Longest Isa Transfer Time Money In Limbo?

Trying_to_be_good

Rob_Wills wrote: »

My advice - forget the ISA system. Close the original account yourself and deposit monies through your own current bank account. Whilst this is technically a breach of the ISA rules it is the only way to prevent the problem and solve an individual crisis should you need access to the money during the excessive delay, which from what posters in this forum have said is running at anything up to 60 days!

Not only TECHNICALLY a breach - you would lose the tax advantage of previous years. You MUST use the institution with the new account to get hold of the old account money, and yes, per HMRC rules it has to be by cheque.
May be the lesson is not to try and do this in the last month of the finanical year or the first two months of the new financial year, until the insitutions' systems can cope better (still waiting for my Barclays Tax Haven ISA more than two months on...).

~Chameleon~

I've now decided to open an Icesave ISA to transfer in "old money" which at 6.10% AER might not be the best, but will hopefully be one with the least hassle!

They also do a decent 1yr fixed rate saving account at 7.01% AER so think I shall use that to save what I would have put into another ISA this year

Dack

Still haven't got my A+L credited yet either (currently 'only' 2 weeks since the cheque was sent from Smile).

However I noticed that Smile closed my account on the 16th and didn't actually action the cheque until the 19th - giving them my money for 3 days before being lost in this limbo.

Milarky

Trying_to_be_good wrote: »

Not only TECHNICALLY a breach - you would lose the tax advantage of previous years. You MUST use the institution with the new account to get hold of the old account money, and yes, per HMRC rules it has to be by cheque.

Is it true that the transfer must be by cheque? I think this is more urban myth than proven? Doesn't the HMRC advice just say/imply that adequate records are kept - and the ISA providers have just opted for this cheque-based scheme by default?

Working_Lunch,_18_April: wrote:

Carol Knight from the Tax Incentivised Savings Association says they are working to speed up the process.

"We are looking at the moment at the possibility of making the money transfer between banks electronically... and trying to avoid the use of paper going from one ISA manager to another, and having instead that communication undertaken by electronic methods," Carol said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/working_lunch/7355256.stm

fmoney

I'm also waiting for an ISA transfer to A&L. Apparently according to Inland revenue rules they have up to 30 days from receiving you cheque to putting it in your account.
(So all in all a transfer could take 60 days!).

If the money is not in you account in 30 days can you claim compensation? Or is a better course to make a complaint to the financial ombudsman?

Personally, I 'm going to transfer my money straight out of A&L. Can't reward the banks by keeping your money with them when they treat you so badly.

Dack

Unfortunately I believe if you transfer out of the A+L account before May/June next year they penalise you with 180 days loss of interest.

YorkshireBoy

Dack wrote: »

Unfortunately I believe if you transfer out of the A+L account before May/June next year they penalise you with 180 days loss of interest.

Why do you believe that to be the case?

Dack

seem to recall seeing it in the T+C when I signed up.

Just checked - that only applies to fixed rate ISAs. Section 30.24 in the PDF says so (along with if you close one of those inside the first 180 days they will actually take the interest they would have made at the 180 day point out of your capital)

fmoney

Just phoned A&L. They say they are processing cheques from 9th May. I said to the women your clearly lying as that what you told me last week!

After 9th June they will have had 30 days for the transfer. What gets me is they still can't say whether they've received the cheque!

haddock22

same position as others here where i transferred my nationwide isa on 11th may and still not showing up in my new isa.complete fiddle with someone gaining all the extra interest somewhere.is it worth raising with the fsa?