SVS Securities - shut down?

Emillion1

The UK works on an archaic electronic settlement methodology where shares held in CREST are held in either pooled or individual nominees.  SVS held stock in a pooled nominee.  By the time CREST forms have been circulated and delivered and stock transferred you could expect to wait 4 - 6 weeks.  My guess is there is either limited human resource at ITI and receiving brokers or there are client data migration problems and manual reconciliations are having to take place. If it is the latter, you are in for a long wait!

Jamesram

Having just said I am not going to post my further Oleg-based discussions, I will relate this because it corresponds with a concern that a lot of people have raised recently about the Closure Form

On 16/09/2020 18:08, ITI accountmanagement wrote to my Partner

"Dear Ms B

Thank you for contacting ITI Capital. [ Her last desperate email of many, requesting Transfer action was sent on 5 September]  I have changed the status of your account, so the next time you log in you will be prompted to complete a closure form. Please ensure that your account number held with the receiving broker is provided to prevent any delays in processing your request.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require anything further.

Kind regards, Natasha Account Management Specialist "

We wrote back, and also contacted my new mate Oleg:

"Hello Natasha

I do not understand what you are telling me. My account is an ISA account.

I do not want to close the account and transfer cash to my bank, which is what the online Closure form asks me to request- I simply would like my account transferred  to iWeb, which you should be aware of. You have the iWeb transfer form.You should not need any further information. However, yet again  I attach a copy of the IWeb transfer instruction signed by myself for your reference.

Please check your systems- the last communication I had from you was in a standard form email* acknowledging my transfer out  request. Regards Sharon B    * [ that was the standard  "circular" email in BLOCK CAPITALS that many people received]    

Hi again Oleg:   " Please look at the sort of communication we are receiving- this is to my partner Sharon this evening.  If she now logs onto the Client Portal she is told to Submit Closure Form.. She does not want a closure as such- she wants a Transfer. If she clicks on the"Submit closure" she reaches a page which asks her to confirm withdrawal "l want to convert and withdraw/transfer my cash balances in one Single currency bank account which she choses as GBP. THEN she is asked to enter all her bank account details.

  Oleg, this is an ISA. There is over £10K cash  in it. The last thing she wants is to have that money withdrawn from her ISA and sent to her bank. ITI should not need her bank details at all. There is reference to a possible"Transfer" but she has no confidence that this cash will not simply be sent to her bank, either by design or by error..Then she would have to try and sort that out with HMRC and iWeb to get it reinstated to her ISA.

Can you understand the stress and inconvenience this sort of thing is regularly causing?

 Should she complete the online form as requested?

Should she ignore it and hope that the Transfer out  will go through anyway?

Will she get a timely reply from Natasha  giving appropriate advice?

I picked up Natasha's email at 6.15pm  Its 7.30pm. Sharon has been at work all day. Now we have had to spend an hour trying to decide what to do and how to tackle this. It really is a problem. See the exchange of emails below  [above now] Best Regards James 

Oleg replies at 9.04 PM  (OK, slight Respect)

"James no issues.[?]    Let me have a quick look and we'll sort this out tonight [!!!]"

Nothing further heard yet. Will advise any developments on this Closure Form business if and when..................................

Emillion1

Jamesram said:

Having just said I am not going to post my further Oleg-based discussions, I will relate this because it corresponds with a concern that a lot of people have raised recently about the Closure Form

On 16/09/2020 18:08, ITI accountmanagement wrote to my Partner

"Dear Ms B

Thank you for contacting ITI Capital. [ Her last desperate email of many, requesting Transfer action was sent on 5 September]  I have changed the status of your account, so the next time you log in you will be prompted to complete a closure form. Please ensure that your account number held with the receiving broker is provided to prevent any delays in processing your request.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require anything further.

Kind regards, Natasha Account Management Specialist "

We wrote back, and also contacted my new mate Oleg:

"Hello Natasha

I do not understand what you are telling me. My account is an ISA account.

I do not want to close the account and transfer cash to my bank, which is what the online Closure form asks me to request- I simply would like my account transferred  to iWeb, which you should be aware of. You have the iWeb transfer form.You should not need any further information. However, yet again  I attach a copy of the IWeb transfer instruction signed by myself for your reference.

Please check your systems- the last communication I had from you was in a standard form email* acknowledging my transfer out  request. Regards Sharon B    * [ that was the standard  "circular" email in BLOCK CAPITALS that many people received]    

Hi again Oleg:   " Please look at the sort of communication we are receiving- this is to my partner Sharon this evening.  If she now logs onto the Client Portal she is told to Submit Closure Form.. She does not want a closure as such- she wants a Transfer. If she clicks on the"Submit closure" she reaches a page which asks her to confirm withdrawal "l want to convert and withdraw/transfer my cash balances in one Single currency bank account which she choses as GBP. THEN she is asked to enter all her bank account details.

  Oleg, this is an ISA. There is over £10K cash  in it. The last thing she wants is to have that money withdrawn from her ISA and sent to her bank. ITI should not need her bank details at all. There is reference to a possible"Transfer" but she has no confidence that this cash will not simply be sent to her bank, either by design or by error..Then she would have to try and sort that out with HMRC and iWeb to get it reinstated to her ISA.

Can you understand the stress and inconvenience this sort of thing is regularly causing?

 Should she complete the online form as requested?

Should she ignore it and hope that the Transfer out  will go through anyway?

Will she get a timely reply from Natasha  giving appropriate advice?

I picked up Natasha's email at 6.15pm  Its 7.30pm. Sharon has been at work all day. Now we have had to spend an hour trying to decide what to do and how to tackle this. It really is a problem. See the exchange of emails below  [above now] Best Regards James 

Oleg replies at 9.04 PM  (OK, slight Respect)

"James no issues.[?]    Let me have a quick look and we'll sort this out tonight [!!!]"

Nothing further heard yet. Will advise any developments on this Closure Form business if and when..................................

The joys of a margin based broker try to offer wealth management!  The two services are as different as oil and water.  It is all very well promoting the fact you have a Head of Wealth Management, unless you have the expertise to back it up such as in settlements etc... you are dead in the water.  FCA should have seen this coming

shawdon

2 steps forwards and one step backwards.
Rahul and Chris are both now regularly emailing me, apologizing and sorting out my issues. Full dividend breakdowns sent, all 8 accounts are now being transferred to HL (confirmed by HL today!) but my missing account gets odder and odder, the account was valued at £16k yesterday, is now valued at £236k (lovely!) and should be valued at about £118k!
The joys of ITI but at least they are now trying (very trying!)

My2penneth

Link to the Financial Ombudsman page to complain.

https://help.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/help/

Stop messing about emailing on this forum and complain to the F.O.S.
Spend 30 minutes emailing the F.O.S.  

If they impose a big enough fines (£650 per complaint after the first 25 hits) then it might be a message to other companies and stop this happening in the future!

Michael_Reynolds

Jamesram said:

"I won't copy any more of our exchange because a) there is really nothing more to it than what I have just said and b) since I do take the guy at his word that he is NOW  concerned (yes, yes I know!) it doesn't seem quite right to do so."

I understand you have to give him a go before savaging him again! Trying is one thing succeeding is another and doing that with Phoenix is unlikely. I don't think this one will ever rise from the ashes! Thanks for your help.

Michael_Reynolds

johnburman said:

Michael_Reynolds I received a similar email...but whilst they are technically right when they say "The Rules do not contain conduct rules in relation to a member firm’s relationship or service provision to its clients.".  (this they would like it to be!) but Rule 1020 provides:

A member firm must, to ensure compliance with these rules, at all times have:
1020.1	adequate trade execution, recording, reporting and settlement procedures and systems and, if relevant, order and quote management procedures and systems;
1020.2	sufficient staff with adequate knowledge, experience, training and competence;
1020.3	adequate internal procedures and controls; and
1020.4	one or more compliance officers who shall be identified to the Exchange and be competent to advise the member firm and its employees on the application of these rules.

Remind the LSE of the words in bold

Thanks John I will send this now

Nbs222

shawdon said:

2 steps forwards and one step backwards.
Rahul and Chris are both now regularly emailing me, apologizing and sorting out my issues. Full dividend breakdowns sent, all 8 accounts are now being transferred to HL (confirmed by HL today!) but my missing account gets odder and odder, the account was valued at £16k yesterday, is now valued at £236k (lovely!) and should be valued at about £118k!
The joys of ITI but at least they are now trying (very trying!)

They are only responding to you because you were going to see Raab , for us there is no change no response to any emails , no communications at all.

Monsieur_Bourse

My2penneth said:

Link to the Financial Ombudsman page to complain.

https://help.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/help/

Stop messing about emailing on this forum and complain to the F.O.S.
Spend 30 minutes emailing the F.O.S.  

If they impose a big enough fines (£650 per complaint after the first 25 hits) then it might be a message to other companies and stop this happening in the future!

You are quite right My2penneth I will make a complaint to the FOS for myself and my wife. I have not received a reply from Moss to my official complaint after a month. My wife does not have her Phoenix account up and running after 2 months of waiting, not that it is worth having mind you, it is truly an awful way to trade.

Jamesram

" Stop messing about emailing on this forum and complain to the F.O.S. Spend 30 minutes emailing the F.O.S. "

Frankly I don't see why we can't do both!!