Interest On Isa

[hollytree]

I have a Santander ISA with £3317 in it. The information I have received today informs me it has earned £0.85 over the year. I would have expected more.
Can anyone explain to me how this amount of interest was arrived at, please?
Hollytree

[woofgang]

It should tell you in the paperwork you get with the ISA. Some ISA's take their charges out of the interest, some ISA's just aren't doing well. Is it cash, shares or investment bonds?

[boxtops]

That doesn't sound right, unless you have had the ISA for a long time and the original good rate has gone down to next to nothing. I get a statement with my ISAs each year explaining the interest rate. Ask in branch.

[boxtops]

Good thought - if it's not a cash ISA, performance has been very poor on some others.

[murraymints]

I move my cash isa every year...do a comparison on line to find best deal ...check you can transfer....some providers won't take transfers..

[paross]

If this is a CASH isa it must be wrong, go in the branch and query it. I thought it was paying 3%.

[VHG]

ISAs dont pay the opening interest rate for ever.

They can be a 1 year isa, 2 year isa, 3 year isa etc.

After the specified period of time the rate drops to a very low rate (which has what has happened to you).

DONT take the money out the ISA or you lose your tax free allowance.

Try to find a bank that will let you open a new isa but will let you transfer money from an old isa (it has to go from isa to isa to keep the tax free status)

Your existing bank may let you transfer to a new isa within the same bank.

If not go to another bank and ask if they will let you transfer money from another companies isa into their isa (some will some wont).

Last year I transferred money from a badly performing nat west isa to a Santander isa. Santander handled all the paperwork and it went from isa to isa.

You should check your interest rate EVErY year on every ISA you have.

[grasscarp]

I was shocked last summer to see to pathetic rate on my isa when I checked on line. Phoned Halifax and complained that I had asked for their best rate and clearly hadnt been put on it. They accepted responsibility, when I wrote them an old fashioned letter and credited me with the interest from the beginning of the financial year. As others say you do need to check what is going on each year as they seem to only make an arrangement for one year at a time.

[dzug2]

It's 0.025%, which suggests it's an old variable rate one you haven't bothered to update

Not the lowest rate on the market.

Get it shifted somewhere better

[factor-fiction]

Most rates are pitifully low, especially if you have had the account for a while and not kept an eye on rates . To calculate the actual interest rate we'd need to know whether it's had this amount in all year or your balance has changed