Transfer Cash ISAs Discussion Area

creativ

I would like to transfer my current Nationwide e-ISA to a Santander ISA. To transfer in, Santander state on the application form that funds are in the form of a cheque. I don't have a cheque book with my e-ISA at Nationwide but I do have one with my Nationwide current account.

Is it advisable to:

1) Transfer the money to my current account and then write out a cheque?

2) Or would I need to go into a branch and get Nationwide to write out a cheque? Is this possible because it's an online ISA?

I have been wary of doing the first option as I've heard that you shouldn't withdraw funds out of your ISA into a current account or any other tax-paying account as they lose their tax-free status.

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of transfers. Any help much appreciated.

Thanks.

westy22

You need to open the Santander ISA and at the same time complete and post to them a transfer request form which is available on their website. When you apply for the ISA just tick the box that says you are funding the ISA by means of a transfer rather than by new money. Do not under any circumstances withdraw the money and post a cheque.

westy22

Hi, I have recently signed up for a Natwest e-Isa and am trying to transfer my current savings from my Santander account to it. I filled out the transfer form, sent it to Santander and have received a letter today telling me the Natwest account code I gave them is not for an ISA.

That was the major error - you always complete the transfer form of the gaining provider and send the form to them. So you should have used NatWest's form and sent it back to them quoting your Santander account details.

creativ

Thanks for your help. I've noticed there is an option to select 'No new savings for this tax year' for the question 'How are you saving for this tax year?' So I presume that is the option I need to give.

bella49

I do not know where to start i had £10.000 in Bank of Scotland ISA and i withdrew 700 a few weeks ago so what happens with my interest? i do not quite get how this all works, so can anyone give me any suggestions as to whether i should transfer to a higher rate or stay where i am ?

leaphaze

bella49 wrote: »

I do not know where to start i had £10.000 in Bank of Scotland ISA and i withdrew 700 a few weeks ago so what happens with my interest? i do not quite get how this all works, so can anyone give me any suggestions as to whether i should transfer to a higher rate or stay where i am ?

Always look to make your money work as hard as possible for you. So, I would transfer if there was a higher rate elsewhere, but make sure there's no time limits or penalties for doing this (your terms & conditions or a phone call should confirm this).

If you decide to transfer the whole amount, your current balance + interest will be transferred.

WhiteSpace

lkate wrote: »

I recently told him that you can transfer your account to a new ISA with a new interest rate without affecting the yearly limit. He has asked in his bank several times and each time they have said that this is not true, you can't do that.

If his bank said that, then either...

- He asked the wrong question.

- The bank staff are wrong (not the first time!), or unhelpful.

- The accounts offered by Barclays (his bank) might not offer transfers-in and the bank staff might simply be telling you about their own products. (The banks want your money; they are not going to tell you about the competitors.) I just had a quick look at their website and the two Cash ISAs I see do not allow transfers-in - so this might be it. (?)

Most(?) ISAs do allow transfers-in, but some don't. Just to emphasize what others have said... this is a special bank-to-bank transfer that occurs after you complete an ISA transfer request/form (this has always been a physical piece of paper when I've done it before - not online). You must not withdraw the money or perform the transfer yourself as you will lose the tax-free status of this money and be stuck with the same annual limits as a first time saver.

murphydavid

lkate wrote: »

I recently told him that you can transfer your account to a new ISA with a new interest rate without affecting the yearly limit. He has asked in his bank several times and each time they have said that this is not true, you can't do that.

You can transfer an old (previous tax year) account to a new isa without affecting the yearly limit. But I don't think you can transfer one taken out in the current year because you can't open two cash isa's in the same year. Maybe this is what the bank was trying to tell him? This also means you can't transfer if this year you have opened a cash isa that doe's not allow transfers in because you can't open another that does until next year. (not long now)

murphydavid

bella49 wrote: »

I do not know where to start i had £10.000 in Bank of Scotland ISA and i withdrew 700 a few weeks ago so what happens with my interest? i do not quite get how this all works, so can anyone give me any suggestions as to whether i should transfer to a higher rate or stay where i am ?

Your interest remains in your account till you withdraw it. You will continue getting interest on the remaining capital and interest. You will be told what your interest is on the day your terms say your interest is paid. If you transfer all the money the interest accrued up to to the transfer date will also be transferred and you will be told what it is on the transfer day. Interest is accrued (compound) daily. If you want to know what interest you have up to today Martin has an interest calculation tool you can use somewhere.

Spiggle

murphydavid wrote: »

You can transfer an old (previous tax year) account to a new isa without affecting the yearly limit. But I don't think you can transfer one taken out in the current year because you can't open two cash isa's in the same year. Maybe this is what the bank was trying to tell him? This also means you can't transfer if this year you have opened a cash isa that doe's not allow transfers in because you can't open another that does until next year. (not long now)

This is incorrect I'm afraid.

You can transfer current year funds provided the whole of the current years fund is kept together and the t&c on the accounts allow transfers (i.e. the one out isn't fixed term and the one in allows transfers).

This is a question of transfer v subscription. You cannot subscribe (pay in new money) to more than one ISA in a year but you can open without subscribing as many as you like and spend the year transferring your fund around as long as the balance is kept as a whole.

Matured ISA funds can be split for transferring but the current year balance must be kept together until after the 5th April, their maturity date (subject to specific t&c of course).

All the best,
Spigs