How long should it take to switch money on maturity of ISA?

[terminal7]

I had a cash ISA fixed term maturing on 24 September 2023. I informed the ISA provider (Virgin Money) some 10 days previously that they would receive a transfer request from Paragon. This was sent by secure message and they acknowledged within 24 hours. The transfer form was completed with Paragon and they have stated that they had 'sent' transfer request to Virgin on 20 September.

The money has clearly not be transferred by Virgin today but transferred to their easy access account - as seen on account website. Given the amount involved and the differential interest rates every day that the money stays in the easy access Virgin account costs me some £12.

Who should I chase? Am I being unreasonable in expecting the transfer to have taken place immediately on maturity - surely all done electronically?

T7

[Lanark]

It is supposed to be 15 working days, but I have been waiting for one since early August and the Royal Bank just advise it will be "weeks". Apparently the process for ISA transfers still involves writing a paper cheque and a member of staff walking with it to the other bank.

It makes shopping around for good rates almost pointless as you will lost so much interest waiting for the transfer to happen.

[chas49]

https://www.gov.uk/individual-savings-a ... g-your-isa

says

ISA transfers should take no longer than:

15 working days for transfers between cash ISAs
30 calendar days for other types of transfer
.....
If your transfer takes longer than it should, contact your ISA provider.

If you’re unhappy with the response, you can take the matter up with the Financial Ombudsman Service.

[terminal7]

https://www.gov.uk/individual-savings-accounts/transferring-your-isa

says

ISA transfers should take no longer than:

15 working days for transfers between cash ISAs
30 calendar days for other types of transfer
.....
If your transfer takes longer than it should, contact your ISA provider.

If you’re unhappy with the response, you can take the matter up with the Financial Ombudsman Service.

So effectively nothing whirs into slow motion until the maturity date - despite informing all parties before. Thus the financial institutions have a built in window of profitability at the expense of their customers.

[terminal7]

It is supposed to be 15 working days, but I have been waiting for one since early August and the Royal Bank just advise it will be "weeks". Apparently the process for ISA transfers still involves writing a paper cheque and a member of staff walking with it to the other bank.

It makes shopping around for good rates almost pointless as you will lost so much interest waiting for the transfer to happen.

If my transfer takes say 15 working days - the loss would be some 20 days of interest - totalling some £240.

T7

[Urbandreamer]

I had a cash ISA fixed term maturing on 24 September 2023. I informed the ISA provider (Virgin Money) some 10 days previously that they would receive a transfer request from Paragon. This was sent by secure message and they acknowledged within 24 hours. The transfer form was completed with Paragon and they have stated that they had 'sent' transfer request to Virgin on 20 September.

The money has clearly not be transferred by Virgin today but transferred to their easy access account - as seen on account website. Given the amount involved and the differential interest rates every day that the money stays in the easy access Virgin account costs me some £12.

Who should I chase? Am I being unreasonable in expecting the transfer to have taken place immediately on maturity - surely all done electronically?

T7

TradFi hu.

Given your recent post on the crypto board I'm surprised that you are surprised.

Seriously there is no valid reason that "money" should take longer from an ISA than any bank account. I.E "allow 5 working days", rather than seconds if using lightning or 6*8=48 minutes if using on chain bitcoin (VISA is likewise fast, even if spending bitcoin).

I have taken money from my ISA in less time, though the one time that I closed one it took a month.

That implied double checking that you valued on the crypto board, takes time. Obviously five working days is not enough in the case of closing an ISA. You did say that the "transfer" was going to an "easy access account".

You should have left the ISA open, with £1 in it!

Ps. For others, I am aware that I am being unfair. For many the entire point about TradFi (Traditional Finance) is the ability to reverse transactions.

[swill453]

You should have left the ISA open, with £1 in it!

That's not an option when it's a maturing fixed term account.

Scott.

[Lanark]

You should have left the ISA open, with £1 in it!

Makes no difference, they will transfer a few hundred in 2 hours, but once you get into moving thousands the delay is weeks, frankly this is fraudulent behaviour by the banks.

[Urbandreamer]

You should have left the ISA open, with £1 in it!

Makes no difference, they will transfer a few hundred in 2 hours, but once you get into moving thousands the delay is weeks, frankly this is fraudulent behaviour by the banks.

Err, I didn't provide a link to the thread on the crypto board. Basically T7 argued that we should accept fraudulent behavior, or at least expect it.
Lootman went further, which surprised me. As I have respect for him.

Anyway, here is the link to T7's thread on the crypto board about fraudulent behavior by a certain crypto exchange on the crypto board.
viewtopic.php?p=617025#p617025

Apparently anyone who buys something different from you is a chancre, only looking for a quick buck. Unlike of course people like me who have had ISA's since they started! Or exactly like me, who also have bitcoin.

[thebarns]

I transferred a couple of maturing Cash Isas to Paragon earlier this year.

Maybe I got lucky……

But I think the whole process from going on their website initially to being notified by them that the money had arrived from the maturing account with another provider took 2 days !

When transferring these and other cash isas in the past, I’ve only ever had to deal with the recipient institution of the maturing funds and never had to inform the one from which the funds were leaving.

[Rhinocol]

Virgin money have a poor record when it comes to transfers. My wife transferred her Isa from Yorkshire building Society to them and it took about 4 weeks before the cash showed in her account. However after complaining to them they back dated the interest from the date she applied to transfer. My isa transfer ended up in a black hole and still sits with the Yorkshire. We visited a local branch (a rarity these days) but was initially given" duff gen" and told we had to arrange the transfer through the Yorkshire prior to opening a Virgin isa. Fortunately I had some knowledge and was able to put the customer advisor right on the procedure. Not really a fan of Virgin and merely went with them to chase the extra interest

[terminal7]

Well well - maybe the power of TLF?

I can report that around 11.00 am this morning the monies had departed Virgin Money and about 15 mins ago I received email from Paragon to state that they had received the transfer. This now resides in a fixed 1 year ISA cash account and hopefully will generate a positive return by maturity. At least it's tax free.

Thank you all for bearing with me and your comments - but what this has to do with a fellow Fool putting his trust in B-F - hmmm a bit of a stretch .

T7

[squareofthewicket]

Usually the receipent bank of the ISA money guarantees the interest from the day the request is sent by them to the receipient bank; at least this has been the case every time I have transferred either mine or OH Cash ISA, even to/from Virgin.

For term accounts, I would expect the guarantee to be from the day aftert your fix end.

[terminal7]

I have to report another set of transaction and this has gone through incredibly quickly. Aldermore 1 year fixed (non ISA) matured yesterday. Maturity money transferred to (i)Aldermore Easy account and to (ii) Barclays. Set up 1 year ISA with Aldermore, transferred max from Easy and active by close of play. Set up 1 year fixed ISA (for OH) with Kent Reliance and transferred max from BB to KR. First thing this morning transfer complete.

So all within 24 hours with 3 institutions involved.

Credit where credit is due.

T7