Shawbrook fixed term ISA T's & C's query

Albermarle

It has been mentioned in a few threads that the Shawbrook fixed term ISA is unusual, as it has no 15/30 day fixed funding window.
In the T's & C's of the three year fix ISA it says .
Please note that the Bank reserves the right to withdraw this product at any time. If the product is withdrawn, you can continue to put more money into your account until the expiry of the fixed term.

I opened one today ( easy process) and received a welcome letter. ( Via the website) .
It says .
You can make deposits into your account until the product has been withdrawn from sale.

Which could of course be at any time

So a contradiction. I have messaged them to see what they say.

I always suspected that being able to add money over a 3 year period at a fixed rate was too good to be true. ( especially if interest rates generally dropped far below that fixed rate ). Hopefully I will be proved wrong.

soulsaver

A letter after the event doesn't trump the terms that they agreed with you when you opened the account.

But words elsewhere in the terms say they may* refuse transfers-in not requested with the application.

However, I have transferred in during the term in the past - no arguments from them.

And I have a contemporaneous note of a discussion I had prior to opening, declaring that I am relying on that term to transfer in 2 maturing fixes in the period that would fill the account to the FSCS limit (in the event the 4.40% is still competitive). 

*If Interest rates drop to say c1.0% next month, the un-caveated term could expose them to a £1million+ transfer-in for the remaining 2.9 years at 4.40%. So...

Albermarle

But words elsewhere in the terms say they may* refuse transfers-in not requested with the application.

I was aware that transfers in could be restricted, because as you say they could be flooded with large transfers in.

My query is more about new money, which I understood could be added at any time during the 3 years, subject only to ISA rules.

soulsaver

Albermarle said:

But words elsewhere in the terms say they may* refuse transfers-in not requested with the application.

I was aware that transfers in could be restricted, because as you say they could be flooded with large transfers in.

My query is more about new money, which I understood could be added at any time during the 3 years, subject only to ISA rules.

Expounded:
There is no issues that I can see about new money as "A letter after the event doesn't trump the terms that they agreed with you when you opened the account." 

They  maybe concerned about transfers in, as there is a caveat about transfers in as "...elsewhere in the terms say they may* refuse transfers-in not requested with the application."

masonic

They have limited exposure to people putting in new money due to the annual allowance. But I believe even some of their non-ISA fixes work in this way.

Albermarle

soulsaver said:

Albermarle said:

But words elsewhere in the terms say they may* refuse transfers-in not requested with the application.

I was aware that transfers in could be restricted, because as you say they could be flooded with large transfers in.

My query is more about new money, which I understood could be added at any time during the 3 years, subject only to ISA rules.

Expounded:
There is no issues that I can see about new money as "A letter after the event doesn't trump the terms that they agreed with you when you opened the account." 

They  maybe concerned about transfers in, as there is a caveat about transfers in as "...elsewhere in the terms say they may* refuse transfers-in not requested with the application."

Although I agree with you that legally the T's&C's in the offer document should prevail, I would rather get clarification on their opinion directly from them now, rather than finding I try to add new money in 18 months and it is blocked, and then potentially a long drawn out row.
Will be interesting to see what they say to my query.

Angelica123

https://www.shawbrook.co.uk/savings/help/depositing-withdrawing-from-your-account/#can-i-make-more-than-one-deposit

They explicitly say in link you can deposit into fixed ISA even after product is withdrawn (unlike the fixed savings bond where they state that you can deposit until product is withdrawn and they will give 7 day notice if that happens). 

If you feel uneasy by all means query it now so you have documented evidence. Or take screenshot of above link contents. 

Albermarle

Angelica123 said:

https://www.shawbrook.co.uk/savings/help/depositing-withdrawing-from-your-account/#can-i-make-more-than-one-deposit

They explicitly say in link you can deposit into fixed ISA even after product is withdrawn (unlike the fixed savings bond where they state that you can deposit until product is withdrawn and they will give 7 day notice if that happens). 

If you feel uneasy by all means query it now so you have documented evidence. Or take screenshot of above link contents. 

Thanks for the link. It confirms what it says in the offer T's & C's.

However the welcome letter explicitly contradicts it. So that is what I have queried
I will post the answer when received.

Albermarle

Shawbrook have replied and said that I can fund the fixed term ISA over the whole 3 year period ( subject to ISA limits of course), regardless of whether the product is withdrawn or not. They apologised for the confusing/contradictory statement in the welcome letter.

It still seems rather extraordinary flexibility, compared to the rigid funding rules of most other fixed term savings accounts, whether an ISA or not. Anyway I am not complaining, and will hopefully be able to take advantage in following tax years.

steveksullivan

Have had exactly this phone call with them 2 years running (documented in other threads....) In the last one the CS rep said the terms were there so they could enforce them if they wished - but she said so far they never had, and they currently have no plans to .....