OK - I know absolutely nothing about ISA's other than the little bit of research I did on the web. So I thought it's time to start saving, where do I begin. I got to the virgin website and found it easy to navigate and informative, but being a bit suspicious I thought I'd ring them.
Spoke to a guy called Paul who answered all the questions he could. I could get a mini stocks and shares ISA which seemed to be good for saving regularly for the long term.
Now I don't have a lot of money to save so this ISA was ideal as you can open it with £1 and can deposit whenever you like up to your yearly maximum of £3000 (I wish). I also like it because it's easy to get your money if you need it with no penalties (other than the obvious loss in interest or income), but it's also sent only as a cheque. This is great for somebody like myself as if I could drawer it from acash machine for example, it'd be 'gone in 60 seconds' so to speak.
So to sum up, I am a complete gumby when it comes to investing, but I opened this account with £10 on 23rd July this year. Checked it today (online of course) and I've made 38p. It doesn't seem like a lot but hey I'm making money and am sending more to it as soon as payday comes.
This ISA is ideal for the novice investor who is worried about stashing his cash for too long and wants easy access. It can be operated online and you can pay in with direct debits or debit card or by cheque. It's easy to get your cash and they really are very nice people. The initial call I made was answered in about 3 rings and was really informative and helpful. I've rung again tonight just to check how I pay money in and they are sending me all the paying in slips and prepaid enveloped I need, all at the suggestion of the very nice lady on the phone. How many companies are willing to offer unsolicited help like this? All in all, if you know smeg all about ISA's or investing then ring Virgin.