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HL exemplary service
ozzage
Posts: 518 Forumite
I like to complain about HL and I'm in the processing of transferring all three of my accounts away from them to III.
But honestly sometimes I'm astonished how good their service can be.
I've been ploughing through their history screens, 6 months worth at a time, saving to csv, planning to aggregate them together at the end so that when they close me down I've got a record of everything. I've had the accounts since 2008 so there is a lot to do!
I thought, !!!!!! this, and sent them a secure message asking if they have any way of getting it to me without me doing any of the work.
Just one hour later, I'm staring at a spreadsheet of every transaction, in and out, for all three of my accounts since they were opened, and a word document containing the same in case that's more convenient for me.
Of course it's probably not that hard for them to produce it, but with so little fuss and such a fast turnaround. I'm gobsmacked.
But honestly sometimes I'm astonished how good their service can be.
I've been ploughing through their history screens, 6 months worth at a time, saving to csv, planning to aggregate them together at the end so that when they close me down I've got a record of everything. I've had the accounts since 2008 so there is a lot to do!
I thought, !!!!!! this, and sent them a secure message asking if they have any way of getting it to me without me doing any of the work.
Just one hour later, I'm staring at a spreadsheet of every transaction, in and out, for all three of my accounts since they were opened, and a word document containing the same in case that's more convenient for me.
Of course it's probably not that hard for them to produce it, but with so little fuss and such a fast turnaround. I'm gobsmacked.
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If we had lots of money with them I suppose we'd consider leaving. As our accounts are modest we're going to stick around - their service may be the best I've encountered in the financial world.Free the dunston one next time too.0
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It's good to know they can produce such reports but OTOH they certainly have enough margin to fund a few computers and people to operate them!
The only grudge I bear HL is that they introduced high fees at short notice and tried to blame regulations even though others working under the same regulations managed to be far more customer friendly.
I've nearly completed moving £500k away from them, which they might have been able to avoid by offering better rates to start with rather than dodgy "secret" deals. Their loss but I'm sure they'll have enough customers left to keep them in gold watches, sharp suits, and flashy cars.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 -
gadgetmind wrote: »Their loss but I'm sure they'll have enough customers left to keep them in gold watches, sharp suits, and flashy cars.
... and, more importantly, to keep paying me much higher dividends each year on my HL shares (now in my iweb account
). 0 -
gadgetmind wrote: »
I've nearly completed moving £500k away from them, which they might have been able to avoid by offering better rates to start with rather than dodgy "secret" deals.
Me too. What they offered me wasn't that bad in the end but the whole "hey mister special price for you" approach left a bad taste in my mouth.0 -
gadgetmind wrote: »It's good to know they can produce such reports but OTOH they certainly have enough margin to fund a few computers and people to operate them!
The only grudge I bear HL is that they introduced high fees at short notice and tried to blame regulations even though others working under the same regulations managed to be far more customer friendly.
I've nearly completed moving £500k away from them, which they might have been able to avoid by offering better rates to start with rather than dodgy "secret" deals. Their loss but I'm sure they'll have enough customers left to keep them in gold watches, sharp suits, and flashy cars.
As far as I can tell our fees have not increased, in fact they have reduced.
Last year fees on the funds we hold were deducted from capital and shared between the fund managers and HL. We received via HL a rebate of fees deducted (loyalty bonus) of just under £40 per month.
This year we have chosen to stay with bundled funds and to remain with HL. Our fees continue to be deducted from capital at a similar level as last year but we now receive around £200 per month in rebates (loyalty bonuses) via HL from which we pay HL's new fee (at 0.25%) of approx £80 per month.
So overall our net rebate of fees (loyalty bonuses less HL charges) has risen by £80 per month. Put another way, our fees have fallen by £80 per month. We are in cash terms £80 per month better off.
We looked into moving our funds elsewhere but were put off by fear of the unknown. Anecdotally I think those fears for some people have been borne out.
And we continue to enjoy HL's excellent service. I'm OK with that0 -
As far as I can tell our fees have not increased, in fact they have reduced.
That suggests you were previously in very high fee funds and the changes benefited you. However, make no mistake, you are still paying high fees.
We were in lower fee investments, which HL intended to foil via high platform fees, so we switched platform. As a result, our total fees are now less than 0.4% all in.And we continue to enjoy HL's excellent service. I'm OK with that
As you'll be paying a lot for that service, please continue to demand that it matches the fees they now charge.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 just got another message from BestInvest basically saying that HL were in transfer melt-down, and that they continued to apply pressure at every level, but HL simply didn't have the bandwidth to handle everyone everyone trying to escape their higher fees.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 -
We pay HL's new fee (at 0.25%) of approx £80 per month.
And we continue to enjoy HL's excellent service. I'm OK with that
So you pay HL £1000 pa, which as a percentage based charge will grow along with your investments. When you could be paying iii or ATS a few hundred pounds a year which are both flat fees? I'm not sure that's something to boast about on a moneysavingexpert site. Do you realise the compound effect of high fees on a long-term investment?
Sorry but having just missed out on two month's pension payments because of HL's inability to carry out an error free transfer of three funds, I'd disagree strongly about their supposed excellent service too.
But I'm sure HL will keep enough happy customers paying premium fees to maintain their 70% profit margins and their incredibly high share price (and that Grey Gym Sock's investments are safe :-) )
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But I'm sure HL will keep enough happy customers
Well, here is an unhappy leaver.....https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4870018 post 1117
I tremble for my relatives' transfers.....:eek:0 -
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