Postal Access ISA

Special conditions

Our agreement with you is made up of general conditions contained in the General Investment Conditions (General Conditions) and the AA Access ISA (Issue 3) (Account) Conditions below. If there is any overlap or conflict between the Account Conditions and the General Conditions, the Account Conditions apply. In these terms 'we', 'our' and 'us' mean Birmingham Midshires, a division of Bank of Scotland plc, which is registered as an ISA manager at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The account is a cash ISA and it has a variable interest rate. We treat it as not being a payment account, as you can only pay in the yearly cash ISA allowance set by HMRC. We explain what a payment account is in condition 1 of the General Conditions. You will see from conditions 18 and 19 of the General Conditions that we may treat payment and non payment accounts differently if we make any changes to your conditions or interest rate.

1. Eligibility

1.1 To have an account, you must be at least 16 years old, resident and ordinarily resident in the UK for tax purposes or a Crown employee serving overseas (or be married to or in a civil partnership with a Crown employee serving overseas). You must inform us if these conditions no longer apply to you.

1.2 The account must be in your sole name and all money deposited in it must belong to you.

1.3 You must not pay into more than one cash ISA in any one tax year.

1.4 HMRC ISA regulations mean that if you do not make a deposit into your account in any tax year (other than the year of application) you will need to complete a new application form if you want to make deposits in a later year.

1.5 The account is a limited issue, and we can stop selling it at any time. Once you've opened your account you'll be able to add to it in either this or future tax years.

2. Opening and running your account

2.1 We will open your Account when we receive your first deposit, which must be at least £2,500 and a valid application form. Applications cannot be backdated.

2.2 The administration of your account will be carried out by Birmingham Midshires. Queries about your account can be made through our Savings and Investment Team on 0845 603 6302. The lines are open Monday to Saturday 8am to 8pm. Alternatively, for more information, visit our website at theaa.com/savings.

2.3 You can only operate your Account by post

3. Deposits and withdrawals

3.1 This Account is for money that is not currently in an ISA, so we will not accept transfers in from other ISAs.

3.2 You can pay all or part of your yearly cash ISA allowance into your Account at any time. You can do this by sending a cheque to AA Savings, PO Box 81, Pendeford Business Park, Wobaston Road, Wolverhampton, WV9 5HZ, or transferring money from other non-ISA accounts you hold with us. Call us on 0845 603 6302 if you'd like to discuss this further.

3.3 The maximum amount you can pay into a cash ISA in any tax year is set by the Government. To find out the latest allowance contact us or HMRC.

3.4 You can make a payment or withdrawal from your account at any time. After making a payment or withdrawal you will not be able to pay more money into your account, if it means you pay in more than the yearly cash ISA allowance set by HMRC.

3.5 You can ask to transfer all subscriptions made to your account during the current tax year, and / or the whole or part of your cash ISA deposits (and interest) from a previous tax year or years, to a cash ISA or a stocks and shares ISA with another ISA provider, in which case you must complete a transfer application with your new provider who will send the transfer application to us. Within five bank working days of receiving the transfer application from your new provider, we will send your money and information to your new provider.

4. Interest

4.1 The interest rate is variable. You can find out the current interest rates for your account at theaa.com/savings.

4.2 Interest is calculated daily.

4.3 For the yearly interest option, we'll pay you interest 12 months after your first deposit and after that, yearly. For the monthly interest option, interest will be paid on the first day of the month.

4.4 Interest will be credited to your Account, or you can choose to have it paid to another AA savings account or to another bank or building society account. Interest payments to non AA savings accounts will reach that other account on the next bank working day.

4.5 As long as you and your Account continue to qualify, interest will be paid tax-free.

5. Changes to the ISA regulations

5.1 Any changes made by HMRC to ISA regulations that affect these conditions will apply as soon as they come into force.

5.2 Favourable tax treatment for ISAs may not be maintained (the Government is responsible for decisions about tax treatment).

6. Other terms

6.1 We are required to provide details of all ISA holders to HMRC. If you are or become non resident in the UK, HMRC may be required to share this information with tax authorities in your country of residence.

6.2 We will send you a statement 12 months after your first deposit and then yearly after that.

6.3 We will send you a duplicate statement on request.

6.4 We may delegate any of our functions or responsibilities under this agreement to a third party. If we do so, we will first satisfy ourselves that the third party is competent to carry out those functions and responsibilities.

7. Closing your account

7.1 You can close your Account at any time and any interest earned will be tax free. If you have made a deposit into your Account in the same tax year as you close it, you cannot open a new cash ISA for the same tax year.

7.2 If your account stops qualifying as an ISA we will close it and notify you. We will deduct income tax at the appropriate rate on the interest earned on your deposit so far, including any interest you have already been paid. The tax will be deducted from your account before the balance is paid to you.

7.3 Your account will cease to qualify as an ISA and become subject to the deduction of income tax in the following circumstances:

  1. if the terms of the declaration on the application form are or become untrue
  2. if you transfer any of your rights as an account holder or use your Account as security for a financial liability
  3. from the date of your death
  4. if HMRC instruct us accordingly

7.4 If you die, your Account balance will normally be paid to your estate. When we receive notice of your death we will close your Account and pay any interest earned up to the date of death tax free. We will transfer the balance to a new variable account on which interest earned will not be tax free.

7.5 We will notify you if, by reason of any failure to satisfy the provisions of HMRC ISA Regulations, your Account becomes or will become subject to the deduction of tax.

8. Cancellation

8.1 If you apply for this Account you will be able to change your mind and cancel your Account at any time before the end of the 14-day period starting on the day your Account is opened or the day you receive your welcome letter, whichever is later. If you cancel your Account within the 14-day period, you are free to subscribe to another ISA in the same tax year. If you cancel within the 14-day period we will repay you any money you have paid together with any interest due on it, or help you to switch the balance to another account. If you miss the 14-day deadline, you can close your Account, as explained in condition 7, but you will not be able to open another cash ISA, either with us or with another provider, in the same tax year. To cancel this agreement you should tell us by writing to us at AA Savings, PO Box 81, Pendeford Business Park, Wobaston Road, Wolverhampton WV9 5HZ. There are no charges for cancelling your Account agreement, and you do not have to give any advance notice.

Issue date: 27 March 2012