Aviva incompetence

lollynerd

I wonder if anyone else has had similar experiences with Aviva. I have a SIPP with them and the process for selling shares and taking a withdrawal is painfully slow.
I sold some shares over 3 weeks ago, informed them immediately, and I am still waiting for the money to be delivered to my account.
Does this sound normal to you? The same process with Standard Life and Fidelity takes days, not weeks.
The final straw was an email today telling me they will respond to my complaint within 8 weeks!
I certainly won't be recommending them.

DullGreyGuy

lollynerd said:

The final straw was an email today telling me they will respond to my complaint within 8 weeks!

Within 8 weeks is the regulatory requirement and almost every bank, insurer and other FS company will say the same but doesnt mean the average time is anything close to that. 

lollynerd

It's taken 3 weeks so far and still no resolution. I am not impressed.

Linton

Is this a taxable withdrawal  from your SIPP or a tax free lump sum?

If the former, one potential factor is that a taxable withdrawal has to go through PAYE in exactly the same way as if you were employed and some platforms run the "payroll" once a month.

lollynerd

Hi Linton,
Yes, it's the taxable part that is the problem. I wonder why it was always so quick with the other providers?
It could be just luck with timing, but it happens too often. The document process seems to be more cumbersome with Aviva.

dunstonh

I have a SIPP with them and the process for selling shares and taking a withdrawal is painfully slow.

Which Aviva SIPP do you have?  (most of their plans are not SIPPs).  Most of their plans are geared for funds as the priority with sharedealing not really a core offering and it tends to be a bit clunky on their older versions.

The Aviva platform SIPP is probably the best suited for this and trades as you would expect with most platforms.

I sold some shares over 3 weeks ago, informed them immediately, and I am still waiting for the money to be delivered to my account.
Does this sound normal to you? The same process with Standard Life and Fidelity takes days, not weeks.

With most SIPPs, you dont need ot inform the provider as the provider carries out the transaction themselves.  Settlement periods are normally 2-3 days from the dealing point.

Standard Life Wrap SIPP and Standard Life Elevate SIPP use the same software as Aviva platform SIPP.

The final straw was an email today telling me they will respond to my complaint within 8 weeks!

They haven't said that.  Read it again.  The regulated complaints process gives you the right to refer your case to the FOS if they do not give you an answer within 8 weeks.  It doesn't mean it will take 8 weeks.

Yes, it's the taxable part that is the problem. I wonder why it was always so quick with the other providers?

So, its not the share dealing that is an issue but the income payment?
Is it really an Aviva SIPP or is it a personal pension or stakeholder pension?  (some people and firms use the word SIPP when it isnt)
Which Aviva SIPP is it?  (Ex Norwich Union, AXA, Friends Life, Aviva Life & Pensions or Aviva platform or their direct to consumer option)?

The document process seems to be more cumbersome with Aviva.

Modern plans are quick. Legacy plans are frequently slow.  

lollynerd

Hi Dunstonh,
It's called an Aviva pension. I can't see any other name for it. It works like a SIPP. i.e. I choose my own investments (from a choice of many options) and use drawdown.
The trade went quickly. I only informed them in case there was another step for me to carry out (there wasn't).
I had to wait for their "withdrawal illustration". This is the bit that adds some of the delay.
It may not take 8 weeks, but we are on 3 weeks and still waiting. I haven't experienced such a delay with any other provider.
Yes, the share dealing is easy. It's the actual payment that takes time.

dunstonh

It's called an Aviva pension. I can't see any other name for it. It works like a SIPP. i.e. I choose my own investments (from a choice of many options) and use drawdown.

A number of their personal pension plans do this  Not just SIPPs.  Indeed, even some of the statekholder pensions they offered can do it..  I was hoping to identify which one it is as they are mostly on different systems.   

My gut feeling is that it is a legacy plan as their modern one can have the tax free cash in the account within 30 minutes of it being keyed and the taxable element (which has to go through payroll) in the account in about a week.   They run a daily payroll on that one but I think some of the legacy plans run a less frequent payroll.    The old Life & pensions plans (rather than platform) are a manual process and not much automated.

Does the plan start with an AV or TL,PP, SM (or other double initial)?    Is the plan run out of Glasgow, Norwich, Bristol, Sheffield or Milford?   

lollynerd

Yes, it's an AV, which means it's a legacy plan, right?

dunstonh

lollynerd said:

Yes, it's an AV, which means it's a legacy plan, right?

Plans that start AV indicate Aviva platform which operates out of Glasgow.     That is a modern whole of market platform using the FNZ software which is one of the best going.  Although Aviva's front end is one of the weakest of the FNZ based platforms.  

I have done very many drawdown cases with them and its an absolute doddle and only rarely had issues.     However, if it a platform that is geared for an intermediary/IFA to use.    Usually, the IFA would key in the drawdown and the software follows what the adviser does.     Aviva recently allowed consumers to give instructions and they will act on them but they are not geared for that.     If you are a DIY investor, then its usually best to use a DIY provider.  Not one aimed at intermediary/IFAs

lollynerd

It's not a difficult process. Easy to understand.
The problem is the delay in Aviva taking actions on the sale and then the "Withdrawal illustration".
I sold shares and immediately completed their processes 22 days ago and am still waiting for the taxable part of my payment to arrive in my account.
They have sent me numerous "we are sorry for your pain" emails, but still can't complete a simple financial transfer.
None of my experiences with Std Life, Aegon, Fidelity, Vanguard have delivered such a poor service.