ISA Declaration

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81996492#Comment_81996492

It does come up from time to time, usually as a question seeking quick confirmation, but it clearly isn't confusing for 99% of users or we'd see many more posts about it. Yours is the first I remember seeing for years. The two year old thread you found to add your posts to isn't even about this.

Your first mistake is thinking you are not applying for a new ISA - you are. Most people understand that in this situation they are applying for a new ISA and transferring into it. No action is required if you just want to let the account mature normally.

Your second mistake is thinking your new ISA doesn't have the capacity to receive new funds - it does.

Your third mistake is thinking Virgin Money has a choice whether or not to collect an ISA declaration from customers wishing to transfer into this ISA - it doesn't.

Your fourth mistake is thinking Virgin Money will report new ISA subscriptions to HMRC when you've made none - it won't.

"When I request to renew my 3 years old E-ISA in full without adding any amount or making any other changes, this declaration is not needed to be shown at all… optional or otherwise, and I am guessing many people mistakenly click on it, and then they will be in whole lot of trouble."

The above statement is incorrect and the nub of your misunderstanding. Anyone who wants this ISA should click on it because that is what they are supposed to do and it causes them no trouble.

"Because this is reported to HMRC as new ISA subscription for 2026/27 and once they make another ISA deposit somewhere else this year, it will be flagged as oversubscribed - I don't give you the headache of describing what entails… !"

Only new money you pay in to the ISA will be reported to HMRC. If you refrain from doing so, nothing will be reported. Transfers from other ISAs carried out by an ISA provider do not count towards the ISA allowance.

Out of interest, what is your experience of what happened when an ISA of yours was flagged as being oversubscribed? We so rarely hear of actual cases of this happening.

AustinZ

I did not make any mistakes at all, I knew this declaration was wrong to pop up on my renewal case, I called them and they admitted so, they said no need to make this declaration - I did mention that, either check automatically and not pop this up, or at the top of the declaration it should say "If you add any new money….", she agreed this is better than "Optional and not an obligation… " at the end…, she said she raise it with their tech. I was right and you are wrong with all your assumptions…!

P.S. what is the point of having a forum if deleting my replies and only keeping yours… !

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81999685#Comment_81999685

Virgin Money did nothing wrong, but sometimes it is easier for a business to acquiesce to an unyielding customer than convince them of the truth ("the customer is always right"). Since you were happy to have it ticked automatically, that gave them an "out". That must mean you now accept ticking the declaration doesn't result in them reporting any new contributions to HMRC unless you add any money (the nub of your misunderstanding as I previously identified).

If you still believe you are right about the other points, will you be contacting HMRC who require the declaration as a rule, and the hundreds of ISA managers who follow it? Or perhaps you could accept the existing wording in the spirit it is intended, which would be far easier for everyone.

I'm not sure the new "better" declaration wording you suggested has a different meaning than the wording you objected to, but perhaps some will find it easier to understand so do let us know when it is live on the Virgin Money site. If anyone else is unwilling to make the standard declaration when opening an ISA just to transfer in, they'll have at least one place they can go.

"P.S. what is the point of having a forum if deleting my replies and only keeping yours… !"

I didn't see any replies on this thread other than the ones that are here today. But the point of the forum moderators deleting rule-breaking posts (as judged by them) is to keep the forum safe and on track.

AustinZ

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81999954#Comment_81999954

I did not tick anything and was not automatically done either, the declaration is not needed and should not be ticked/accepted/submitted in cases when just renewing ISA accounts created from the past - including any interests accrued, only needed for new money if added….! In fact it is still showing on top of my account.

I only posted this for others who come across this on Virgin Money website not to make this declaration…, not needed in the above scenario, full stop. You can keep defending it as long as you like, no more replies from me. Bye.

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82001469#Comment_82001469

That online hangover just means they completed that part of your internal transfer over the phone. From what you have said, it seems they've had to go to quite a bit of trouble to manually complete the process, but no doubt they concluded that this would be the lesser of two evils in this instance. I can see why they might have come to that conclusion.

Others who come across this should save themselves some bother and tick the box, knowing that it doesn't have any of the implications you falsely claim and that it is normal to "apply to subscribe" when transferring an ISA, even if you don't intend to subscribe. It is an option, not an obligation. It clearly does not transform previous year subscriptions into current year subscriptions.