| Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383053] |
So, 23 April 2006 17:27 |
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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.
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383057 ] |
So, 23 April 2006 18:04 |
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"scrambled egg" <me [at] privacy.net> wrote in message
news:0v5n42hfg71cg8i3f7n2nr9f53q1ij4smj [at] 4ax.com...
> 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.
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.
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383079 ] |
So, 23 April 2006 21:33 |
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scrambled egg wrote:
> 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'm in the process of transferring my Halifax ISA to A & L
Gareth
--
------------------------------------------------------------ -----------
To reply to me directly:
Replace privacy.net with: totalise DOT co DOT uk and replace me with
gareth.harris
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383080 ] |
So, 23 April 2006 22:06 |
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"scrambled egg" <me [at] privacy.net> wrote in message
news:0v5n42hfg71cg8i3f7n2nr9f53q1ij4smj [at] 4ax.com...
>
> 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.
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?
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383082 ] |
So, 23 April 2006 22:15 |
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"R D S" <rsandr [at] gmail.com> wrote in message
news:4b2526FvdjrqU1 [at] individual.net...
>
> 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?
About £750 over 10 years?
--
Tumbleweed
email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383083 ] |
So, 23 April 2006 22:18 |
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"Tumbleweed" <thisaccountneverread [at] yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4b25cgFu0brpU1 [at] individual.net...
>
> "R D S" <rsandr [at] gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:4b2526FvdjrqU1 [at] individual.net...
>
>>
>> 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?
>
> About £750 over 10 years?
>
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.
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383084 ] |
So, 23 April 2006 22:36 |
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"R D S" <rsandr [at] gmail.com> wrote in message
news:4b25oeFur7ndU1 [at] individual.net...
>
> "Tumbleweed" <thisaccountneverread [at] yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:4b25cgFu0brpU1 [at] individual.net...
>>
>> "R D S" <rsandr [at] gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:4b2526FvdjrqU1 [at] individual.net...
>>
>>>
>>> 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?
>>
>> About £750 over 10 years?
>>
> 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.
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.
--
Tumbleweed
email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383099 ] |
Mo, 24 April 2006 01:02 |
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R D S wrote:
> I couldn't be arsed with the hassle, or am I missing something?
I think you neglected to take into account the tax benefits.
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383103 ] |
Mo, 24 April 2006 01:34 |
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"R D S" <rsandr [at] gmail.com> wrote
>>
>> About £750 over 10 years?
>>
> 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.
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.
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383115 ] |
Mo, 24 April 2006 11:45 |
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"Nuclear Winter" <arse [at] bad-poo.com> wrote in message
news:IqednVxsOOVPk9HZRVnytg [at] pipex.net...
>
> "R D S" <rsandr [at] gmail.com> wrote
>>>
>>> About £750 over 10 years?
>>>
>> 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.
>
> 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.
Fair enough but the original discussion was about a cash ISA
--
Tumbleweed
email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383120 ] |
Mo, 24 April 2006 12:05 |
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Nuclear Winter <arse [at] bad-poo.com> posted
>
>"R D S" <rsandr [at] gmail.com> wrote
>>>
>>> About £750 over 10 years?
>>>
>> 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.
>
>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.
>
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.
--
PeteM
*** Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com ***
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383121 ] |
Mo, 24 April 2006 12:45 |
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"PeteM" wrote
> 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.
.... and lost you the chance to
use any CGT relief on the loss?
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383122 ] |
Mo, 24 April 2006 12:58 |
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Tim <me [at] home.uk> posted
>"PeteM" wrote
>> 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.
>
>... and lost you the chance to
>use any CGT relief on the loss?
CGT relief on a net capital loss?
--
PeteM
*** Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com ***
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383124 ] |
Mo, 24 April 2006 13:03 |
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> >"PeteM" wrote
> >> 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.
> >
> "Tim" wrote
> >... and lost you the chance to
> >use any CGT relief on the loss?
>
"PeteM" wrote
> CGT relief on a net capital loss?
Offsetting the capital loss against other capital
gains, but only if it had been outside the ISA?
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383126 ] |
Mo, 24 April 2006 13:12 |
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scrambled egg wrote:
> 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.
They do still have a fixed rate 5% ISA, though.
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383130 ] |
Mo, 24 April 2006 13:47 |
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Tim <me [at] home.uk> posted
>> >"PeteM" wrote
>> >> 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.
>> >
>> "Tim" wrote
>> >... and lost you the chance to
>> >use any CGT relief on the loss?
>>
>"PeteM" wrote
>> CGT relief on a net capital loss?
>
>Offsetting the capital loss against other capital
>gains, but only if it had been outside the ISA?
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.
--
PeteM
*** Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com ***
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383197 ] |
Mo, 24 April 2006 23:23 |
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In message <gtvs6JAPrLTEFwlO [at] callnetuk.com>, PeteM <Otcbn [at] callnetuk.com>
writes
>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.
>
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.
--
steve
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383207 ] |
Di, 25 April 2006 00:35 |
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Tumbleweed <thisaccountneverread [at] yahoo.com> wrote:
> "Nuclear Winter" <arse [at] bad-poo.com> wrote in message
> news:IqednVxsOOVPk9HZRVnytg [at] pipex.net...
> >
> > "R D S" <rsandr [at] gmail.com> wrote
> >>>
> >>> About £750 over 10 years?
> >>>
> >> 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.
> >
> > 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.
>
> Fair enough but the original discussion was about a cash ISA
{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....
<memo to FSA[0]>
Remind punters that[1] they can move previous years Cash & Shares ISAs
and PEPs to another 'provider' without loosing the taxfree-ness.
</mtF>
rgds, Alan
[0] Ha!, and who pays *them*?
[1] subject to T&Cs, natch)
--
99 Ducati 748BP, 95 Ducati 600SS, 81 Guzzi Monza, 74 MV Agusta 350
"Ride to Work, Work to Ride" SI# 7.067 DoD#1930 PGP Key 0xBDED56C5
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| Re: Halifx - Legal; but Sharp Practice [message #383225 ] |
Di, 25 April 2006 08:21 |
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"scrambled egg" <me [at] privacy.net> wrote in message
news:0v5n42hfg71cg8i3f7n2nr9f53q1ij4smj [at] 4ax.com...
[snip]
> 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.
Take it up with the FOS; I imagine that you will get something.
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