Upgrading Santander Fixed Rate Cash ISA

rallycurve

I understand it maturing to a lower rate easy access account but I'm expecting them to transfer the funds as soon as possible. They've received the instructions to transfer and there is no reason to delay it. Let's see how long they keep my money at a cheap price...

rallycurve

JSmith321 said:

rallycurve said:

Stargunner said:

rallycurve said:

Stargunner said:

JSmith321 said:

What is the time taken to transfer to another provider. In the past it has taken over a month with the loss of one months interest making the transfer to a higher rate uneconomical. 

To speed things up you can request a transfer in advance of the maturity date. Just make sure that you request that the transfer is not completed until at least the maturity date.

Do you know how long Santander will take to action this request and send the funds to the other provider after maturity?

How long is a piece of string?
your guess is as good as mine 😀

I requested a transfer in advance thinking this would be the fastest way to transfer out.
Santander confirmed receipt of it on the 23rd March. My ISA matured yesterday 1st April. I'll report when they send the funds to my new provider. In the meantime money is earning an amazing 1.2% 😬 so I suspect they'll keep it for a while

Same here, they seem to be "Gaming" the system to make it less attractive to switch by holding the money in Limbo

Yes but I see it as making it less attractive to open an ISA with them in the future. Although I suspect they don't care and won't offer a competitive rate anytime soon.

subjecttocontract

rallycurve said:

I understand it maturing to a lower rate easy access account but I'm expecting them to transfer the funds as soon as possible. They've received the instructions to transfer and there is no reason to delay it. Let's see how long they keep my money at a cheap price...

I have a different perspective. I accept banks are in business to make a profit. They make that profit from you any way they can, usually legally. Holding onto your money, along with thousands of other savers money for as long as possible might be to their advantage. It's exactly what I would expect them to do, so of course, they have every reason to delay. 

rallycurve

Not acting diligently on clear transfer instructions might not be illegal but I would not like to work with entities which make a profit from you by being that cheeky and taking advantage of you in that way.

Fortunately, this is not the case with Santander, to my surprise I must admit.
My ISA transfer has just completed and I find the time it took has been acceptable.

20 March - Request to transfer my Santander FRISA to Cynergy on maturity
22 March - Cynergy confirms Santander have received the transfer request and will action the payment once the fixed term period ends.
23 March - Santander confirms (via online message and letter) that they have received the transfer request and are progressing it
1 April - ISA matured
2 April - Interest added to matured ISA (following day as per t&c)
3 April - Cynergy confirms Santander have accepted the transfer and payment will be sent shortly
4 April - Funds transferred from Santander to Cynergy and ISA transfer complete

subjecttocontract

Great news.....we have X3 Santander ISAs maturing soon and assuming Santander don't suddenly offer something around 5% we will be looking to transfer them elsewhere. Nice to know they can act without long delays.