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H-L introduces a Tracker Platform Charge
Comments
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And whatever the changed structure it will cause clients to review the costs and consider cheaper options, just I've been prompted to do even though not really affected by the latest changes.This is of course another issue HL will have.
They’ll have the problem all chancellors have when they try tax changes: the winners will take it, the losers will rightly complain; goodwill is lost, and complaints follow. Which was why they should have handled their recent price hike more competently.
If there is there is a large increase in their clients holding trackers as they say they then they’ll have to compete against them being able to buy direct for a just 025-0.50% net of all charges. All of which points to them needing a structure so complex that clients don’t realise how much they’re paying and I don’t know how they’ll find it. The “all you can eat for 0.8%” structure that’s worked for them so far is going to have to go.0 -
Rollinghome wrote: »And whatever the changed structure it will cause clients to review the costs and consider cheaper options, just I've been prompted to do even though not really affected by the latest changes.
Any reason why you are doing this now rather than waiting for RDR (where you could have to move again)?0 -
Because it's easy enough for me to do it with a small percentage of our investments even if it were only for a short period especially with a fund that's outside of an ISA - and the same reason why I'm not moving my wife's ISA at this stage. As I pointed out in that post, others need to take into account the changes that will come ahead of RDR.Any reason why you are doing this now rather than waiting for RDR (where you could have to move again)?
Some providers could set out their positions in the next few months but it's likely there'll be a lot of repositioning and could be well into 2013 before the dust finally settles and the best place to be becomes apparent. At some point everyone investing will need to make a decision.0 -
Looks like my complaint is certain to be going to the Ombudsman (can't do that until mid January), and I will report back how I get on. Would imagine it will take the Ombudsman perhaps 6 months to decide.
I've heard today that the opinion of the adjudicator at the FOS was to uphold my complaint. HL have accepted that opinion and will redress me for the loss I incurred on moving my investments to identical investments on another platform.
To recap HL introduced a platform fee at short notice in January 2012 and I requested that HL waive the re-registration fee to move elsewhere (and any ongoing platform fees if the re-registration process was not concluded before the end of 2011). They refused relying on their contract term 'we reserve the right to amend these terms and will give you notice at least 30 days in advance, before making material changes'. I argued effectively that this was an unfair contract term under the unfair terms in consumer contracts legislation and there was no free route to leave. But HL didn't agree. So I sold up and bought the identical funds on another platform and registered a complaint with the Ombudsman.
The opinion of the adjudicator was to give the view (he is not authorised to decide only give a view) that it was an unfair term (because it did not give valid reasons for its exercise) and that detriment had occurred because there was no contractual way to 'freely exit' the contract to avoid being bound by the unfair term; freely being the FSA view of not incurring any exit, closure or transfer fees.
The adjudicator took into account:
- the 1999 regulations
- FSA finalised guidance of Jan 2012 - Unfair contract terms Improving standards in consumer contracts
- the FSA publication - Fairness of terms in Consumer Contracts - Statement of good practice of May 2005.
- the undertaking given by Jarvis Management PLC published in February 2009 following action taken by the FSAI came, I saw, I melted0 -
top marks for following this through.0
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Well done, that's great news!I've heard today that the opinion of the adjudicator at the FOS was to uphold my complaint. HL have accepted that opinion and will redress me for the loss I incurred on moving my investments to identical investments on another platform.
And certainly a warning to everyone that Hargreaves Lansdown are a company that will take every advantage of clients if they think they can get away with it.
Now I'm just waiting for someone to refer their latest attempt to flog a new fund: the Newton Emerging Income. They claim "Act by 3 October to invest at launch and save 4%". That will be entirely and deliberately misleading if, as expected, the initial charge is immediately removed after the launch, as has happened when they previously made similar claims.
The fund will of course go straight into their "Wealth 150" list of recommended funds even though Sophia Whitbread, whom they say will be the fund manager, appears to have never run a similar fund before - or any other.
HL won't be disclosing how much they'll receive for giving this fund the hard sell but they seem just as enthusiastic as when they sold the ill-fated Fidelity China Special Situations after Fidelity agreed to an unusual commission arrangement.0 -
I've heard today that the opinion of the adjudicator at the FOS was to uphold my complaint. HL have accepted that opinion and will redress me for the loss I incurred on moving my investments to identical investments on another platform.
This is important news for small investors. Following on from the iii's humiliating climbdown on exit fees after imposing new charges, it shows that these companies don't have the automatic right to put their hand into their customers pockets and take what they like.
I was one of the HL customers who just passively accepted the charge at the time, but the way it was imposed still rankles. I am also getting more irritated by this company's cynical marketing ploys and am ready to leave.
I suppose it is too late for other customers affected to leave without financial loss...0 -
Rollinghome wrote: »
Now I'm just waiting for someone to refer their latest attempt to flog a new fund: the Newton Emerging Income. They claim "Act by 3 October to invest at launch and save 4%". That will be entirely and deliberately misleading if, as expected, the initial charge is immediately removed after the launch, as has happened when they previously made similar claims.
I thought exactly the same when I got the newsletter through. Pretty much all the funds they sell have 0% IC so it is very misleading to suggest you have a time limit to get the fund without the 4% IC.Remember the saying: if it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is.0 -
Stanley_St wrote: »I am also getting more irritated by this company's cynical marketing ploys and am ready to leave.
I use HL for small pots where their £24 per tracker charge makes sense. I use BestInvest for larger and more diversified pots.
The marketing bumph of both flies past my head without having any impact on my views or actions. That some might be taken in by it is of little concern to me as TBH they are subsidising my investing. Long may it continue,I am not a financial adviser and neither do I play one on television. I might occasionally give bad advice but at least it's free.
Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.0 -
I have a SIPP invested in a tracker with H-L and an account with Alliance Trust Savings (non-SIPP, non-ISA) in which I hold Investment Trusts. I've no idea any more whether the charges I'm paying are the lowest available - they keep changing and probably will for the next year.
BUT one thing I do know is that H-L have excellent admin, their phone help people are excellent and their website is very user-friendly. My experience of Alliance Trust is that their admin can go wrong, they are extremely slow to sort things out, they don't sort things out right first time, their phone people are unreliable (sometimes give you correct info but not always) and their website is awful.
What is good, reliable service worth? Certainly there's no way I'd move my SIPP from H-L to Alliance to save £100 a year!0
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