Transfer Cash ISAs Discussion Area

MarkyMarkD

cashwise123 wrote: »

Regarding the loss of interest of a maximum of 15 days when transferring between Cash ISAs, would people agree that a useful rule of thumb would be that the new rate of interest needs to be at least 4.2% higher than the old one?

In other words 15/365 = 0.042 (approx)

E.g. I recently looked at moving from West Brom BS at 3.06% (now not open to new savers) to Santander at 3.3%. 3.3/3.06 = 1.078 or an increase of 7.8% which would on the face of it make the transfer worthwhile

Not exactly. Your 4.2% calculation assumes two things which are not necessarily true:

(1) that you will stay in the new rate for at least a full year; and
(2) that you can't get a better rate with your existing provider (because then you could transfer same day with no 15 day wait and no loss of interest).

It also depends - as per Bri1's comment - if the new provider backdates the interest as some do.

rb10

cashwise123 wrote: »

Regarding the loss of interest of a maximum of 15 days when transferring between Cash ISAs, would people agree that a useful rule of thumb would be that the new rate of interest needs to be at least 4.2% higher than the old one?

In other words 15/365 = 0.042 (approx)

E.g. I recently looked at moving from West Brom BS at 3.06% (now not open to new savers) to Santander at 3.3%. 3.3/3.06 = 1.078 or an increase of 7.8% which would on the face of it make the transfer worthwhile

I believe it's 15 working days, not calendar days.

Besides, most transfers are much quicker than this, taking just a few days.

jamieboxer

I transferred a cash ISA to Nationwide two months ago. Does anyone know if I can now transfer it on again to Santander to get a better rate ?

Thanks

Davy

KTF

Depends if you are locked in to the Natwionwide ISA for a term or not and what rate you are on now. Hard to say either way on the details given.

jamieboxer

Thanks. I'm not locked in and am geting 3.1%. Would like to move to Santander 2 year fixed rate of 4%

KTF

In that case you can transfer it in to the Santander one.

AndyJ52

Thinking of moving from Halifax ISA (rate just dropped from 3% inc bonus to a miserable 0.50%) to Santander 4% fixed. My concern is the Santander dreadful customer service record. Anyone had any experiences of either good or bad outcomes moving to this product? I'd be grateful for any observations you'd care to share! Thanks....

badger09

AndyJ52 wrote: »

Thinking of moving from Halifax ISA (rate just dropped from 3% inc bonus to a miserable 0.50%) to Santander 4% fixed. My concern is the Santander dreadful customer service record. Anyone had any experiences of either good or bad outcomes moving to this product? I'd be grateful for any observations you'd care to share! Thanks....

There's an 11 page thread below, devoted to just this topic :rotfl:

leaphaze

AndyJ52 wrote: »

Thinking of moving from Halifax ISA (rate just dropped from 3% inc bonus to a miserable 0.50%) to Santander 4% fixed. My concern is the Santander dreadful customer service record. Anyone had any experiences of either good or bad outcomes moving to this product? I'd be grateful for any observations you'd care to share! Thanks....

I opened a savings a/c a few weeks ago and had to ring them twice since then with mixed results (good and unresolved as yet). The main problem is the number of calls they have to deal with so be prepared to wait on the phone for a while (use http://www.saynoto0870.com to pick out a free phone number rather than the 0845 numbers given).

I've used lots of products with lots of institutions over the years and there have been times when I've felt so frustrated. In my experience Santander are no worse than many others.

You could play safe and go with a lower rate with someone else, but remember that when an account pays a high rate it will be popular, i.e. lots of customers to support, and that will put a strain on the support function. If Santander were to properly fund their suport function, their customers would be a lot happier, but that funding has to come from somewhere, so you might find their rates drop. So for them it's a gamble; for us too.

By the way, I'm in the same position with my Halifax ISA's. I'll be transfering them to Nationwide instant access, since these are emergency funds or due to be used to reduce the mortgage when it goes back to SVR in the summer.

mobydeek

A quick question about the Fixed rate ISAs listed here: moneysavingexpert.com/savings/best-cash-isa

1. Is the "CLOSURE penalty" the same as a Transfer out penalty?

So if I transfer my ISA to another bank, the following year, would I incur this Closure penalty?

2. For the non-fixed rate ISAs, is there a foolproof way to see what value the interest rate could drop to, if the BoE interest rates drop further? Is there anything stopping a bank from giving you a 3% interest rate for 1 month, then cutting it to 0.5% the next WITHIN one ISA year?

Thanks!