| Product: |
Kent Reliance Building Society Mini Cash ISA |
| Date: |
13.06.07 (869 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: good rate
Disadvantages: customer service
I am a confirmed rate tart! I have no loyalty to any financial institutions and no one can count on my business. I regularly look at the interest rates I am getting on my savings. At the beginning of May a friend told me that she had just transferred her ISA to the Kent Reliance building society, as they were offering a really good rate of interest. I had never heard of this building society before so went of to google them.
Their web site is really clear with lots of useful information. I found that they were offering a direct mini cash ISA paying 5.96%. I was also happy to read that they would allow me to transfer my existing mini cash ISA to them held with another provider. Many providers such as Ing pay a higher rate but don’t allow you to transfer your existing ISA so are great for new ISA savers but not good if you have been building up your tax free savings for a few years. The Kent Reliance does not allow you to transfer in a maxi ISA.
As you are probably aware there are 2 types of ISA (individual savings account) the maxi ISA and the mini cash ISA. With a maxi ISA you can invest £3000 in cash and £4000 in stocks and shares in any tax year. If you choose a maxi ISA then all your investment has to be with the same provider. With a mini ISA you can invest £3000 in cash and £4000 in stocks and shares in any tax year. With a mini ISA you can have your cash with one provider and your share element up to £7000 with a different provider.
The Kent Reliance building society only offers a direct mini cash ISA. The account can only be operated by post via their head office in Chatham. This is a bit more time consuming than having an Internet account but with the current interest rate I am not complaining!
In order to have a mini cash ISA you need to be 16 years old and a resident of the U.K. It is not possible to have an ISA in joint names. You can only invest £3000 into your cash ISA in any tax year.
Opening a mini cash ISA.
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. It is possible to down load an application form on line simply go to the web site at www.krbs.co.uk, or if you prefer you can telephone their head office in Chatham (01634-848944) and request an application form. I decided to phone and requested an additional form to transfer in my existing cash ISA. I was told this could take up to 30 days.
A few days later the form arrived including a section asking for details of my existing provider. A word of caution-if you want to change providers and you have an existing ISA, don’t withdraw your money from previous years as you will not be able to pay it back into your new ISA and it will loose its tax-free benefits. If your new provider allows transfers in then they will request your old ISA funds are transferred to them on your behalf.
The form itself was very simple .It was explained that if any further information was required to prove my identity then I would be contacted. I posted my forms back by first class post together with my cheque for £3000 and waited for an acknowledgement. Ten days passed and I had heard nothing so I decided to phone to check all was well. I was irritated to be kept waiting for nearly 20 minutes before it was confirmed that my application form had been received and I was given my account number. A few days later I received a letter of confirmation that my account was opened and the funds had been requested from my previous provider. However there was no mention of my cheque! I telephoned again and again had a long wait. I was told my cheque had not been received but could be still in their post room. I was told that they were very busy but that I would be called back when and if my cheque was located. I was eventually phoned and told my cheque had been founds and would now be processed. I am still waiting for a receipt 3 weeks later!
I was a bit surprised that I was not asked to provide a password or given any other security to use should I wish to speak to someone on the phone about my account.
The account
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As I have said this is a postal account and has to be operated via the Kent Reliance head office in Chatham. Paying money into your account is simple, just write a cheque payable to yourself and post it to head office. In theory you should receive a receipt within a few days, although in practice it was not that simple! Stationary including paying in slips and withdrawal forms will be sent to you with your quarterly statements. Statements are sent in January, April, July and October. You can also down load stationary from their web site.
Withdrawals are instant and without penalty. Should you wish to withdraw your money you will need to send in a request via the stationary provided. A cheque will then be sent payable to the account holder.
Interest will be added to the account in April. This is a variable rate account and interest rates can change either up or down. At the moment this account is paying 5.96%. Should this rate no longer be competitive then it is worth knowing that you can transfer to another provider without penalty.
A bit about the Kent Reliance building society.
The first thing to note is that the Kent Reliance is a building society and is operated for the benefit of its members and not its share holders, a real positive as far as I’m concerned. They are the only building society based in Kent and have been in existence for over 150 years. With branches throughout Kent and assets of over 1.5 billion, the Kent Reliance is the fastest growing building society in the U.K and has been for the past 3-years. In addition to their direct mini cash ISA they offer mortgages and a variety of savings accounts, although most of the savings accounts I looked at had poor rates of interest.
If you are worried about the safety of your funds you can be reassured that the Kent Reliance is a member of the financial compensation scheme, so if it all went horribly wrong then you would be compensated up to £31,700.As this is a postal ISA internet surety is not an issue although I am assured by the building society that their web site is very secure.
Customer service.
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As I have already indicated the customer service element leaves a lot to be desired. I would have expected to receive some sort of welcome pack including some stationary. However all I received was a short letter and even that did not give me my account number! The call waiting times are unacceptable as is the time it takes to process incoming funds.
The Kent Reliance is offering a very competitive Mini cash ISA rate and I wonder if they have been caught out by the number of applicants for this account?
If you are looking to open a new ISA or are an existing ISA saver unhappy with your current rate then I would recommend the Kent Reliance. I just hope they can improve their customer service!
Summary: a mini cash isa
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