Leaving HL without transfer charges

le_loup

Close it now, just like H-L advised you to in there literature.

juliamarsh

I have been wondering about this myself. Their charges are 0.45% of your portfolio value (or less if they have offered you a better deal) but if you have no money in the account then surely their charges must be nil - 0.45% of 0 is still 0!

rpc

juliamarsh wrote: »

I have been wondering about this myself. Their charges are 0.45% of your portfolio value (or less if they have offered you a better deal) but if you have no money in the account then surely their charges must be nil - 0.45% of 0 is still 0!

At which point they can close the account and charge you for it.

HL_Terms wrote:

Where an Account belonging to you has a valuation of less than £250 and has been inactive for two years or more we reserve the right to close the Account and send you the balance, less the Account closure fee (see Tariff of Main Charges) and any other charges that are due.
If you reduce or give the instruction to reduce the level of cash or stock in your Account to a value below £50, we reserve the right to close your Account and send you the balance of the Account less the Account closure fee. Any Loyalty Bonus will be paid in cash following Account closure.

juliamarsh

rpc wrote: »

At which point they can close the account and charge you for it.

Ah thanks for pointing out those Ts & Cs, I had better make sure I close them off then before 2nd June! At least that also answers the question about what would happen to the loyalty bonuses, as I had been wondering if they would pay those if the account had been closed.

chrisw2k

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has offered advice on this thread. Just got home to a letter from HL finally agreeing to waive their exit fees.

badger09

chrisw2k wrote: »

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has offered advice on this thread. Just got home to a letter from HL finally agreeing to waive their exit fees.

Can I ask if you've moved more than one account away from HL? (eg ISA & SIPP)

I'm moving my ISA but leaving my SIPP and wonder if that weakens my case for waiver of exit charges. Although why should it? I'm only moving ISA because of their new charging structure.

ffacoffipawb

rpc wrote: »

At which point they can close the account and charge you for it.

TCF it most certainly is not.

andy013

To those who got HL to waive the exit fees, did you simply write them a complaint letter?

Also I'm wondering if it's only people will substantial sums or whose fees have went up dramatically that are getting the free exit.

I only have a small amount with them so my fees are only going up £12 or so next year, but as it is now a percentage rather than a fixed fee the cost will continue to rise. I would really rather transfer to a cheaper provider now, especially considering HL are going to be increasing the exit fees even more!!

Do I have a chance?

masonic

andy013 wrote: »

I only have a small amount with them so my fees are only going up £12 or so next year, but as it is now a percentage rather than a fixed fee the cost will continue to rise. I would really rather transfer to a cheaper provider now, especially considering HL are going to be increasing the exit fees even more!!

Do I have a chance?

It seems like you make a good case for a free exit to me.

naedanger

andy013 wrote: »

To those who got HL to waive the exit fees, did you simply write them a complaint letter?

Also I'm wondering if it's only people will substantial sums or whose fees have went up dramatically that are getting the free exit.

I only have a small amount with them so my fees are only going up £12 or so next year, but as it is now a percentage rather than a fixed fee the cost will continue to rise. I would really rather transfer to a cheaper provider now, especially considering HL are going to be increasing the exit fees even more!!

Do I have a chance?

Yes, in my view you have a very strong chance (although nothing is guaranteed).

As far as I am aware no-one has had an official final response from HL where they have refused to waive their exit charges. However you may have to be persistent since HL are likely to refuse initially. You need to persist until they give you a response that says it is their final offer and that you can take the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you are unhappy).

Since this thread is now long I have pasted below a template based on ones given earlier in the thread. However any reasonable complaint should work.


Senior Client Services Manager
Hargreaves Lansdown
One College Square South
Anchor Road
Bristol
BS1 5HL

Dear Sir/Madam

OFFICIAL COMPLAINT – Refusal to Waive Exit Charges Following Unilateral Charge Increases

Please accept this letter as a formal complaint that you are refusing to allow me to exit freely from my Hargreaves Lansdown accounts following your unilateral increase in charges. (The new charges include a new fee for receiving half yearly paper statements, a new account closure fee, a new fee on cash transfers to another provider and a new fee for probate valuations. And that is only some of them.)

As a result of your new charges I believe I will be materially worse off, now and in the future, and I am therefore going to transfer my investments to another provider. I also object to the increase exit charges that will apply in future and the increased charges that will apply in respect of a probate valuation. Since the reason I wish to transfer is due to your unilateral variation of the contract I do not believe it is fair to expect me to pay any exit charges. This is because I believe it is unfair only offering me two unacceptable options i.e. to either (1) accept charges I would never have originally agreed to, or (2) pay to avoid these changes. Neither option is reasonable. To be reasonable you also need to offer either (a) the option to continue the contract on the current charges or (b) the opportunity to exit without charge.

I further believe that by denying me an opportunity to exit free of charge your unilateral increase in charges is not just unfair but also contrary to FSA and OFT guidance.

I also do not believe these new charges are required by regulation. But even if they were I believe it is still against OFT and FCA guidance to increase your charges without giving customers the option to exit freely. (See for example section 12.4 of the OFT's “Guidance for the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999” published in September 2008. This highlights that a valid reason for varying a contract, such as a regulatory change, is NOT sufficient for a price change to be fair. Consumers must also be given the chance to cancel freely.)

Please agree to refund or waive all my exit and transfer fees and agree not to levy any of the new charges during the period the transfer is taking place. If you do not agree to this then please confirm that I can take my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Please do not telephone me about this matter. For evidence purposes I wish all communication to be in writing.

Yours ...