Contacting HL by phone - Not Good

charlie12525

What a deterioration in service from HL!

A year or so ago I could phone them and it would be answered within seconds by a knowledgeable person.

I tried to phone them a few times on Friday afternoon and again today but I have had to give up on each occasion after being put on hold for very long periods.

It doesn't seem to matter which of their numbers I use. I can't get through to them at all!

Just a warning for any prospective customers out there.

DannyCarey

Glad I left them and their expensive platform. They were really annoying to do a transfer out of also. 

It's also a great shame that since covid that most businesses can't be bothered to provide a good telephone service now at all. Blaming "unprecedented demand" and all sorts of nonsense. Made worse by poorly designed chat bots which just don't work for the most part. 

Bravepants

Jeremy Hunt says it's because there are too many early retirees and not enough available workers.

Albermarle

DannyCarey said:

Glad I left them and their expensive platform. They were really annoying to do a transfer out of also. 

It's also a great shame that since covid that most businesses can't be bothered to provide a good telephone service now at all. Blaming "unprecedented demand" and all sorts of nonsense. Made worse by poorly designed chat bots which just don't work for the most part. 

Pretty much any call centre I have called in the last couple of years, have started with the automated voice saying ' we currently have a high volume of calls/are very busy' 

Ectophile

Maybe it's people phoning about their new hike in charges, starting in March.  They aren't giving much notice.

eskbanker

Ectophile said:

Maybe it's people phoning about their new hike in charges, starting in March.  They aren't giving much notice.

Do you have a link?

Beddie

They have been getting away with high charges and a very average service for a long time. The website is very slow and in need of an overhaul. As the market leader by a long way, they can rely upon the inertia of most people, who will never transfer away from them.

dealyboy

I hate bad customer service and especially poor telephone response ...

... this is the point where I promote a rival, not that their website is any better I'm sure, but they always answer the phone (option 2) within 2 seconds ... and I always rib the person about it ... and I do phone them a lot. They are brilliant, friendly, northern and as you might expect down-to-earth and helpful, and as you might expect I'm a southerner. If they can't deal with your question they will generally put you through to the appropriate person in the benefits team and I've had long chats with their team leader, who says any problems just ask for him.

AJ Bell

Stargunner

Beddie said:

They have been getting away with high charges and a very average service for a long time. The website is very slow and in need of an overhaul. As the market leader by a long way, they can rely upon the inertia of most people, who will never transfer away from them.

I am actually thinking of transferring my Sipp to HL as the £1500 cashback  offer is very tempting. I could leave it with them for a year and then transfer it out again.

dealyboy

Stargunner said:

Beddie said:

They have been getting away with high charges and a very average service for a long time. The website is very slow and in need of an overhaul. As the market leader by a long way, they can rely upon the inertia of most people, who will never transfer away from them.

I am actually thinking of transferring my Sipp to HL as the £1500 cashback  offer is very tempting. I could leave it with them for a year and then transfer it out again.

Link for cashback offer details:
https://www.hl.co.uk/features/cashback#:~:text=Pension transfers,16 March 2023 to qualify.

charlie12525

Stargunner said:

Beddie said:

They have been getting away with high charges and a very average service for a long time. The website is very slow and in need of an overhaul. As the market leader by a long way, they can rely upon the inertia of most people, who will never transfer away from them.

I am actually thinking of transferring my Sipp to HL as the £1500 cashback  offer is very tempting. I could leave it with them for a year and then transfer it out again.

That is how I got lured in. With around 30 individual share holdings in my HL SIPP it is now too expensive for me to sell them all and move on!