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Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice

Last year I saved a regular amount with the Halifax finishing up with three thousand pounds in early March.

You probably, like I,saw all of those adverts from Howard at the Halifax on the tv advertising their ISA at 5% and how you needed to invest before the end of the tax year.

I was going to put my 3k in an existing ISA with Northern Rock - but thought it will be much easier to open another ISA account with the Halifax and transfer the money straight in and of course the 5% was the best I'd seen.

So - I opened the ISA with Halifax and put the 3k in - the branch was literally crawling with punters doing the same. The person I was dealing with said did I have another ISA - I said yes - they said they could easily transfer the full amount from NR and of course I'd get the 5% - which was better than the NR. Seemed a good idea, but I had to give 30 days notice to NR to transfer out - so I did this.

Thirty days were up last week, so I went in to Halifax to sign the transfer. Just before I signed, the Halifax person confirmed that I was transferring my money in to my Halifax ISA which had an interest rate of 4.75% - no said I, the type of ISA I opened a month ago has an interest rate of 5%.

Oh no - said she, the interest rate for the ISA went down on 6 April to 4.75%. When asked why I hadn't been told of this as a matter of course - I was told that individual account holders are not informed - the information is posted on the Halifax web-site.

I know damn well that I opened a variable rate ISA - BUT for the Halifax to heavily promote the account with 5% interest, and then once they get all the punters in before 6 April to drop the rate and not inform the existing account holders is, in my opinion, extremely sharp practice.

Whilst the rate of 4.75% is still competitive, I wonder how many tens of thousands of punters did the same as I did, and yet still don't know that they're not getting the 5% they thought they were two weeks ago. This was quite clearly a marketing ploy which has no doubt paid dividends to the Halifax - BUT in my opinion : sharp practice.

Reply to
scrambled egg
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You should have opened an ISA with Britinnia before the 6th April. They were offering a fixed rate 5% ISA (fixed until 7th April 2007), but withdrawals within that period will incur a loss of 180 days interest. I was able to transfer my exisiting ISAs over to be fixed at the same rate too. AFAIK, this offer is now over.

Reply to
Clueless2

I'm in the process of transferring my Halifax ISA to A & L

Gareth

Reply to
Gareth

My current account offers 3pc. If my maths is correct there is only 60 in a year to be gained by having the money in an ISA. I couldn't be arsed with the hassle, or am I missing something?

Reply to
R D S

About 750 over 10 years?

Reply to
Tumbleweed

Again, it doesn't seem worth the hassle. There must be many easier ways of saving 75 per year than having money tied up in unreliable schemes.

Reply to
R D S

Fill a form in, send a cheque? AFAIK the moneys not tied up you can get it out whenever you want? But its not intended for the 'float' money in your current account. Anyway, doesnt sound like too much hassle to me. Plus, the fact you can save 75/year doing something, isn't a reason to not also save

75/year doing something else as well.
Reply to
Tumbleweed

I think you neglected to take into account the tax benefits.

Reply to
Chris Howells

"R D S" wrote

They really come into their own, when you have saved over 70,000 pounds over 10 years, and the shares you have invested in suddenly double in value. Saves a lot of capital gains tax.

Reply to
Nuclear Winter

Fair enough but the original discussion was about a cash ISA

Reply to
Tumbleweed

Nuclear Winter posted

My £7,000 share ISA really came into its own when the shares fell by 60% in a few months. It still hasn't recovered. Looking on the bright side, it has certainly saved me a hell of a lot of CGT.

Reply to
PeteM

"PeteM" wrote

... and lost you the chance to use any CGT relief on the loss?

Reply to
Tim

Tim posted

CGT relief on a net capital loss?

Reply to
PeteM

"PeteM" wrote

Offsetting the capital loss against other capital gains, but only if it had been outside the ISA?

Reply to
Tim

They do still have a fixed rate 5% ISA, though.

Reply to
Ronald Raygun

Tim posted

I'm just a small retail investor; one of the millions of mug punters encouraged by the government to buy ISAs in 2000-01. I don't have a huge investment portfolio to set off losses against gains.

Reply to
PeteM

In message , PeteM writes

Ditto, another mug. Just sold the 2000/1 ISA at about 25% loss overall. I don't know what lunacy is driving the FTSE to 6100+, but I feel happier out if it than sat on the edge of another precipice.

Reply to
Steven Briggs

{leaving aside the CGT miss-point]

And that's why there's a world of difference between worrying about 75 quid on one's *only*, *new* cash ISA, (with the intention of spending or moving it after one year) and 750 quid on rate-tarting 10 year's worth of Cash ISA+TOISA....

Remind punters that[1] they can move previous years Cash & Shares ISAs and PEPs to another 'provider' without loosing the taxfree-ness.

rgds, Alan [0] Ha!, and who pays *them*? [1] subject to T&Cs, natch)

Reply to
Alan Frame

Take it up with the FOS; I imagine that you will get something.

Reply to
Fergus O'Rourke

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