Transfers FROM Vanguard, what's the deal please?

granta

masonic said:

granta said:

masonic said:

xylophone said:

I did think about sending a secure message but I can't see anything useful coming back other than something woolly like "we aim to action all transfer requests as quickly as possible".

But surely after ten months it is time to take action?

Who is your new SIPP provider?

You've received a reply from a different poster than the one who started a transfer last April. They should certainly be escalating their complaint to the FOS and not putting up with any nonsense about having to wait for the transfer to complete before the complaint can be dealt with.

What action could I realistically take?
I posted on another thread (SIPP transfer delays - complaint query — MoneySavingExpert Forum) about whether I should escalate to FOS but wasn't sure if that would make the transfer happen any quicker. The new provider has now escalated a complaint to the custodian.

Thanks for the link to the other thread. The FOS may be able to bring additional pressure to bear on the providers to sort it out. I'm quite shocked that after all this time, nobody has suggested aborting this transfer and instead transferring in cash with the firm to compensate for any costs and loss due to time out of the market. The FOS might be able to get something like that agreed. There are published decisions where customers have taken matters into their own hands and the FOS has later got involved and awarded them compensation on this basis, but I wouldn't recommend that, rather discuss and agree it in advance.

Unless I'm missing something, both ceding SIPP provider and custodian are part of the same group. FOS also has discretion to report areas of concern to the FCA (whereas you as a consumer cannot). Issues like this are a barrier to customers changing product, and removal of such barriers is a key consumer outcome the FCA expects firms to achieve.

Thanks. I have to say I am not that knowledgeable about FOS and how they would regard such an issue. The posts on my other thread didn't seem to suggest that an FOS referral would help matters. But I think I might now just submit the complaint to them to get it in the queue and hope that they might respond.

I would prefer to do it in specie though to minimise any loss as otherwise it is gamble trying to get costs awarded retrospectively. And I do wish for my holdings to stay in VEVE so selling into cash doesn't make sense.

boingy

granta said:

boingy said:

granta said:

boingy said:

I've been pretty happy with Vanguard. I think much of their non-phone support is done from the US or similar so you typically ask a question via secure message and the answer is there the next morning, or late that evening if you can be bothered to check.

That might have been the case over a year ago but in recent times, it is taking at least 6-8 days to get a response, and the reply is usually inadequate and just elicits a further message from me.

I messaged them last Monday and had a reply on Tuesday and the reply was complete. They have never take more than 2 days to respond to anything I've asked them. I get that you are peeved with them for screwing up your transfer but that is definitely not the norm,.

It's possible though that my messages are taking longer to reply to because they have nothing much to update on! As I said, the messages prior to this transfer issue were not taking as long

Don't get me wrong. I'm not condoning their actions regarding your transfer. Clearly they have messed up in some way and they should be pulling out all of the stops to put it right. I just don't think it is a typical example of their service. If I were you I'd probably try to cancel the transfer and start it again. The FOS complaint route is a possibility but they tend to be very slow, which just prolongs the stress!

Lifematters

I transferred SIPP from Vanguard to my works CS pension. It took over a year and finally completed a few days before Christmas. 

Vanguard paid me £700 due to their mishandling but I believe I lost more because of the delays.  I have complaint with ombudsman which I started around August 2023.

Aminatidi

So there seems to be a theme with SIPPs.

What about ISAs?

dharm999

I transferred my isa from Vanguard to Bestinvest, took just over a month.  Transfer was in specie, three funds.  Two transferred without any issues, the third took nearly a month.  Vanguard said they had done the transfer, Bestinvest said they couldn’t find it, and needed a reference for the transfer so they could track it down.  No idea who was at fault, but Vanguard were very slow in responding to secure messages, Bestinvest were much quicker to respond to my emails.

K_S

ISA: I did an in-specie transfer from Vanguard to iWeb 1-2 years ago. I can't remember anything specific about it so I assume it went through in reasonable time.

SIPP: Currently in the process of transferring in-specie from Vanguard to II. I kicked this off in September, it's still ongoing. As it's an in-specie transfer, I'm not overly bothered tbh though the delay is costing me the difference between Vanguard and II fees (nil for the first year). If the delays go far enough that it leaves me significantly out of pocket, I will raise a formal complaint and get Vanguard to make me whole on that front.

Aminatidi said:

So there seems to be a theme with SIPPs.

What about ISAs?

granta

Lifematters said:

I transferred SIPP from Vanguard to my works CS pension. It took over a year and finally completed a few days before Christmas. 

Vanguard paid me £700 due to their mishandling but I believe I lost more because of the delays.  I have complaint with ombudsman which I started around August 2023.

Did they ever explain what the cause of the delays were? And has the FOS responded or still in a queue? I'm wondering if they can do anything if you've already accepted a compensation payment but I don't know how these things work.

masonic

granta said:

I'm wondering if they can do anything if you've already accepted a compensation payment but I don't know how these things work.

If the compensation paid (which often is unconditional) is just based on the bank's opinion of what is fair. The customer can disagree and escalate a complaint. They don't have to refund the compensation already paid while the complaint is being adjudicated. If the FOS decides the compensation already paid was insufficient, then they can award an additional sum, taking into account what has already been paid. Alternatively, they might uphold the complaint, but decide the firm has already been reasonable and award nothing further.

Lifematters

granta said:

Lifematters said:

I transferred SIPP from Vanguard to my works CS pension. It took over a year and finally completed a few days before Christmas. 

Vanguard paid me £700 due to their mishandling but I believe I lost more because of the delays.  I have complaint with ombudsman which I started around August 2023.

Did they ever explain what the cause of the delays were? And has the FOS responded or still in a queue? I'm wondering if they can do anything if you've already accepted a compensation payment but I don't know how these things work.

Throughout the transfer process I was given different reasons for the delay, some of which were lies. When the complaints team investigated they accepted there were many failures on their part. 

I did not accept any compensation from Vanguard, they just paid the money into my bank account.  I’ve not yet heard anything from FOS but I did update them when the transfer completed a few weeks back

granta

Lifematters said:

granta said:

Lifematters said:

I transferred SIPP from Vanguard to my works CS pension. It took over a year and finally completed a few days before Christmas. 

Vanguard paid me £700 due to their mishandling but I believe I lost more because of the delays.  I have complaint with ombudsman which I started around August 2023.

Did they ever explain what the cause of the delays were? And has the FOS responded or still in a queue? I'm wondering if they can do anything if you've already accepted a compensation payment but I don't know how these things work.

Throughout the transfer process I was given different reasons for the delay, some of which were lies. When the complaints team investigated they accepted there were many failures on their part. 

I did not accept any compensation from Vanguard, they just paid the money into my bank account.  I’ve not yet heard anything from FOS but I did update them when the transfer completed a few weeks back

Thanks. Did the complaints team start investigating before the transfer completed? They've said to me they will only do so after the transfer completes. Quite different from other providers where a complaint has stimulated some urgency and action!