Existing Virgin Money customers have to create a new account to open a Cash ISA?

heterodyne76

I'm being overly cautious, but because it looks like Virgin need me to create a separate online account to open a cash ISA I'm having second thoughts open one with them.

I have the M Plus Current, M Plus Saver and the Regular Saver, but as these all start with a 82 sort code, I can't apply for an ISA without setting up a new account with them. Please can I ask what the experience has been for people here applying for an ISA with Virgin before I carry on? Thanks.

ob1kinobi

I wasn't an existing customer but wanted to open an EXC Fixed Cash ISA with Virgin Money. I opened an M Plus Current account and they automatically opened an M Plus Saver for me which I don't use. I then opened the Cash ISA. All three accounts have the same sort code beginning with 82. I have since opened the special offer rate 12 month Regular Saver and this also has the same sort code as the other 3 accounts so if you are being asked to open another account I am not sure it has anything to do with the sort codes on your existing accounts.

gm0

My guess is that this was/is pretty inevitable give the history of Northern Rock, Virgin Money and Yorkshire/Clydesdale and Nationwide. 

All of these banks were separate.  And then sort of not.  Website glued on.  Still using separate sort codes.
And on a journey.

Having old accounts (products) on one of the "old bank" setups doesn't mean you exist on the "wanted in the future operation".  Or that your customer setup way back when (or not long ago) meets what they want to do - now.

And no - they haven't invested to make everything understand everything else.  Nor would anyone.  Some of the "old bank" setups will be slated to be going away.  Sometime.  And products retired, or migrated, or run off due to a natural life. 

So with a new "product" in "new world" - Setting up a fresh first account may well turn up in their processes even with people who have had products for years. 

Customers tend to react to it as here.  And until they get further along their cosolidation journey - the bank are stuck with it.

In fact most bigger historic banks are a lashup of multiple generations of systems and small residual piles of older products.  This one more visibly than most due to the acquisition history where what they have all evolved independently in entirely separate banks until pushed together in the past 15 years or so

flaneurs_lobster

Forgive me if this is obvious but the ISA is just another (new) savings account. Do Virgin need you to open something else as well?

heterodyne76

flaneurs_lobster said:

Forgive me if this is obvious but the ISA is just another (new) savings account. Do Virgin need you to open something else as well?

I don't think so. There's no option to open an ISA within the app or after logging into online banking.

The webpage for opening an ISA asks if you're an existing customer, and if so, do you have an account with 05 or 82 sort codes, or one stating 08. Choosing the 82 option makes you register as a new customer which I guess I could do, but makes me wary because I can see using the same email address would confuse their systems.

I guess it doesn't make me feel confident moving £16k to them in case something goes wrong. I'm leaning more towards sacrificing a small percentage of interest and go with someone less complicated.

flaneurs_lobster

Just tried this and I see what you mean, very ugly.

Can only say that I had the same experience as @ob1kinobi above, and now have M Plus CA + Saver, their RS and a couple of cash ISA's all available online and app under a single login.

I've got a chunk more cash in VM accounts than you are looking to save with them and I don't have any worries just yet, although having a branch 10 mins walk away is reassuring if anything does become "difficult".

Don't suppose they'll be spending any money trying to make their applications & systems any more "integrated" now that they are owned by Nationwide.

Eco_Miser

My Virgin M Plus current account is my old Yorkshire Bank current account sort code and number, my VM Plus Saver, Regular Saver Exclusive and VM Cash ISA Exclusive Issue 2 all use the 05-00-05 sort code, and are all accessed on the same login as the current account. I also have a VM Defined Access E-Saver Issue 19, and had a VM e-access issue 1, both on 08-60-64  sort code, and requiring a new login to be set up. Apart from the annoyance of having two logins where one should suffice I've had no problems. Just treat the three systems as different banks, they're less integrated than Halifax and Lloyds are.

Descrabled

The accounts with a sort code 08 are savings accounts based on Newcastle upon Tyne and are historically from the original Virgin Money before the first takeover. There is no app for Newcastle based accounts that are either online or through the stores. Newcastle based accounts are primarily savings accounts.

The accounts with a sort code beginning 05 are originally from Yorkshire Bank (the old Yorkshire Penny Bank ex Leeds) now administered from Glasgow and are the part of Clydsdale Bank that administers banking in England.

Clydsdale bank based in Glasgow had sort codes begining 82 and administers banking in Scotland. The banking from Glasgow (05 and 82 codes are primarily app based, but also online and through stores.

When Clydsdale bank bought the original Virgin Money they decided the whole group would trade as Virgin Money, just to confuse things, even though it was actually owned by Clydsdale.

So the accounts run from Newcastle (08 codes) are primarily involved with savings and ISAs and are online with no app. They historically were originally from Northern Rock origin.

The accounts run from Glasgow (05 and 82 codes) are primarily current accoints but also have some savings and ISAs. They are the only part of Virgin Money that has an app.

Newcastle and Glasgow are administered separately and the computer systems are separate. Both are now owned by Nationwide but are presently still administered separately. Nationwide have sort codes begining 07 and, as far as I know, don't bank with Clydsdale (or Virgin Money) even though they own them.

Only time will tell how this will be sorted out.

If you want to save with Virgin Money (Newcastle) sort code starting 08 then you need to have an online only account that is not the same as the app based Virgin Money (Glasgow) with sort codes starting 82 or 05. Simples.

Edit Nationwide to have sort codes starting 07 not 40 as previosly

heterodyne76

Eco_Miser said:

My Virgin M Plus current account is my old Yorkshire Bank current account sort code and number, my VM Plus Saver, Regular Saver Exclusive and VM Cash ISA Exclusive Issue 2 all use the 05-00-05 sort code, and are all accessed on the same login as the current account. I also have a VM Defined Access E-Saver Issue 19, and had a VM e-access issue 1, both on 08-60-64  sort code, and requiring a new login to be set up. Apart from the annoyance of having two logins where one should suffice I've had no problems. Just treat the three systems as different banks, they're less integrated than Halifax and Lloyds are.

Can I ask if that means you have some accounts not accessible via the Virgin Money app?

Marcoos

@heterodyne76 that’s right. I have a similar setup. Current account, regular saver and an exclusive ISA available in the app. My previous exclusive ISA, issue 7, which I transferred to another fixed rate is now only accessible via the web, along with a couple of other accounts. 

Set up the non app side about a year ago. But at the time did query it, in particular if the same email address could be used. 

Similar query can be found here

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6573967/virgin-bank-different-log-ins-for-new-isa

Eco_Miser

heterodyne76 said:

Eco_Miser said:

<snip> Apart from the annoyance of having two logins where one should suffice I've had no problems. Just treat the three systems as different banks, they're less integrated than Halifax and Lloyds are.

Can I ask if that means you have some accounts not accessible via the Virgin Money app?

I don't have the Virgin Money app, so I've no idea.