Transfer Cash ISAs Discussion Area

blueberrypie

ejv wrote: »

Wouldn't this be 2.5% above BOE base rate? Then the lowest it could plummet is to 2.5% if BOE becomes 0.00

Unless it's specifically stated that an interest rate will be a certain amount above base-rate*, there's no association between a variable rate and the base-rate.

*If it was stated that the rate would always be at least base-rate-plus-x, it would be a tracker, not variable.

ejv

blueberrypie wrote: »

Unless it's specifically stated that an interest rate will be a certain amount above base-rate*, there's no association between a variable rate and the base-rate.

*If it was stated that the rate would always be at least base-rate-plus-x, it would be a tracker, not variable.

Thanx. I haven't come across a "tracker" ISA.So rhyspaulburton's worry is reasonable, as a variable ISA can plummet as low as BOE base rate.

blueberrypie

ejv wrote: »

Thanx. I haven't come across a "tracker" ISA.So rhyspaulburton's worry is reasonable, as a variable ISA can plummet as low as BOE base rate.

It could plummet as low as 0%.

But in practice, they don't. If an ISA provider dropped its rate in this way, it would lose a large portion of its ISA funds as customers moved their ISAs elsewhere. And if it made a habit of dropping its rates to nothing or almost-nothing within a short time of ISAs being opened, it would become known for it - so it would be a bad marketing decision. For the most part, rates on variable-rate ISAs don't fall to almost nothing until after a year or so (which is the same thing that happens on fixed-rate ISAs anyway).

What it comes down to, on any kind of financial product which does not have a fixed rate, is that the customer needs to keep an eye on things. And as you can transfer out of a variable-rate ISA at any time, as long as you are keeping track of your finances, you wouldn't be stuck with that low rate anyway.

andrea1968_2

I want to transfer one online ISA with the interest rate about to expire in a couple of days, into another online ISA with the same provider. Can I just complete the transfer myself online by opening the new account and transferring into it, or do the bank have to do it ?

I seem to remember reading something about losing your tax free benefits if you don't do it properly and I don't want to mess it up with such a basic error.

Thanks in advance.

Lokolo

andrea1968 wrote: »

I want to transfer one online ISA with the interest rate about to expire in a couple of days, into another online ISA with the same provider. Can I just complete the transfer myself online by opening the new account and transferring into it, or do the bank have to do it ?

I seem to remember reading something about losing your tax free benefits if you don't do it properly and I don't want to mess it up with such a basic error.

Thanks in advance.

You should still fill in an ISA transfer form, but it's likely that the transfer will go in a few days rather than a few weeks.

You may also be able to do it by phone or branch, but not all providers can do it.

boobbby

andrea1968 wrote: »

I want to transfer one online ISA with the interest rate about to expire in a couple of days, into another online ISA with the same provider. Can I just complete the transfer myself online by opening the new account and transferring into it, or do the bank have to do it ?

I seem to remember reading something about losing your tax free benefits if you don't do it properly and I don't want to mess it up with such a basic error.

Thanks in advance.

If it is Nationwide then it is automatic when you request a new online ISA as you give details of your present ISA on the application form and agree to the transfer of the previous ISA. Some other provider also offer the same convenient method

prodda

Apologies if this question has already been asked but I have an ISA with Halifax which is due to revert to 0.5% interest in 2 weeks. I want to open another ISA and transfer the Halifax funds to it. The problem is that my allocation for this year has already been used up - will I have to wait until April to set up a new ISA, as they all seem to require a deposit, or are there any decent ISA's available that will accept transfers without an initial deposit? Many thanks.

10_66

prodda wrote: »

Apologies if this question has already been asked but I have an ISA with Halifax which is due to revert to 0.5% interest in 2 weeks. I want to open another ISA and transfer the Halifax funds to it. The problem is that my allocation for this year has already been used up - will I have to wait until April to set up a new ISA, as they all seem to require a deposit, or are there any decent ISA's available that will accept transfers without an initial deposit? Many thanks.

If the ISA you wish to open for transferring your existing one into says you must open it with a minimum (ie £1 or £1000), that is referring to subsucriptions for the current year. You don't need to pay anything into it if you're transferring into it.

ejv

prodda wrote: »

Apologies if this question has already been asked but I have an ISA with Halifax which is due to revert to 0.5% interest in 2 weeks. I want to open another ISA and transfer the Halifax funds to it. The problem is that my allocation for this year has already been used up - will I have to wait until April to set up a new ISA, as they all seem to require a deposit, or are there any decent ISA's available that will accept transfers without an initial deposit? Many thanks.

Hi prodda,
I had the same problem last week,when I wanted to transfer an ISA from WestBrom to Natwest.I had used up every penny of this F year's allowance.
Went to the Natwest bank and the manager put £1 to start the account and I was assured that I wasn't breaking the law.Then he did the transfer of old ISA with no new money put in.

10_66

ejv wrote: »

Hi prodda,
I had the same problem last week,when I wanted to transfer an ISA from WestBrom to Natwest.I had used up every penny of this F year's allowance.
Went to the Natwest bank and the manager put £1 to start the account and I was assured that I wasn't breaking the law.Then he did the transfer of old ISA with no new money put in.

I'm afraid the NatWest manager doesn't know ISAs very well then. If you've subscribed all of this year's ISA somewhere, you should not pay even £1 in to another new ISA in the current year, you can't even split the current year's subscription between two ISA regardless of how much you are subscribing. It definitely contravenes the ISA rules. If you're just transferring previous ISAs into a new one you don't need to pay in any money, the transfer is sufficient.