Just opened a Halifax Saver Direct ISA...help!!!

crazyshady

Ill direct your attention to this page

http://www.halifax.co.uk/isas/isasaverdirect.asp

Now baring in mind i only want to save my money.......but still be able to have access to it when i want to/need to i thought this was an ok account for me.It comes under the 'MINI CASH ISA' category apparantly which is what was advised for me and also looked the best for me.

However upon reading up on 'MINI CASH ISAs' i discovered that some of them use your money on stock.Therefore theres no garantee youll get your money back.I just want somewhere where my money is gonna be safe and get good interest. Now i have people telling me to be wary about an ISA account as i wont be able to get money out of it at all.


Have i read something wrong? Or missed something? Can someone please explain to me the situation. Ive yet to deposit money into the account.Oh yeah....im first time poster!

Aegis

crazyshady wrote: »

Ill direct your attention to this page

http://www.halifax.co.uk/isas/isasaverdirect.asp

Now baring in mind i only want to save my money.......but still be able to have access to it when i want to/need to i thought this was an ok account for me.It comes under the 'MINI CASH ISA' category apparantly which is what was advised for me and also looked the best for me.

However upon reading up on 'MINI CASH ISAs' i discovered that some of them use your money on stock.Therefore theres no garantee youll get your money back.I just want somewhere where my money is gonna be safe and get good interest. Now i have people telling me to be wary about an ISA account as i wont be able to get money out of it at all.


Have i read something wrong? Or missed something? Can someone please explain to me the situation. Ive yet to deposit money into the account.Oh yeah....im first time poster!

Mini cash ISAs do not run the risk of your money lowering in value. Your capital is as safe as in a normal savings account with that institution, i.e. your total funds are covered up to £35k per person with that bank.

If it's a mini stocks and shares ISA, then your capital is not protected. However, the ISA product you've linked to is a cash product only, and therefore won't require you to put your capital at risk.

Banks WILL invest the money that their savers deposit, but all of them do this and it doesn't seem to cause much of a fuss for the most part! The profits that they make on the investments with your money in part form the interest payment, but even in bad years they will pay the interest from their retained profits.

In short, it's as safe as any other savings account with Halifax.

crazyshady

So your positive its cash only and theres no way i can lose it at all? Thankyou for your help and i shall click thanks on your post. I know Halifax isnt exactly popular among people but its my first savings account and ive always been with them.

Aegis

crazyshady wrote: »

So your positive its cash only and theres no way i can lose it at all? Thankyou for your help and i shall click thanks on your post. I know Halifax isnt exactly popular among people but its my first savings account and ive always been with them.

The only way you can lose everything in a cash ISA is if the bank in question fails AND the FSCS fails to pay out enough to cover your whole amount. Given that they currently cover up to £35000 per person per institution, you're probably safe!

I think the confusion comes from the fact that a lot of people end up being sold Halifax stocks and shares ISAs, usually with some sort of tracker fund. Often they don't actually seem to understand the basic concept of this product afterwards, which leads me to believe that it was just a hard sell process with no effort made by the bank to advise the customer of the risks associated with the product (at the very least the risks seem to be understated as a matter of course). This isn't limited to Halifax by any stretch of the imagination, it's probably just that I know more people who bank with Halifax than with any other bank (really have no idea why though!)

crazyshady

So this is definately just a cash one? You think this is right for what im wanting to do which is just put money away when i can.

thumshie

this is 100%* a cash mini isa..It's not under their 'investment' section for isas, so has no stocks and shares involved in it..

Yes, this will be what your after just to put money away with access if/when you need.. Your statisitcally more likely to be hit by a bus than 'loose' on this account....

*0.000001% variance permitted

crazyshady

Thanks for putting my mind at ease.Funnily enough the people that gave me advice have never had a savings account in their life so i dunno why i believed them but since it is my first account i am a bit nervous with it.It might not be a lot to most people but 3 grand is a lot of money to me.It pretty much is my life savings i guess.Ive yet to put transfer any money into it as i wanted to double check.I just want my money to be safe.Now im getting the lectures off people..........make sure its an account where you can get your money back out when you need it.As some accounts keep your money 'locked' for a certain time.It says on there unlimited withdrawels of a minimum of £10.So im guessing if i wanted my money back for some reason i could get it.

Thanks for the help guys.But if theres anything you feel i should know please do tell me.

mango850

i have a isa account with halifax but its a variable rate so my question is whhats the difference bwt that an a fixed rate which has a higher rate

crazyshady

I have no idea.Maybe it has more restrictions like you cant make as many withdrawels or you need to give notice before you withdraw...ive no idea lol

Speaking of which.........is mine a variable rate?

mango850

wot rate u gt 4% variable 5% ffixed

crazyshady

It says ISA interest rates available at 5.25% AER/gross pa tax-free on a balance of £1 and you get the convenience of managing your account by phone or online.

That good or bad lol