Sippdeal shocker (& link to template complaint letter)

If you feel you have been treated unfairly by Youinvest and want to move to another platform and complain, then here is a template complaint letter you can use to ask them to waive your exit charges. If Youinvest refuse to concede to this request then diarise for 8 weeks time to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You can complain to the FOS before the 8 weeks are up if you receive a final response from Youinvest.



Dear sir or madam

Complaint

I received an email from you on 28th November 2013, giving me about a month’s notice (including the Christmas period) of a significant/massive {delete as applicable} increase in my platform charges from {detail old charge} to {detail new charge or state multiple of old charges e.g. 4 times} from 1st January 2014.

As a result of the significant/massive {delete as applicable} increase in charges, I am now looking to re-register my investments to another platform.

Please can you confirm that all exit charges (including re-registration charges, and selling fees) will be waived on my arranging a move to another platform. In addition if there is a delay in re-registering investments to a new platform, that means the final re-registration does not happen before 1st January 2014, when the increased charges apply, that the single rather than increased charge will only be applied during that period of delay.

{note if the re-registration charges of £20 per fund represent a multiple of your existing annual platform charge, such as 3 times your current annual charge, then you might want to mention that also here}

Given the very short notice of the quadrupling of charges, I would ask for an immediate reply. Should you be unable to agree to the waiving of all exit charges, I would refer you to your requirement to ‘treat customers fairly’, the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Legislation 1999, the FSA (now FCA) Finalised Guidance of Jan 2012 titled ‘Unfair Contract Terms Improving Standards in Consumer Contracts’, and of my right to take a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service in 8 weeks from the date of this communication.

Yours faithfully


What to do in the meantime while you are waiting for a response

Look for a cheaper platform but bear in mind other platforms may increase their charges in the near future also. You may also want to check with the new platform if the funds you hold can be re-registered to the new platform.

But also remember if Youinvest are going to try and arbitraily increase charges and then charge you to exit now, then they can try the same trick again in the future.

You may wish to wait until your complaint is resolved, which may be 6 months or more if it goes to the FOS, before actually re-registering to another platform, especially if the waiving of the re-registration charges affects your decision on whether to transfer to another platform.

grey_gym_sock wrote: »

SnowMan: this is useful stuff, providing you have somewhere better to move to.

ATS are cheaper for some ppl (viz. with a large enough amount in funds). but note the suggestions of an ATS price increase here - http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/news-and-analysis/wrap-and-technology/alliance-trust-savings-looks-to-increase-platform-charges/2003208.article ... and ATS don't have to change their prices, as they're already RDR-compliant.

Thanks. Hadn't seen that article.

As I am hit by an increase from £50 to £200 with Youinvest if I had stayed, I will use the free get out (with the FOS assistance if need be) to switch to ATS.

If ATS stay fixed then I can handle a doubling of charges there. I think its worth the shot for me.

If ATS quadruple charges then I'll just have to move again although that will require a more radical change of strategy.

grey_gym_sock wrote: »

switching from funds to ETFs?

Yes correct, although I haven't formulated the entire exit plan to ETFs.

I did consider switching my whole ISA portfolio (in tracker OEICs) to ETFs with Youinvest but that involves significant risk and some cost, and I'm still left on a platform I can't trust, so I decided against that.

I'm already holding Vanguard ETFs outside of an ISA with First Direct with no custody charge. There is no charge for the ISA wrapper either with FD sharedealing albeit I am not using it at the moment. As FD sharedealing is completely separate from their very limited and irrelevant funds offerings that may help them maintain that structure. Of course there are many other options with others to hold ETFs at low cost.