ISA Guess Not (Alliance & Leicester)

Member Name: fluffy123

Product:	Alliance & Leicester
Date:	11/09/03 (838 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: High Interest, Local Branch, Instant Access

Disadvantages: Customer Service

Before I go into the product itself which in case you were wondering is a mini cash ISA let me tell you how I came to decide it was the best option for me. I have decided to go to Australia on holiday next February so in order to save for it I came to the conclusion I needed a savings account separate to the one I have with my bank (small matter of tending to dip into it).

PLANNING
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Before I began to look for an additional savings account I had to decide what did I want from it, I would recommend the following exercise to anyone
looking into taking out a savings account it will help when you go looking for information. So I sat down with a pen and paper and wrote out what I wanted from the savings account, the list looked something like this.

1) Accessibility - Although I am not planning on making regular withdrawals, it was
important to me that the account was fairly instant access, I didn't want to have to give
60 odd days notice to be able to take out my money. Who knows when emergencies will
crop up.

2) High Interest - I wanted the account to have a high interest rate although I realised I was
limiting my options by also wanting it to be instant access.

3) A Local Branch - I didn't want the account to be from an online only bank as I wanted to
make regular payments perhaps even additional ones in person to a branch rather than
have a standing order set up.

These were my three main criteria , at the time I was sure that I didn't want to venture into ISA's etc partly because I didn't understand them . So off I trotted into town picking up leaflets on savings accounts, now I have a theory that banks do not have these leaflets out on display (well nearly every branch I went into didn't) because it forces you to talk to someone which in turn means they can give you a bit of a sales pitch. As a result in the Bradfor
d and Bingley I ended up talking to a lady who explained a wee bit about mini cash isa's mmmmmmmmm thought I this may be worth taking a gander at, so I retraced my steps picking up info as best I could on the mini cash isa. Let me explain what swayed me:

MINI CASH ISA
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With a normal full ISA the most you can save/invest in one year is £7000, however with a mini isa this is broke down into 3 seperate areas a mini cash Isa in which you can save a maximum of £3000 in one year. The other two mini isas are one which is related to the stock market and one which is related to life insurance.

The best thing about an Isa is it is TAX FREE for those who don't know ISA stands for Individual Savings Account. The interest on any money saved is paid out yearly on the 1st April.

My sole reason for picking an ISA over a standard savings account was the fact it is TAX FREE. yes yes I hear you say but why the Alliance and LEicester.

WHY THE ALLIANCE AND LEICESTER
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Having decided to take out a mini Cash Isa I wanted to be sure I got one with the best interest rate, so I checked various institutions, Lloyds TSB, Halifax, Bradford and Bingley, RBOS etc and most of the interest rates were 3% or just over. However with the Alliance and Leicester it was 4% the highest I had found anywhere, this was my sole reason for going there.

OPENING MY ISA
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How easy was it to open an account I hear you ask, well this is where the Alliance and Leicester in my experience fail and also succeed.

You can go into any branch and pick up a pack containing any information you need, the application form is easy to understand and you also get the option of having either a passbook or an ATM card, it is explained quite clearly that you must be over 16 to open the ISA and that the minimum opening balance is £1.00, it is also clearly explained that you nee
d 2 forms of ID to open the account and just in case you are confused it lists the acceptable forms of ID.

So with application form completed, opening balance and ID in hand I headed to the Alliance and Leicester to open my ISA you'd have though this was going to be easy and hassle free. But once there I am told that I must make an appointment to open it and there is no way it can be opened over the counter, well "ok can I make an appointment then", to which i'm replied "would you like to make an appointment" hold on a mo isn't that what I just said, so I make an appointment for a Friday at 2pm. Have to admit the staff were not what I would describe as the most helpful but maybe they are having a bad day so the benefit of the doubt is given silly me.

On Thursday afternoon I recieve a call from the Alliance and Leicester person I have the appointment with to check that I understand the ID I need she seems pleased when I say that I do and that i've even completed the application form.

So it is now 1.45pm on Friday and I arrive at the Alliance and Leicester for my appointment to be told by sullen member of staff that the person I have the appointment is running late am I ok to wait. "Yes, fine" says I (I was on a phased return to work at the time so was only working 1/2 days). Then at 1.55pm the same sullen member of staff returns to say "She's running a lot later than expected is it ok to be opened over the counter", with that statement I am more than slightly peeved especially after being told previously that there is no way that it can be opened over the counter, so I mention this to which I just get a slight shrug and asked if I want it opened, so I proceed to the counter to open the ISA where the girl concerned gives me a receipt for £10 less than I had given her, when pointed out she sighs and recounts the money in front of me to find that surprise, surprise I the customer am c
orrect.

So ISA opened I go home about a week later I received my passbook.


Unfortunately the customer service at the Alliance and leicester branch did not improve and if anything became worse, a frequent occurance would be at lunch times they would have 2 people on their counters with only 1 person dealing with customers an example that stands out is 5 people were in the queue the person at the front was there to close their mortgage (I would have thought they needed to book an appointment for this but no not here), so 10 minutes later there are now 8 people in the queue 2 people on counter 1 person still closing this guys mortgage another 10 minutes there are more people in the queue and some people have given up a comment is made that shouldn't the other person be serving now too, she looks up pulls a face and reluctantly opens her counter but don't expect a smile. I closed my mini isa with them on 1/5/03 as did my mum and they didn't even ask why we were closing it.

PROS AND CONS
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In conclusion I think the pros and cons of opening an ISA with the Alliance and Leicester are:

Pros:
* High Interest
* Instant Access
* Easy and Well Explained Application Form
* Local Branch

As you can see my essentials are met.

Cons
* Customer Service (the service I received at the branch would not encourange me to open more than a savings account)

Thanks for the read, any comments greatfully received been a while since i've wrote an op here.

Summary: