SVS Securities - shut down?

masonic

It is not a requirement for an investment firm to accept transfers from others, and iWeb stopped accepting transfers for a period of time last year. In general, ISA managers do not have to accept transfers from other ISA managers. A number do not.

It sounds like iWeb have got the wrong ITI. Especially from the comment that "ITI don't have a business in the UK". If the details for ITI were pre-populated from their online system, it might be worth checking them over. iWeb are not renowned for their transfer service. They were a real mess in late 2020 - end of 2021, with many complaining of transfers grinding to a halt.

RasputinB

Unmentionable said:

IWEB [sent] me a letter saying "On this occassion we cannot proceed with your transfer due to some security risks identified, which prevent us from corresponding and sharing customer information with this particular company"

If IWEB have identified security risks have they communicated these to the ICO? 

jenwrendorset

Since my last post on 13 August I've now received an email back from the FCA and although very informative and it confirmed that they fully understood my concerns/problem sadly they were unable to intervene but my comments have been forwarded etc. etc.  I actually didn't expect anything different but I thought it was a box that should be ticked.  Likewise with LC, they too responded but I lost the will to live half-way through their email but the gist of it was that I won't get any change from them so the last player standing is the FOS so I wait to be surprised - ITI has yet to answer any of my 3 emails so I hope this makes some impression with the FOS, there is just over two weeks before ITI pulls the plug so time is not on our side.

johnburman

A few points.

I have just seen the Panorama programme about Blackmore Bonds and the damning criticism of the FCA.  Thank goodness we all were not in the position of the people on the programme who lost savings.

But the way the FCA operates is the same and I wonder if the ITI story would be of interest to journalists etc?

I have always believed that all complaints should be made/copied to the FCA so they have evidence from the consumer of what was going on.  They can not say "we did not know".  And to be fair to the FCA they did act - not that we know what or when.

Anyway below is copied from the ITI website:

ITI Capital Limited has made the decision to exit the retail client business in the UK by 30th September 2022.

Dear Client,

ITI Capital Limited has made the decision to exit the retail client business in the UK by 30th September 2022.

We are providing these FAQ’s to help answer any questions you might have.

Key Dates:

22nd July 2022; Clients will not be able to open any new positions, but can close positions.

31st August 2022; All Retail client open positions must be closed.

30th September 2022; All Retail client accounts will be closed at ITI Capital Limited.

Our dedicated account management and dealing team will be on hand to answer any questions you might have but we do ask you to have a look at these FAQ’s which will also be available on our website.

Kind Regards,

ITI Capital

But what if you 31st August 2022; All Retail client open positions must be closed.  can not close your positions, and ITI ignores your emails?  A yet further complaint the FCA and FOS.  As I have said before, if emails are ignored that is of itself not "treating clients fairly" 

Unmentionable

masonic said:

It is not a requirement for an investment firm to accept transfers from others, and iWeb stopped accepting transfers for a period of time last year. In general, ISA managers do not have to accept transfers from other ISA managers. A number do not.

It sounds like iWeb have got the wrong ITI. Especially from the comment that "ITI don't have a business in the UK". If the details for ITI were pre-populated from their online system, it might be worth checking them over. iWeb are not renowned for their transfer service. They were a real mess in late 2020 - end of 2021, with many complaining of transfers grinding to a halt.

Thank you for the useful thoughts & information.
As and when I next speak to them, I'll check with IWEB on whether they have the correct ITI on their system. From what you've said, I would expect that (even if they do), they are just unwilling to work with ITI any longer. If I were upper management there, I would be wanting my staff's time applied elsewhere.
Counting on HL to come though now...

RasputinB said:

If IWEB have identified security risks[,] have they communicated these to the ICO?

I would certainly hope so. I don't anticipate them being particularly forthcoming, however.

Eskay22

Unmentionable said:

I've been lurking on this thread since the initial SVS debacle and decided to finally sign up and add my experiences.

Having tried to transfer away from ITI into IWEB in late 2020 with no progress (IWEB tell me they tried to contact ITI 8 times without response and then closed the transfer in June '21) I've decided to have another go (considering the circumstances).

After a couple of weeks, IWEB send me a letter saying "On this occassion we cannot proceed with your transfer due to some security risks identified, which prevent us from corresponding and sharing customer information with this particular company"

I've phoned IWEB several times in the last few days and got a range of different answers about what this means, including:
"FCA rules prevent us from proceeding with the transfer"
"ITI don't have a business in the UK and so they can't use the CREST system"
"[IWEB] cannot speak to [ITI] / are not able to get in contact"
They also say this will be the situation for the foreseeable future.
It's quite clear that those answering the phones and their direct supervisors (who they've conferred with) have not been given the full reason by upper management, and there doesn't seem to be a forthcoming way to escalate.
My guess (and it's only a guess) is that they are sick of ITI being so slow and cumbersome and have issued a blanket rule to decline transfers.
I've essentially given up on trying the IWEB route.

I also spoke to the FCA and they say there are no restrictions on ITI which would prevent a transfer out.

Finally, I've now set up an account with H&L who I spoke to on the phone. They assured me that they are having no issues transferring from ITI (besides the usual paper form based system ITI insist on), so that request away in the post.

Has anyone else had the same recent issue with IWEB or found a broker that can successfully extract their investments from ITI recently?

I am similarly a lurker on this thread on and off since the summer of 2021, having nothing meaningful really to contribute - and in the same situation having recently opened an account with IWEB.

After sending off the ITI transfer request to IWEB, last Friday they sent a letter declining it: "On this occasion we cannot proceed with your transfer due to some security risks we've identified, which prevent us from corresponding and sharing customer information with this particular company." 

IWEB was my first choice, but now after this experience, the collapse of SVS and withdrawal of ITI from the UK, my priority is to transfer into a large brokerage, or UK established bank with brokerage services, where the risk of this happening should be reduced.

Please do keep us updated on any news about the H&L transfer.          

Unmentionable

Eskay22 said:
IWEB was my first choice, but now after this experience, the collapse of SVS and withdrawal of ITI from the UK, my priority is to transfer into a large brokerage, or UK established bank with brokerage services, where the risk of this happening should be reduced.

Please do keep us updated on any news about the H&L transfer.          

I signed up with them yesterday morning and posted my form out (which they generated online) immediately by free-post (they provide an address).

Today I got a message acknowledging the transfer request, though I'm not sure if this is because they received the form already or if it's just a delayed acknowledgement from the online process yesterday.

Their message did state it may take a while to do the transfer as ITI are handling a lot of them...

I'm cautiously optimistic.

Good luck to you and others in this situation with your attempts.

Sheris

masonic said:

It is not a requirement for an investment firm to accept transfers from others, and iWeb stopped accepting transfers for a period of time last year. In general, ISA managers do not have to accept transfers from other ISA managers. A number do not.

It sounds like iWeb have got the wrong ITI. Especially from the comment that "ITI don't have a business in the UK". If the details for ITI were pre-populated from their online system, it might be worth checking them over. iWeb are not renowned for their transfer service. They were a real mess in late 2020 - end of 2021, with many complaining of transfers grinding to a halt.

iWeb did not have any problems with transfers, if ITI do not respond to transfers, that is a problem with them.
Even now they are turning a blind eye to the FOS, so there is very little help for many of us.
So masonic, with have had many discernments in the past, but could you please find out any info on the so called JSA committee, as I only found one person that was named, not looking good with there history and past background.
       
              

masonic

Sheris said:

masonic said:

It is not a requirement for an investment firm to accept transfers from others, and iWeb stopped accepting transfers for a period of time last year. In general, ISA managers do not have to accept transfers from other ISA managers. A number do not.

It sounds like iWeb have got the wrong ITI. Especially from the comment that "ITI don't have a business in the UK". If the details for ITI were pre-populated from their online system, it might be worth checking them over. iWeb are not renowned for their transfer service. They were a real mess in late 2020 - end of 2021, with many complaining of transfers grinding to a halt.

iWeb did not have any problems with transfers

Yes they did. There were lots of problems with transfers, and several threads chronicling the woes experienced by those trying to transfer, a selection of which I link below.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6281939/iweb-isa-transfer-in-2months-and-counting/

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6301064/transfer-time-to-iweb

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6295036/transfer-to-iweb-13-months-and-complete-at-last

Things got so bad that they stopped accepting transfer applications for a few months while they worked to clear their massive backlog. To deny that there was a problem at iWeb with transfers is almost as bad as denying that there were problems at ITI.

Sheris said:

if ITI do not respond to transfers, that is a problem with them.

If you'd read the posts describing the problem by Unmentionable and Eskay22, you'd see that it is iWeb who are refusing to send information to ITI.

Both were told by iWeb: "On this occasion we cannot proceed with your transfer due to some security risks we've identified, which prevent us from corresponding and sharing customer information with this particular company."

Sheris said:

So masonic, with have had many discernments in the past, but could you please find out any info on the so called JSA committee, as I only found one person that was named, not looking good with there history and past background.             

Crediting me with many "discernments" (acts exhibiting keen insight and good judgment) is certainly a lot more flattering than anything you've accused me of in the past. Other than the member representing the FSCS, the names of all four other members (and where applicable who they represent) have been formally disclosed by LC, so it is readily available information if you would care to look. It is against the forum rules to name individuals here, and even if it were not, I would have reservations about being your source of information, given the content of some of your prior posts.

RasputinB

masonic said:

If you'd read the posts describing the problem by Unmentionable and Eskay22, you'd see that it is iWeb who are refusing to send information to ITI.

Both were told by iWeb: "On this occasion we cannot proceed with your transfer due to some security risks we've identified, which prevent us from corresponding and sharing customer information with this particular company."

I hope that the significance of iWeb's comments has not been missed by anyone who uploaded personal information to ITI's systems. It would make much sense to me if any attacks are directed at the thousands of clients with new brokers rather than direct ITI clients. How, when or if these attacks materialise is open to debate but IMO the danger is real and these comments of security risks are the first I've seen from a prominent source.
In time we might find out the real reasons why ITI Trade in Guernsey was suspended on 28/06/2022 and why ITI Capital in London is closing down. There is a staggering amount of wealth available to fund these companies.