Important information about compensation arrangements

From 6 October 2009, the ISA subscription limit will increase to £10,200 for anyone eligible to invest in an ISA who was born on or before 5 April 1960 (i.e. who will be aged 50 or over during the current tax year).  Up to £5,100 of the new ISA allowance can be saved in a cash ISA with one provider.  The remainder of the £10,200 can be invested in a stocks and shares ISA with either the same provider or another provider.  Alternatively, the full £10,200 can be invested in a stocks and shares ISA with one provider.

These higher limits will apply to all eligible ISA investors with effect from 6 April 2010.

holding a cash ISA

• You must be 16 years of age or over, investing in your sole name only 
• You may subscribe to only one Cash ISA in any one tax year
• You must be resident and ordinarily resident in the UK (subject to an exception for certain Crown employees, their spouse or registered civil partner)
• You will be and must remain in beneficial ownership of the investment and it must not be used as security for a loan
• The Society will notify you, if by reason of any failure to satisfy the provisions of the ISA Regulations, your Cash ISA has, or will become void
• In the event of death, any interest due up to the date of death will qualify for income tax exemption, but not thereafter as the account will cease to be an ISA
• In the event of you opening a Cash ISA, the application remains valid for subscriptions made in the next and consecutive years. However where a break between subscriptions lasts for a whole tax year, we will need a fresh application before subscriptions can recommence.
  
  minimum investment
  
  You can open an account with a minimum investment of just £25, if you live in the counties of Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire or Rutland. For investors who do not live in the counties mentioned, the minimum amount to open an account is £1,000. The balance of the account must not fall below £1,000. If it does, the Society will give the requisite notice to close the account and repay the investment.
  
  Your Cash ISA begins from the date the subscription is made provided there is a valid application in place.
  
  investment limits
  
  You may invest up to the maximum Cash ISA limit in a single tax year. However, withdrawals have no effect on the subscription limits. This means that once the limit has been reached for the tax year you cannot make any further investments in that year regardless of any withdrawals made.
  
  interest
  
  Interest based on the account balance is calculated on a daily basis, but added to the account annually on 31 March. The interest rates are variable and current details are shown below and on the interest rates page.  
  
  withdrawals
  
  On your instructions and within the time stipulated by you, all or part of the investments held in your Cash ISA and proceeds arising from those investments shall be transferred or paid to you, without notice or penalty.
  
  On your instructions and within the time stipulated by you, your Cash ISA with all rights and obligations shall be transferred to another ISA manager, without notice or penalty.
  
  stakeholder standards
  
  We have decided not to apply the minimum standards for a deposit based stakeholder product so that we have the flexibility to adapt the account as required in the future.
  
  cooling off period
  
  If you are not happy with your savings account, you may cancel it within 14 days of:
  
  1.  the day the contract is entered into; or
  2.  the day on which you receive the contract terms and conditions and other information on paper or electronically
  
  whichever is later:
  
  We will help you switch to another of our accounts or we will give all your money back with any interest it has earned.  We will ignore any notice period and any extra charges.
  
  other information
  
  You can obtain further information on ISAs from the Building Societies Association leaflet 'Individual Savings Accounts and Building Societies' available from any of our branch offices.  Information on other investment accounts available from the Society is also available on request from any branch or agency of the Society and also from our website.
  
  complaints
  
  The Society has an internal complaints procedure and we are also a member of the Financial Ombudsman Service. Separate leaflets regarding these are available on request.
  
  compensation scheme
  
  The Society is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme