ISA / Saving Account / Fixed Term Bond?

A question about : ISA / Saving Account / Fixed Term Bond?

Hi everyone, great forum here!

I'm only 16 and obviously new to ISA's and Saving Accounts, but I would like to put away about Ј2000, either into an ISA/saving account/possibly a bond of some kind. However I had stayed away from the bond as although I believe I could do without the money for say a fixed term of a year or so, I'd prefer the freedom of being able to withdraw it.

On the ISA front, I don't think i can get the IF ISA's as they require you to be 18, but the two I have found which seem to be best are the Abbey Postal (5.1%) and the Halifax Direct ISA Saver (4.9%) - I'm not bothered about the 0.2% difference, but am I right in thinking that with the Abbey ISA I could only pay into it by cheque? At the moment I only hold a NatWest Card Plus account and I do not have a cheque book.

Can anyone offer me any help or advice on either these accounts or something tottaly different?

Thanks

Ben ???

Best answers:

• With traditional savings accounts, closure or withdrawal of large amounts by bankers order [a form of cheque] is quite usual. However you then have to wait for the cheque to 'clear' into your new account - even if you deposit it immediately - and during this time your will earn no interest. This is a small inconvenience, but a persistent source of irritation to savers everywhere.
  It can be largely (if not wholey) avoided by use of a 'personal cheque' - which does not leave your account until two days after being received - even by post. But even with this method many things can go 'wrong'. For instance:
  Cheque arrives on a Wednesday...leaves your bank on a Friday.. but not 'cleared' [earning interest] until at least Monday - or Tuesday if Monday was a 'bank holiday.
• You can open the Abbey postal ISA in the branch as the processing centres are so snowed under at the moment, so you could make the initial deposit in cash. Or you could get Nat West to write you a counter cheque, but they'd probably charge you around a tenner to do this.
• Talk to Natwest. They will issue you with a cheque book on the Card Plus account now that you're 16.
  HTH.
• About the savings bit...
  Once you've got your cheque book sorted, get the Abbey postal ISA. You're not a tax payer now, but you probably will be in about 2-6 years time? Therefore, by then you'll have a lot of cash earning tax free interest. Anything over Ј3k (as you save and save) per tax year, stick in a normal instant access high interest savings thing (ING, A&L, etc.)
  The ISA thing is something I wish I had started when I was 16... Go for it!
• Thanks guys,
  I'm going into NatWest tomorrow.
  Another (random?) question: Will they charge me (or is it even possible) if I ask them to transfer money from my account to another account if I give them the a/c number and sort code?
  Thanks