NS&I 1 Year Guaranteed Growth Bonds and Guaranteed Income Bonds at 6.20%

Swipe

curlywig73 said:

Is it worth withdrawing money (25k) from a low interest Virgin cash ISA to put into the new NS&I bond for the much better rate, thus losing the tax free status of that money for ever?  I was going to transfer it to my Vanguard ISA but it has been a bit volatile this year and the NS&I bond seems a safer bet for a year in terms of growth.  The tax free status is useful to me as I do go over the PSA each year and likely will for the next few years.  Trying to work out whether it's worth paying the extra tax on the higher NS&I interest or it would be better to preserve its tax free status and put it in my Vanguard ISA but with the risk that it performs poorly this coming year. It's hard to know what to do for the best long term when interest rates start changing as much as this.  Vanguard ISA was a no-brainer when interest rates were 1%.

Personally, I'd be reluctant to give up any ISA allowance as you'll never get it back, but everyone's situation is different. You could transfer it to your Vanguard ISA and buy a money market fund. That's what I've done with this year's ISA. I'll sell it and add it back to my investment funds when interest rates start to come back down but, in the meantime, I'm more than happy to get 5% tax free and maintain my ISA allowance.

Nova1307

In terms of funding the growth bond, I read yesterday that this can be done via one debit card payment or a transfer from an existing NS&I easy access account (Direct saver) will also work. Can anyone confirm that this is the case? I haven't gone through the process of applying yet and just wanted to check this is one of the funding options. Thanks

curlywig73

Swipe said:

curlywig73 said:

Is it worth withdrawing money (25k) from a low interest Virgin cash ISA to put into the new NS&I bond for the much better rate, thus losing the tax free status of that money for ever?  I was going to transfer it to my Vanguard ISA but it has been a bit volatile this year and the NS&I bond seems a safer bet for a year in terms of growth.  The tax free status is useful to me as I do go over the PSA each year and likely will for the next few years.  Trying to work out whether it's worth paying the extra tax on the higher NS&I interest or it would be better to preserve its tax free status and put it in my Vanguard ISA but with the risk that it performs poorly this coming year. It's hard to know what to do for the best long term when interest rates start changing as much as this.  Vanguard ISA was a no-brainer when interest rates were 1%.

Personally, I'd be reluctant to give up any ISA allowance as you'll never get it back, but everyone's situation is different. You could transfer it to your Vanguard ISA and buy a money market fund. That's what I've done with this year's ISA. I'll sell it and add it back to my investment funds when interest rates start to come back down but, in the meantime, I'm more than happy to get 5% tax free and maintain my ISA allowance.

Hmmm....I hadn't thought of doing that.  I'll look into it.  Thanks for that tip.

Swipe

Nova1307 said:

In terms of funding the growth bond, I read yesterday that this can be done via one debit card payment or a transfer from an existing NS&I easy access account (Direct saver) will also work. Can anyone confirm that this is the case? I haven't gone through the process of applying yet and just wanted to check this is one of the funding options. Thanks

Yes, I can confirm that I opened one yesterday that I funded using my direct ISA. Ignore the text on last step where is says it can only be funded by a debit card and click the confirm button.

worriednoob

Thanks everyone for your replies.  I'm thinking of making a complaint, but may I ask any of you who have successfully opened the GGB account what email or emails you received? I'm trying to establish if any emails they send include any personal details that could be a security breach. 

If they contain any important info such as login details, name address or NS&I account and reference numbers, then I will have to take it further.

But if If they just are bog-standard stuff and have no personal details, then rather than making it into a big deal, I'll just ask for them to back-date the interest.

If anyone can attach screenshots (redacting your personal details), then that would be greatly appreciated as I then know what the emails exactly look like.

ColdIron

No personal details in my email but it was just a confirmation of account opening as I already have several NS&I accounts

You may have had additional emails as a new NS&I holder

worriednoob

Thanks very much ColdIron - Yes we've not received such an email or emails, hence that means they've gone to another email address.  I know there aren't many personal details of the individual, but clearly it contains the Application Ref, Order Ref, Amount and when the transaction was carried out and it also states that the customer can contact NS&I and quote these details.

Is there any risk to my savings if someone else has obtained such info?  Surely if a shady character wanted to find out, all they'd have to give is the Application Ref and Order Ref?

Sorry, I hope you can appreciate that I'm worried, especially when it involves large amounts.

granta

Does anyone know if the bond can be funded using more than one debit card? Thinking of using my Halifax Reward cards to meet the £500 target per card.

boingy

worriednoob said:

Thanks very much ColdIron - Yes we've not received such an email or emails, hence that means they've gone to another email address.  I know there aren't many personal details of the individual, but clearly it contains the Application Ref, Order Ref, Amount and when the transaction was carried out and it also states that the customer can contact NS&I and quote these details.

Is there any risk to my savings if someone else has obtained such info?  Surely if a shady character wanted to find out, all they'd have to give is the Application Ref and Order Ref?

Sorry, I hope you can appreciate that I'm worried, especially when it involves large amounts.

Do you know what email address they used? If it is a misspelling then it probably won't end up with a real person. It will just bounce and most likely get lost in the system. 

Swipe

worriednoob said:

Thanks very much ColdIron - Yes we've not received such an email or emails, hence that means they've gone to another email address.  I know there aren't many personal details of the individual, but clearly it contains the Application Ref, Order Ref, Amount and when the transaction was carried out and it also states that the customer can contact NS&I and quote these details.

Is there any risk to my savings if someone else has obtained such info?  Surely if a shady character wanted to find out, all they'd have to give is the Application Ref and Order Ref?

Sorry, I hope you can appreciate that I'm worried, especially when it involves large amounts.

This is the email I received which contains no personal info apart from my surname. All the detailed info was in the secure message in the portal, not the email itself:

Dear Mr XXXXX

Thank you for choosing to invest with NS&I.

We have sent you a new secure message to confirm your account details. Please visit nsandi.com and log in to read it. You'll need your NS&I number and password.

If this is your first investment in an NS&I online account, we'll send you separate confirmation of your NS&I number by post. You will be able to log in as soon as you receive this.

Yours sincerely

NS&I Customer Service Team