Advice on moving away from Hargreaves Lansdown please.

FIREDreamer

pensionpawn said:

FIREDreamer said:

pensionpawn said:

Thanks for all the comments. As of today my wife is still unable to request her UFPLS payment as HL will not send out the forms through the post or electronically. They will not commit to a date and are unsympathetic to how they are impacting household finances. Being unable to access your own funds is unacceptable so I'm putting in a complaint, will try to directly contact the CEO and will be contacting the pensions ombudsman.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to pressurise them to get their act together? It's all well and good moving to another platform however she needs her monthly payment this week.

I have always found HL do a decent job and they are cheap for me as I only use Investment Trusts and ETFS. They have always paid my PCLS promptly.

Have they actually said why there is a problem with your wife’s UFPLS?

Yes. The budget (7th March) modified pension limits however they posted to clients now out of date forms on 8th April which they didn't spot until the completed forms were returned and binned. We immediately said send us the new forms in the post, or even better, electronically. They said we can't as they're not updated (one month after the budget...) yet. We said you're having a laugh, we have regular bills to pay. They said no we're not, and tough, you'll get your money when we're ready. This is a service we pay for....

What limits have changed that affect UFPLS? It’s not an option I have ever used so may be unaware of any issues.

pensionpawn

FIREDreamer said:

pensionpawn said:

FIREDreamer said:

pensionpawn said:

Thanks for all the comments. As of today my wife is still unable to request her UFPLS payment as HL will not send out the forms through the post or electronically. They will not commit to a date and are unsympathetic to how they are impacting household finances. Being unable to access your own funds is unacceptable so I'm putting in a complaint, will try to directly contact the CEO and will be contacting the pensions ombudsman.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to pressurise them to get their act together? It's all well and good moving to another platform however she needs her monthly payment this week.

I have always found HL do a decent job and they are cheap for me as I only use Investment Trusts and ETFS. They have always paid my PCLS promptly.

Have they actually said why there is a problem with your wife’s UFPLS?

Yes. The budget (7th March) modified pension limits however they posted to clients now out of date forms on 8th April which they didn't spot until the completed forms were returned and binned. We immediately said send us the new forms in the post, or even better, electronically. They said we can't as they're not updated (one month after the budget...) yet. We said you're having a laugh, we have regular bills to pay. They said no we're not, and tough, you'll get your money when we're ready. This is a service we pay for....

What limits have changed that affect UFPLS? It’s not an option I have ever used so may be unaware of any issues.

I believe it's to do with LTA being abolished athough the 25% TFLS still being anchored to the old LTA value. I told them that that is never going to be an issue for my wife. Didn't make any difference, wait for the new forms...

squirrelpie

It sounds like your issue is to do with the government passing legislation that isn't fit for purpose, rather than with a pension firm following the government's instructions. I suggest raising a complaint with your MP rather than with HL.

pensionpawn

squirrelpie said:

It sounds like your issue is to do with the government passing legislation that isn't fit for purpose, rather than with a pension firm following the government's instructions. I suggest raising a complaint with your MP rather than with HL.

I disagree. HL posted forms in error well after the budget and have taken almost five weeks to change a paragraph or two in an otherwise identical process. This is on top of bungling many previous withdrawals including recalling a payment in error.

OldBeanz

Had 2 UFPLS's in the last month from both tax years, the first being the first ever payment, both went smoothly.
HL are not as good as previous but miles ahead of any other company I deal with.

pensionpawn

OldBeanz said:

Had 2 UFPLS's in the last month from both tax years, the first being the first ever payment, both went smoothly.
HL are not as good as previous but miles ahead of any other company I deal with.

....and this is the important issue that I'm trying to determine in this sector....

Jez56uk

Fidelity now offer UFPLS and FAD withdrawals online.  Fairly simple to do although there are lots of "tick-box" regulatory questions that have to answered first. Regarding the LTA, part of the application requires a self certification that in taking the money, the transaction will not result in exceeding 90% of the LTA. Payment is fairly quick if you already have cash available in the SIPP

Hoenir

El_Torro said:

 Not only that but they only do managed funds, which in my experience do not outperform global trackers

Few funds are likely to have done so with the benefit of hindsight. Worth understanding why.