The Nationwide Building Society informs us that people are losing around GBP248 million through expired or unpaid Child Trust Fund vouchers.
According to data gathered by them a quarter if the vouchers have expired while over 40 percent of the valid ones have not been used so far this year. In financial terms this, said the Nationwide Building Society, means almost GBP13 million each year is being lost in interest earnings alone.
A further word of caution came from a Nationwide Building Society spokesman who explained that if a suitable provider is not chosen by the parents then the government can allocate one for them, though this may not be in the best interests of the child. Child Trust Fund Vouchers are an excellent tax efficient savings vehicle and it is a shame more people are not using them.
Barclays customers who applied for the Tax Haven Cash ISA have received apologies from the bank following significant delays before their accounts were opened.
An apology is all they are going to receive though it appears as Barclays has stated it will not pay the interest that investors would have accrued if the accounts had been opened on time. It seems that a particularly heavy demand for the ISA created a number of administration difficulties for Barclays leading to delays in accepting applications and opening the accounts.
Assuming the person applying for the Barclays ISA had invested the maximum allowed of GBP3,600, they would have lost around GBP9 in interest so far. This in one way is not a vast amount of money, but the underlying principle is of much greater importance. Multiplied by the number of people taking out this particular Tax Haven Cash ISA it also becomes a much larger sum.
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The Abbey National has announced a reduction in the interest rates offered on several of its savings accounts, with cuts of 0.25 percent to match the recent base rate cut by the Bank of England.
Commencing on 1 May all Abbey National savings accounts with the exception of the eSaver Direct, Super 50 Plus and 50 Plus Saver will have the 0.25 percent cut on their rates. These ones mentioned will keep their rates as they were.
The Abbey National savings and investments director said that although the rates had been reduced on their accounts it was important to have a savings plan in place, especially in the current economic climate. It is a very competitive market and Abbey are committed to doing the best for their customers.