Hargreaves Lansdown Annuity Service

Halfmanhalfbiscuit66

I'm new to this forum and am also new to this level of disappointment in HL services. I have used them for years to manage ISAs and have always found their customer care exceptional.
Recently however ,my wife applied to buy an annuity with the proceeds of her HL managed SIPP. It is a six figure sum and the process started in November. As of today we are still no closer to a conclusion and stress levels are rising. I have read that the upturn in annuity rates caught companies unprepared with too few staff with annuity handling experience to deal with the sudden surge. Our experience goes way beyond that!
I will not go into the details but 5 months down the line we have already had two compensation payments because of delays and a serious complaint has been registered. The Ombudsman is the next port of call. Amongst other errors , details of my wife's medical history have been altered since she completed the application form.
My wife has trusted a considerable amount of money with HL to fund her retirement but cannot currently access a penny of it. Endless phone calls have led to several unfulfilled promises but perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the whole affair has been the fact that it is impossible to contact anybody directly. All calls go through a 'help'(?) desk and even though her case is already with the complaints department we have been told that they are not 'customer facing' and so cannot be contacted directly. The helpdesk can contact them but the people dealing with the complaint always contact us later rather than there and then.
As I say, a complaint has been registered with HL but that patently hasn't done anything in speeding things up. The Ombudsman gives HL eight weeks to settle a complaint before they will accept any complaint from us and it is only four weeks since the complaint was registered. I am seriously thinking of going to The Sunday Times/ Financial Times/Observer money pages with the case because the service (?) really has been that awful but have no idea how to start such a process.
I am in the process of switching ISAs and other savings from HL but I wonder if there is anyone else who has had similar-or different-experience.

dunstonh

 It is a six figure sum and the process started in November. 

In November, only Canada Life had major servicing issues.  L&G didn't have their issues until late December and they are taking 2-3 months to get to paid.   Standard Life, Scottish Widows and Just are not having any notable issues.

Amongst other errors , details of my wife's medical history have been altered since she completed the application form.

That is not good unless further medical information was obtained or corrected issues.

My wife has trusted a considerable amount of money with HL to fund her retirement but cannot currently access a penny of it.

That is unlikely to be down to HL though.   

Endless phone calls have led to several unfulfilled promises but perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the whole affair has been the fact that it is impossible to contact anybody directly. 

The intermediary is largely a passenger once the application is submitted.     They will obtain information from the annuity provider but the problem ones have been getting their timescales completely wrong.

 I am seriously thinking of going to The Sunday Times/ Financial Times/Observer money pages with the case because the service (?) really has been that awful but have no idea how to start such a process.

Why are you complaining to HL about delays with the annuity provider?

 perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the whole affair has been the fact that it is impossible to contact anybody directly. All calls go through a 'help'(?) desk and even though her case is already with the complaints department we have been told that they are not 'customer facing' and so cannot be contacted directly. The helpdesk can contact them but the people dealing with the complaint always contact us later rather than there and then.

When dealing with a large organisation, you don't get that personalised service.    It is somewhat ironic that your wife has paid more in charges than a personalised service but, to be fair, a personalised service cannot change the issues that annuity providers are having at the moment.

zagfles

I was looking into buying an annuity through HL but they warned me of long delays and the possibility of the delays exceeding the quote validity time and so having to be requoted. So I shelved the idea and instead bought an index linked gilts ladder to last a few years, plus some longer dated IL gilts to act as a hedge against changes in annuity rates, with the plan to buy an annuity in a few years time when hopefully things will have settled down a bit.

I think the problem is hardly anyone was buying annuities a few years ago when rates were so bad, now that they've improved a lot far more people want them and providers can't cope with this sudden upturn in demand. 

FIREDreamer

I bought an annuity via Hargreaves Lansdown last October, had a few issues (funds being returned to the SIPP twice) as they gave the annuity provider the wrong reference (twice) but we got there in the end - hence I had the courage to opt to retire in June this year.

My salary is fully going into a pension for the remaining time working to top up my work pension (Sal sac to minimum wage) and SIPP (80% of what’s left) and all within the annual allowance so am effectively living on my annuity and two defined benefit pensions now.

Halfmanhalfbiscuit66

Thank you for the responses.
Clearly I cannot go into all of the details of this case as a) it would take me about a week to write (b) there are issues of confidentiality.
To address a few points from the responses above .
1. At the initial stage my wife was given a 6-8 week turnaround /completion timeline. We are now somewhere between three and four times that.
2. My wife has had no contact at all with the provider and so we have always assumed that our contract is with HL and that they should be working on our behalf. This, they are certainly NOT doing.
3. I did not include all the details regarding the medical information but suffice it to say that HL were advising my wife to accept a rate that was based on incorrect medical data. It was my wife who found that the data had changed and so affected the rate on offer. Because of all the malarkey, my wife has still not even been able to accept a rate.
4. The evidence we have is that the annuity provider is turning correspondence around a great deal quicker than HL and that HL are neither chasing things or acting on my wife's behalf. The way in which phone calls progress suggests that HL feel the same as each one is a series of apologies and admissions that the service has been very poor.
We watch and wait.

dunstonh

1. At the initial stage my wife was given a 6-8 week turnaround /completion timeline. We are now somewhere between three and four times that.

That is the typical period.  Indeed, often less than 4 weeks.   However, that assumes the provider doesn't create delays.   That delay, if the provider's fault, is not something you would complain to the HL about.  You would complain to the provider. 

2. My wife has had no contact at all with the provider and so we have always assumed that our contract is with HL and that they should be working on our behalf. This, they are certainly NOT doing.

Yes, HL are your go-between, but there is nothing HL can do if the provider is playing up.  Indeed, in similar cases, I have often got the client to contact the provider as some providers seem to take more notice if the client is complaining to them.

3. I did not include all the details regarding the medical information but suffice it to say that HL were advising my wife to accept a rate that was based on incorrect medical data. It was my wife who found that the data had changed and so affected the rate on offer. Because of all the malarkey, my wife has still not even been able to accept a rate.

That is an issue that affects HL and seems strange as normally the client accepts the rate before the application is submitted.  Not after.

4. The evidence we have is that the annuity provider is turning correspondence around a great deal quicker than HL and that HL are neither chasing things or acting on my wife's behalf. The way in which phone calls progress suggests that HL feel the same as each one is a series of apologies and admissions that the service has been very poor.
We watch and wait.

Who is the annuity provider?    
One of the providers who was giving the best rates in Nov-Dec is notorious for saying this is done or being done and it will complete in x days only for it to go past that point.  Then when you ask again, they repeat it will be x days only for it to go past again.      Their email response times have been 14 days.   

I had one from them where they got the application.  It took them nearly 2 weeks to request the money.  They got the money within 4 days but then took nearly two weeks to then ask for identification.  The passport copy was supplied the next day and then two weeks later the provider asked for proof of address.   I moaned why they didn't ask for that in the first place but gave it to them.    Never got a reply.   I phoned them about a week later and was told they had everything and they would pay it within 2 weeks.   2 weeks later the client phoned them and was told they would pay it within 2 weeks.    2 weeks later still nothing.   A complaint was raised with the provider.  Still not resolved but the annuity has finally paid.  When phoning them over the weeks, it often meant being on hold for over an hour or getting an answerphone message and hanging up.

So, whilst you feel HL didn't do chasing, they may have been but getting similar responses.   I am just making sure you are focusing your ire on the right place.

Typically, when the application leaves the intermediary and goes to the provider, the intermediary barely does anything after that in the majority of cases.  Its between the two providers (ceding and receiving schemes).

Halfmanhalfbiscuit66

Thanks again for your response. Things have moved on today as more departments within HL are now involved. Sadly their involvement has been typically clumsy and raises serious compliance questions. I am going to stop posting on this matter until-or unless-I have something that might help others.