Hargreaves Lansdown- WARNING

dezrez

A word of warning Hargreaves Lansdown charge fees for an automated electronic system to buy and sell your ISA shares- they've just stung me for £700+ in fees for my own and my wife's self select ISA's - this for a "service" that costs nothing with their competitor TD Waterhouse.
They also seem pretty haughty when you actually get to speak to someone there - between us we have almost £200k in ISA's with them - they take a commission on sale and then have the audacity to charge 'stealth fees'- i.e. they don't send you a bill for the 'fees' you've accrued- so you don't know you've accrued them- they then wait until you deposit next years ISA allowance and raid your account with back dated fees. Legal? yes probably, immoral and sharp practice - DEFINITELY. All of course IMHO but do you really want to pay HL fees when you can get a better service FREE from TDW? Don't take my word for it- check HL's fees for a self select ISA and compare with TD Waterhouse. y

cashbackproblems

Out of interest which funds do you have with them?

I am on the verge of taking out some investments as they are regarded as the cheapest when it comes to buying funds and i use iii for shares but they were more expensive when it came to funds.

StevieJ

Interesting that two new posters have just appeared with similar style attacking H&L Mmm.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2773834

noh

StevieJ wrote: »

Interesting that two new posters have just appeared with similar style attacking H&L Mmm.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2773834

Although dezrez is not a new poster he first posted just over a year ago that post was also complaining about fees that were cleary listed but he failed to read and comprehend.

I don't understand the figures in his post.
If he is referring to the 0.5% HL charge on non commission paying investments, that is capped at £200 per year, so the maximum annual management charge for his and his wifes ISA would be a total of £400 not £700 as he stated.

Describing it as a "stealth fee" and as "immoral and sharp practice" is ridiculous as it is cleary stated in the list of fees and charges:-
http://www.h-l.co.uk/investment-services/isa/savings,-interest-rates--and--charges

and its method of collection is described in the FAQs
http://www.h-l.co.uk/investment-services/isa/frequently-asked-questions

Jonbvn

noh wrote: »

If he is referring to the 0.5% HL charge on non commission paying investments, that is capped at £200 per year, so the maximum annual management charge for his and his wifes ISA would be a total of £400 not £700 as he stated.

£400 charge on £200k. Seems like a bargain to me!

Rob_192

OP refers to shares, not funds. Do TWD really charge no fees for the purchase of shares?

blinko

HL are the best for unit trust by a mile and they are good for shares but not the best i would say

the or any charges you incurred are because you didnt read and im nto sure how they charged you £700 ???

0% for cash and funds that pay renewal commission (more than 2,000 to choose from)
0.5% for all other investments, capped at £200 a year

turbobob

Rob_192 wrote: »

OP refers to shares, not funds. Do TWD really charge no fees for the purchase of shares?

No TDW certainly do charge for buying or selling shares. They do not charge a fee for the ISA "wrap" if the account value is over £5100 (otherwise £30+VAT).

£200 + VAT is steep IMO for just providing the ISA wrap. I would imagine they are also making money through lending shares held in nominee accounts, although I haven't looked into that. Pretty sure TDW do this.

But as Noh says, to act surprised and call published charges "sharp practice" is daft.

dunstonh

Most platforms have a platform charge one way of the other. HL's is a bit hybrid in that it only charges where they dont get a commission. However, there is nothing hidden with their charges (apart from the usual things a bundled platform would have hidden, ie marketing payments). So, to complain about published fees is a bit silly as all it does is show that you didnt read their terms. And as they are a DIY provider, it is your own responsibility to know what you are buying.

dezrez

thanks for all the smart a**e replies- you know who you are and some of you sound like you know just a little too much when it comes to HL.
The facts are that HL charge fees on your ISA's and TDW don't.

HL tempted me in to investing with them with their vantage scheme which was supposed to yield bonuses which would cover the fees- it hasn't worked out like that and if mine and my wife's accounts -£200k value- don't yield bonuses and we have been charged £700 in back fees then i doubt smaller accounts would either. The point of my post is... don't take my word for it.....compare investing > £5300 with TDW vs. HL. ......WITH TDW IT'S FREE. With HL you pay fees. The point of this site is M-O-N-E-Y S-A-V-I-N-G. The clues are in the domain name. I posted to warn other investors, thnaks for the warm welcome.

Aegis

dezrez wrote: »

thanks for all the smart a**e replies- you know who you are and some of you sound like you know just a little too much when it comes to HL.
The facts are that HL charge fees on your ISA's and TDW don't.

HL tempted me in to investing with them with their vantage scheme which was supposed to yield bonuses which would cover the fees- it hasn't worked out like that and if mine and my wife's accounts -£200k value- don't yield bonuses and we have been charged £700 in back fees then i doubt smaller accounts would either. The point of my post is... don't take my word for it.....compare investing > £5300 with TDW vs. HL. ......WITH TDW IT'S FREE. With HL you pay fees. The point of this site is M-O-N-E-Y S-A-V-I-N-G. The clues are in the domain name. I posted to warn other investors, thnaks for the warm welcome.

You don't pay fees if you invest into collective funds which have a trail rate. This is pretty clear in HL's terms and conditions, and funds where an extra fee is charged are marked accordingly.

If you'd asked here, people would have told you that HL aren't cheap for sharedealing, and if you'd checked the costs in advance you wouldn't be feeling annoyed now.