Falcon Cash ISA

A tax free Cash ISA account offers you just what it says. Tax free savings up to a maximum limit. This limit depends on the type of accounts you hold.

Our Falcon Cash ISA has been developed under Government guidelines to provide tax-free savings benefits.

Cash ISAs can only contain cash. The limits available may vary dependent upon whether you hold a Stocks and Shares ISA or not. If you do not, the maximum amount you can save each year is £3,600.

A Cash ISA is not a term investment, meaning you do not have to either make regular deposits for a specific number of years, or leave your savings within the account for a specific time.

You do not even have to maintain your commitment to your ISA should your circumstances not permit and are free to choose which ISA provider offers the best solution for your needs.

The Barnsley only offers a Cash ISA, but should you wish to explore your options under a Stocks and Shares ISA, we will be able to make an introduction to a party who will be able to assist, should you so wish.

Deposits and withdrawals

You may invest and withdraw from this account at any time, as it is designated as one offering instant access.

An ISA account has strict annual investment limits applicable to each tax year running from April 6th of one year to April 5th of the next. These limits cannot be exceeded under any circumstance. There is a maximum annual investment limit applicable to ISAs in general of £7,200 each tax year, although this can be reached through a mixture of Cash and Stocks and Shares. The maximum you are entitled to hold in a Cash ISA is £3,600.

It is therefore extremely important that you monitor the deposits you make into your ISAs each year to ensure that you do not exceed the maximum. At the Barnsley, we are only able to confirm the maximum acceptance into our Cash ISA at £3,600, but should you have a Stocks and Shares ISA elsewhere, it should not be taken for granted that you can subscribe the full £3,600.

For example, if you held a £5,000 balance in a Stocks and Shares ISA in one year, the maximum you would be permitted to deposit into a Cash ISA that year would be just £2,200. No further deposits to either account type would be permitted until the next tax year.

Once your personal maximum allowance has been deposited, whether in smaller amounts or one lump sum, the deposit facility is no longer available until the next tax year. You may still continue to make withdrawals over this period, if required. These deposit limits are tax year specific and should you not save the maximum in one year, the remainder cannot be rolled over.

How to open your ISA Account

Accounts can be opened at any Barnsley branch or by post.

As part of the account opening procedure, we will carry out electronic verification of your personal identity and address. If this search proves unsuccessful, you will be asked to provide documentary evidence, such as a passport or photo driving licence. Details of the types of documents we are able to accept as evidence can be found in the Customer Guide leaflet, available at branch offices and also on our web site. As you will be opening an account that is not subject to tax, the account opening has to meet with HMRC regulations and you will also be required to provide your national insurance number.

If you already have a Barnsley account, you may still be asked to provide identification as shown above, if the details we hold regarding your accounts are not recent.

All requests for identification conform to regulations which protect you and guard against fraudulent transactions on your account.

The Barnsley is happy to accept Cash ISA account transfers and all we need are the details of the ISA provider and the account number, plus your written instructions to request the transfer on your behalf. We will handle the rest of the transfer.

Interest Payments

Interest rates on this account are variable and can fluctuate over a period.

Your ISA will be credited with interest annually on 31st December. You may withdraw funds at any time without losing the tax-free status available with the accounts.

Current interest rates will be supplied to you on request and are on display at all branch offices and on our web site.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Yorkshire Building Society is a participant in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (the Scheme). You may be entitled to compensation under the Scheme if Yorkshire Building Society cannot meet its obligations. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim.

As a result of recent changes to the FSCS, a member who had savings accounts with both the Barnsley Building Society and Yorkshire Building Society prior to the merger of the two societies (which was on 31 December 2008) will be entitled to a limit of £50,000 per individual for each of the Yorkshire Building Society and Barnsley Building Society 'brands' following the merger.

This double limit is only a temporary measure until 30 September 2009. The FSA will be reviewing the Scheme in early 2009, including the rules surrounding whether deposits are covered on a legal entity, a 'brand' or an 'account' basis before a permanent solution is put in place which is expected to be by 30 September 2009.

ISA Account Terms and Conditions

This section contains the particular terms of the Falcon Cash ISA account (the "Specific Product Terms") and the general terms and conditions (the "General Terms").

Read together, the Specific Product Terms and the General Terms, explain and govern how your account works. In particular, General Terms 3, 4 and 11 explain the circumstances in which we may change the interest rates and the terms and conditions to your account and any charges relating to your account - and how we will tell you about those changes. It is important that you read all of the terms applicable to your account before you decide whether to open it. If there is any inconsistency between the Specific Product Terms and the General Terms, then the Specific Product Term will apply.

If you open an account it will be with Yorkshire Building Society (trading as Barnsley Building Society). Barnsley Building Society is operated under its own brand with its own products and as a trading name of Yorkshire Building Society. References in the Specific Product Terms or in the General Terms to "you" and "your" are to the account holder. References to "we", "our" or to "the Barnsley" are to Yorkshire Building Society trading as Barnsley Building Society.

As you will be a member of Yorkshire Building Society, the Society's Rules will apply to you. A copy of the current Rules is available on request. Further information about membership and other issues can be found in the Yorkshire Building Society leaflet entitled "Your Society" available in all Barnsley branches.

Specific Product Terms

1. Eligibility: You may open a Cash ISA account if you are aged 16 years or over. You must be resident in the UK and subject to UK tax. As ISA stands for Individual Savings Account, accounts cannot be opened for anyone else and joint accounts are not permitted.
2. Investments: The account is subject to a minimum initial investment of £100 and additional sums of any amount may be invested at any time up to the account limit each year. Account investments, interests, dividends, rights or other proceeds in respect of such investments or any cash, shall be transferred or paid to the account investor within such time as stipulated in their withdrawal instructions.
3. Cash ISA Rules
   1. You must notify the Barnsley if you cease to be resident and ordinarily resident in the UK, or if not so resident, cease to perform duties as a Crown employee serving overseas or to be married to, or in a civil partnership with, a person who performs such duties which allow you to subscribe to a Cash ISA. The Cash ISA will continue to be exempt from UK tax, but no further subscriptions can be made until you meet the residency requirements again.
   2. Investment in a Cash ISA will be, and must remain in the beneficial ownership of the investor and must not be used as security for a loan.
   3. Your Cash ISA application ceases to be valid at the end of a tax year in which you do not make a subscription. Where this happens you must make a fresh application before subscriptions re-commence.
   4. In the event of death whilst the Cash ISA remains open, interest to the date of death will remain free from tax, but interest arising after that date will be subject to tax. No further investments will be permitted in the Cash ISA.
   5. If you are found to have breached the ISA rules governing subscription limits or the number of Cash ISAs which may be opened in any year, or your application is incorrect, your Cash ISA will cease to be exempt from tax and any interest earned in that year will be subject to tax. Full details of the Cash ISA scheme can be obtained by visiting the HM Revenue & Customer's website or by calling them on 0845 604 1701 (Monday to Thursday 8.30am - 5.00pm, Friday 8.30am - 4.30pm.
   6. We will satisfy ourselves that any person to whom we delegate any of our functions or responsibilities under the terms agreed with you is competent to carry out those functions and responsibilities.
   7. On your instructions and within the time stipulated by you (subject to this being a reasonable period for the practical implementation of the transfer or payment to you and which will not exceed 30 days) we will transfer your Cash ISA with all rights and obligations, or part of your Cash ISA, to another ISA manager or pay to you all or part of the investments held in your Cash ISA and proceeds arising from those investments.
      1. Where a product term on your account requires a notice period for withdrawals or closure you will need to give the relevant number of days notice appropriate to your product, if you wish to transfer your Cash ISA to another ISA manager or if you want us to transfer or pay to you all or part of the investments held in your Cash ISA and proceeds arising from those investments, without losing any interest.
      2. Where a product term on your account requires a notice period for withdrawals or closure and you want to transfer all or part of your Cash ISA to another ISA Manager or you want to withdraw all or part, or close your Cash ISA without giving any notice, you will lose an amount of interest equivalent to the number of days notice that you should have given.
      3. Where a product term on your account only permits withdrawals or closure during a certain period (e.g. during an anniversary month) you will need to request that the transfer, withdrawal of all or part, or closure of your Cash ISA takes place in that period, if you want us to transfer your Cash ISA to another ISA manager or pay to you all or part of the investments held in your Cash ISA and proceeds arising from those investments without losing any interest.
   8. We 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.

The ISA Specific Product Terms are subject to change in response to the Government's statutory requirements regarding ISAs.

Click here to view the General Terms and Conditions of all the Barnsley Cash ISA Savings Accounts.