29 March 2010

Easter Monday Is The Deadline For ISAs

Time To Sort Out Savings Before The Break

With the end of the 2009/2010 tax year coinciding with Easter this year, savers would be wise to sort out their ISAs before the break to avoid missing out on their full tax-free savings allowance.

M&S Money is encouraging customers to finalise their ISA top-ups or applications for the current tax year at least a week before the deadline of Monday 5th April 2010.

Colin Kersley, M&S Money Chief Executive, commented; “ISA providers will be busier than usual in the run-up to the tax-year end. If you leave it late to apply or top-up your Cash ISA, M&S Money can still help as we will be open over Easter weekend, except for Sunday 4th April.

“This year savers can put more of their money into a tax shelter. Anyone aged 50 or over on or before 5th April 2010 can already save up to the new Cash ISA limit of £5,100, and this will apply to all Cash ISA savers from 6th April 2010”.

Applying for an M&S Cash ISA

How to apply online:

Online applications accepted no later than 1.00pm on Monday 5th April, at www.marksandspencer.com/isa.  Customers should give themselves at least 30 minutes to apply before the deadline.

What customers need:

• Debit card, National Insurance number, personal details (address and date of birth) and current account details.
• Customers must have cleared funds in their bank account.
• Same process applies to top-ups.
• Bank details for future income/withdrawals.

How to apply by telephone:

Telephone applications up to 4.00pm on Monday 5th April.  Call 0808 002 2222 for Cash ISAs.

What customers need:

• Debit card, National Insurance number, personal details (address and date of birth) and current account details.
• Customers must have cleared funds in their bank account.
• Same process applies to top-ups.
• Bank details for future income/withdrawals.

Postal applications must arrive at M&S Money by Saturday 3rd April 2010.

Important identity checks: (existing M&S Money customers need no further checks)

• Post Office file cross check for address.
• AVS (Address Verification systems) to check that the debit card matches your address and bank.
• Electoral roll check.

If any of the above ID checks fail, M&S Money will write to the customer requesting other proof of ID, eg. utility bill, passport, driving licence.  Failing the AVS check means M&S Money will be unable to process a customer’s payment.

ENDS

For further information please call the M&S Money press office:

Liz Neild on 01244 686 068               
liz.a.neild@mandsmoney.com                      

Simon Coughlin on 020 7992 1574
simon.coughlin@mandsmoney.com

Notes to Editors

Flexi Cash ISA option

Minimum deposit £100 lump sum, or £25 by monthly direct debit, up to Cash ISA allowance of £3,600 or £5,100 per tax year, transfers from other ISA providers allowed.

The Flexi Cash ISA interest rate of 2.65% includes a 1.25% bonus for 18 months from initial deposit, after which customers will receive a variable rate, which is currently 1.40% AER/tax-free*.

Fixed Rate Savings – the same interest rates whether inside or outside a Cash ISA

• Within an ISA – minimum deposit £500 up to Cash ISA allowance of £3,600 or £5,100 per tax year, transfers from other ISA providers allowed.
• Outside an ISA – minimum deposit £500, maximum £1 million.

This is a strictly limited offer and is available both inside and outside an ISA.  Early withdrawals are permitted during the term but will be charged at a fixed flat withdrawal charge (£50 for 1 year term, £75 for 2 year term, £100 for 3 year term).  The charge may mean a customer gets back less than they originally deposited if they withdraw their savings before the term end date.  Partial withdrawals are not permitted.

*AER is the Annual Equivalent Rate and illustrates what the rate of interest would be if interest was paid and compounded on an annual basis. Tax free means the rate of interest where interest is exempt from income tax. Interest will be credited to your account annually.

M&S Money (the trading name of Marks & Spencer Financial Services) was founded in 1985 as the financial services division of Marks and Spencer Group plc, making 2010 the company's 25th anniversary.

The company is a top-ten credit card provider and the second-largest travel money retailer in the UK.  M&S Money also offers a range of insurance cover, including home insurance and car insurance, as well as loans, savings and investment products.

In November 2004, Marks & Spencer sold M&S Money to HSBC. HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 8,000 offices in 88 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$2,364 billion at 31 December 2009, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. HSBC is marketed worldwide as ‘the world’s local bank’.

M&S Money has an executive committee comprising an equal number of representatives from HSBC and Marks & Spencer.