Leaving H&L without transfer out Fees

Shark

Hello,

I am paying £10 a month in fees for my ISA at HL while the rest of my portfolio is fee free at iWeb.

I sent a transfer form to iWeb and have just been emailed by HL to say the transfer out fees are £55.


I remember a thread from early 2014 about the changes to ISA fees and you could leave for free, is it too late to get these fees waived?


Thanks for any help

colsten

I very much doubt you could still make a case on the gorunds of getting roped into paying a monthly charge without having had a chance to opt out before the charges started. Nothing to lose if you try to , though - worst case is they will say no. On the other hand, they might be a bit more mellow now as they must have lost quite a lot of investors as a consequence of their charges. Definitely worth a try.

Even if you don't get out of jail fro free, moving out probably makes sense, as in less than 6 months you will no longer have to pay HL a monthly charge. Look at the total picture though - e.g. would trading charges wipe out your advantage?

jimjames

You can reduce fees by transferring in cash. If the amounts are small enough you can withdraw the cash and pay it back in elsewhere.

grey_gym_sock

jimjames wrote: »

You can reduce fees by transferring in cash.

in this case, i don't think so. £55 sounds like £25 per holding (for only 1 holding) + £30 to close the account. if you transfer in cash, it would be £25 to transfer cash + £30 to close the account, so still £55. ppl with more than 1 holding can reduce transfer charges by putting it all in 1 holding (or into cash).

If the amounts are small enough you can withdraw the cash and pay it back in elsewhere.

yes, then you'd only pay £30 to close the account.

no harm in trying to get HL to waive the exit charges, of course. (except to HL shareholders, like me - but don't let that put you off .)

(incidentally, from HL's reporting on transfers in/out last year, it looked to me as if there was a slight increase in transfers out in the months after their new prices were announced, but no more than 1% of accounts, and they were still gaining more business than they were losing.)

Gadfium

I tried and they won't reduce it. plus, if you have less than £50 left in the Fund and Share account they will close it (assuming you have no funds left with them) and deduct a closing fee of £25 for that. If the amount left in the F+S account is less than £25 then they will swallow it.

So to fully transfer out an ISA in specie then it is £25 per fund +£25 ISA closure fee +£25 Fund and Share closure fee.
Nice work if you can get it! :mad:

The only option that I can see is to formally complain to HL (they'll close it without agreeing a fee) and then raise a FOS compliant.

grey_gym_sock

i think the account closure fee is £25 + VAT = £30

dunstonh

The only option that I can see is to formally complain to HL (they'll close it without agreeing a fee) and then raise a FOS compliant.

You mean blackmail them?

Gadfium

dunstonh wrote: »

You mean blackmail them?

No I don't.
I mean formally complain as is a customer's right and give the company a chance to address the complaint. If you are still not satisfied with their response, then you can take the complaint to the Ombudsman. you cannot complain to the Ombudsman without following the company's complaint procedure.

I'm not sure where you think blackmail applies?

naedanger

Shark wrote: »

Hello,

I am paying £10 a month in fees for my ISA at HL while the rest of my portfolio is fee free at iWeb.

I sent a transfer form to iWeb and have just been emailed by HL to say the transfer out fees are £55.


I remember a thread from early 2014 about the changes to ISA fees and you could leave for free, is it too late to get these fees waived?


Thanks for any help

In my view no, it is not too late because HL never told you that you had the right to leave without exit charges, which from memory means you have up to 6 years to claim. However I expect HL will strongly resist and you will, after lots of HL stalling tactics, need to take your case to FOS. And then I am not sure FOS will uphold your complaint because they will not look at the legal position but will instead consider what they think is reasonable.

In short it is unlikely to be worth the effort given the level of charges in your case.

If you do wish to complain and intend taking it to FOS (as you will need to) then post back here and I will try and find some of the old posts.

dunstonh

Gadfium wrote: »

No I don't.
I mean formally complain as is a customer's right and give the company a chance to address the complaint. If you are still not satisfied with their response, then you can take the complaint to the Ombudsman. you cannot complain to the Ombudsman without following the company's complaint procedure.

I'm not sure where you think blackmail applies?

All done knowing that HL will suffer a greater charge than refunding.

Personally, I find using the complaints process this way is distasteful. It holds up those with genuine complaints and means that the costs incurred are passed on to others.

naedanger

dunstonh wrote: »

All done knowing that HL will suffer a greater charge than refunding.

Personally, I find using the complaints process this way is distasteful. It holds up those with genuine complaints and means that the costs incurred are passed on to others.

The OP has a legitimate complaint. HL should have given him the opportunity to exit the contract without charge when it unilaterally changed its contract terms to his potential disadvantage. I believe he has six years to make his complaint. What I think is distasteful is that the OP (and most of HL's other customers in a similar position) probably won't get the fair deal they deserve.

Out of interest did you find it distasteful when HL increased its charges and then charged its customers heftily if they chose to leave as a result? I found it outrageous and when HL got away with doing this I thought it another sad reflection on the financial services industry and its regulator.