but ticked the box to wait until maturity date.

Does anyone have a steer on timescale please?

Thanks

M99

grumbler

MACKEM99 said:

I have a Fixed Rate  ISA with the Coventry which matures on 30 Sep 23.  I was thinking of moving to their higher rate or perhaps elsewhere.  I am currently getting 2.47% which is paid monthly.  I am aware that I will lose 120 days interest if I move the ISA before maturity, so will wait.  Of course I run the risk of current offers not being available at the time.

I called them to ask how long before the ISA matures can I ask them to move to another of theirs without losing interest.

I was like pulling teeth.  Basically they said wait till I receive my maturity letter for me to decide what to do.  When I asked roughly when this will be they said "sometime before" but could not give me a date.

The answer is obvious - only after it matures. The letter will only inform you about this so that you could prepare in advance. Sometimes it makes sense to pay the penalty and switch to a higher rate early, but not in your case. You lose about 2.47%/3=0.82%, but if you switch to, say, 5% you'll earn extra about (5%-2.47%)/6=0.42% over remaining two months. Do your maths.

MACKEM99

I have done the maths - that is why I am waiting.

Albermarle

I think normally you should be contacted about one month ? before maturity. This should explain the options open to you. The timescale will vary of course from provider to provider but is usually a few weeks beforehand.

friolento

The penalty-free timescale is governed by your receiving ISA provider. They will tell you how long you have for the transfer to be requested. It is often 4 weeks from application, and you need to tick the right box on the transfer form.

eskbanker

lcooper said:

The penalty-free timescale is governed by your receiving ISA provider. They will tell you how long you have for the transfer to be requested. It is often 4 weeks from application, and you need to tick the right box on the transfer form.

OP indicates that they already know it's possible to specify 'on maturity' when changing providers (having done so before), but is trying to establish how the equivalent process works when changing products with the same provider, who is apparently reluctant to answer (albeit at two months distance)....

MACKEM99

Thanks for replies I was looking for direction on both new provider and existing.  I maybe did not make it very clear.

Bigwheels1111

You can pre request a transfer ahead of time.
Set it up to move on said date.
You would need to check how long you have to fund the new isa.
If I understand it correctly you can open a new isa and transfer in the old one.
Put a bit of cash in the new isa and then it does not matter how long the transfer takes.
You could open a new isa say next week and move the old one in September.

friolento

Bigwheels1111 said:

You can pre request a transfer ahead of time.
Set it up to move on said date.
You would need to check how long you have to fund the new isa.
If I understand it correctly you can open a new isa and transfer in the old one.
Put a bit of cash in the new isa and then it does not matter how long the transfer takes.
You could open a new isa say next week and move the old one in September.

It might eork like that with some providers or with some types of ISAs but it won’t with others. The much talked about Natwest 2-year ISA does not work like it, for example.

The transfer request form or the KPI / T&Cs will tell you what applies.

friolento

eskbanker said:

lcooper said:

The penalty-free timescale is governed by your receiving ISA provider. They will tell you how long you have for the transfer to be requested. It is often 4 weeks from application, and you need to tick the right box on the transfer form.

OP indicates that they already know it's possible to specify 'on maturity' when changing providers (having done so before), but is trying to establish how the equivalent process works when changing products with the same provider, who is apparently reluctant to answer (albeit at two months distance)....

I don’t think it makes much difference whether the transfer is external or internal. The receiving provider / prduct, external or internal, will have rules attached to it. From what I have seen, you can’t rely on a single approach that applies to all. For example, Santander’s internal xfer form specifically states that you should not request xfer for fixed term ISAs before maturity. The YBS form, OTOH, lets you request a transfer ahead of maturity. Others require that the transfer date cannot be more than xx days in future. OP seems to have come across yet another variation, where the provider is non-committal / non-cooperative. 

If I was the OP, I’d just fill in the Coventry internal xfer form and take it from there. https://www.coventrybuildingsociety.co.uk/content/dam/cbs/member/pdfs/useful-forms/isa-internal-transfer-request.pdf