Interactive Investor dodgy terms and conditions for refer a friend offer

itwasntme001

I referred a friend to ii for the £200 cash back and friend getting a year's fee free at ii.  I just read the terms and conditions again to make sure and I notice that they seem to have changed the dtae from which the friend needs to open an account - 18th December 2025.

My friend opened the account a week or so before and I am pretty sure I read the terms and there was no date requirement or that the date was complied with if a date was stated.

Now I am getting a bit peeved off that ii will just say I am not eligible for the offer given I did not meet the 18th Dec requirement.

Was wondering if anyone can confirm if I am worrying for nothing?

jaybeetoo

If your friend opened the account before 18th December I don’t understand your concern.

eskbanker

itwasntme001 said:

I just read the terms and conditions again to make sure and I notice that they seem to have changed the dtae from which the friend needs to open an account - 18th December 2025.

The currently-published terms state at the top that they're effective from 18 December, so presumably the previous version would have had a different 'effective from' date, as well as a different account opening one - I suspect I know the answer to this but take it you didn't save a copy of the terms at the time (was there anything in emails perhaps)?

masonic

They update the offer regularly. It's been running for well over a year in one form or another. Always archive the terms when you sign up to something like this as they often aren't available months later when you need to refer to them - or get replaced with the terms of a new offer as in this case.

But it seems a stretch to make accusations of them being dodgy.

The wayback machine has a copy of the terms that were in force at the end of March here: https://web.archive.org/web/20250329192714/https://www.ii.co.uk/recommend-ii/customer

I've no idea if there was a version between that one and the current one launched today.

Beddie

They are not dodgy at all and I have always found their online messaging to provide prompt and helpful replies. Send them a message and they'll confirm you have nothing to worry about. 

itwasntme001

Thanks all, I called them and all is fine.

From what I read this referral bonus is taxable as income (whereas cashbacks are not).  I also understand I have a trading or misc. allowance of £1k which can be used for the referral bonuses.  Is this correct?  Even if I am a basic or higher rate taxpayer, I still get the full £1k allowance?

Isthisforreal99

itwasntme001 said:

Thanks all, I called them and all is fine.

From what I read this referral bonus is taxable as income (whereas cashbacks are not).  I also understand I have a trading or misc. allowance of £1k which can be used for the referral bonuses.  Is this correct?  Even if I am a basic or higher rate taxpayer, I still get the full £1k allowance?

I wouldn't say it falls under any trading allowance....what are you trading?

If it's anything like the Nationwide fairer share payment it will be taxdd as interest.

masonic

Isthisforreal99 said:

itwasntme001 said:

Thanks all, I called them and all is fine.

From what I read this referral bonus is taxable as income (whereas cashbacks are not).  I also understand I have a trading or misc. allowance of £1k which can be used for the referral bonuses.  Is this correct?  Even if I am a basic or higher rate taxpayer, I still get the full £1k allowance?

I wouldn't say it falls under any trading allowance....what are you trading?

If it's anything like the Nationwide fairer share payment it will be taxdd as interest.

Interactive Investor is not a building society so it won't be taxed as a building society dividend under ITTOIA05/S372 as with the Nationwide fairer share payment. It would be classed as other UK income.

Trading is the provision to a customer for reward some kind of goods or services. The OP is engaged in a freelance affiliate marketing service whereby they introduce friends and family to a customer (in this case Interactive Investor) in exchange for a cash reward. The reward is not pure income profit in the hands of the recipient - they have to do something in exchange for each reward - so it fails the test for an annual payment. So it seems to me it would fall in scope of the trading allowance.