Transferring to Hargreaves Lansdown, experiences sought.

savit4l8er

Based on previous experiences, this could be quite a long post but without going into all the details of why I strongly hesitate to transfer anything to HL, I would like to ask if anyone has gone through the process of transferring a cash ISA to HL. As it stands, it can be started on their portal but partial transfers require a postal app or call 😭.

For those that may be reading, the transfer of existing funds must first go into the S&S ISA followed by an internal transfer to the cash ISA which can be opened with £1 of new money from your allowance.

The part I would like any experiences of is the transfer time itself. They quote on the call up to six weeks ( I appreciate that is well beyond the 15 working day guide for cash ISA's ) so they are giving themselves plenty of time to account for delays by the other party! 😂

I don't expect it to take anything like that but I have had to address their mistakes in the past so nothing would surprise me. 

Ch1ll1Phlakes

savit4l8er said:

Based on previous experiences, this could be quite a long post but without going into all the details of why I strongly hesitate to transfer anything to HL, I would like to ask if anyone has gone through the process of transferring a cash ISA to HL. As it stands, it can be started on their portal but partial transfers require a postal app or call 😭.

For those that may be reading, the transfer of existing funds must first go into the S&S ISA followed by an internal transfer to the cash ISA which can be opened with £1 of new money from your allowance.

The part I would like any experiences of is the transfer time itself. They quote on the call up to six weeks ( I appreciate that is well beyond the 15 working day guide for cash ISA's ) so they are giving themselves plenty of time to account for delays by the other party! 😂

I don't expect it to take anything like that but I have had to address their mistakes in the past so nothing would surprise me. 

Based on what you've said, the fact they made you transfer first into the S&S ISA means they had longer than the 15 working days, i.e 30 calender days (editted - thanks @eskbanker), as the 15 working days only applies to Cash to Cash ISA transfers

Edit: I’m am considering a Stocks & Shares ISA transfer to HL in the future, so it’s interesting to hear about this in the context of a potential Cash ISA transfer.

savit4l8er

Yes, I considered that but it's still bringing a cash ISA over, there's no stocks or cash held within a S&S ISA to deal with so I question whether the representative was right in what he said or not. From experience, I have little faith in what they say. I've requested callbacks in the past when I have disputed so things, even on this potential transfer and one outwards after it only to be told what I believed was correct. So you're right to point it out and it's likely the case but I'm trying to look beyond it to get timescales because if it has taken anything longer than a few days just because they can, it's not really in the client's interest because so much can change and much interest could be lost getting 1% rather 4% or thereabouts. It's something they should be looking into when they are encouraging folk to open cash ISA's which will in many cases involve transfers from other cash ISA's. Better still, enable funds to go straight too the cash ISA but that's for another day. 

Actual experiences are what I was hoping for. 🙂

HL are quite bureaucratic in many ways, used to be much better but the likes of A J Bell are really taking the lead from my experience. 

savit4l8er

@Ch1ll1Phlakes

Re your possible transfer, if I do it I'll update the thread for you. I expect it's going to be on the portal all in and hope for the best because I really prefer no more conversations 🧱.  I'll am looking to move my S&S ISA away once this is done if that helps in any way. One reason is the charges for dealing are punitive and there is really no need for it these days when some do for free albeit a more simple service.  In my experience over many years, if you can manage without contact and are OK with their fees and format it's manageable but as soon as something a little different is needed like SAYE transfer in or transfer out it can be a problem, I had to get proof they had made a mistake from my bank after denied messing my allowance up, they blamed the bank. 

eskbanker

Ch1ll1Phlakes said:
Based on what you've said, the fact they made you transfer first into the S&S ISA means they had longer than the 15 working days, i.e 30 working days (which is six working weeks), as the 15 working days only applies to Cash to Cash ISA transfers

The requirement is indeed 15 working days for cash to cash, but other ISA transfers should complete within 30 calendar days, not 30 working days:

ISA transfers should take no longer than:

• 15 working days for transfers between cash ISAs
• 30 calendar days for other types of transfer

https://www.gov.uk/individual-savings-accounts/transferring-your-isa

savit4l8er

Thanks @eskbanker, whilst it was more the threat of how long it could be, their reluctance to even go and check their understanding was irritating but looking at what you posted, it kind of makes it worse because they're not working to anything. Two different representatives told me the same timescales as well.  To me it feels like they've giving themselves an extra long time so they can say they said so upfront and they can't be picked up for it. Whatever it is, it's why feel like I'm making a mistake every time I think to do it and I almost know deep down, something else will crop up. I'm already with them but if I was not and knew what I know, I would stay clear,. 

eskbanker

savit4l8er said:

Thanks @eskbanker, whilst it was more the threat of how long it could be, their reluctance to even go and check their understanding was irritating but looking at what you posted, it kind of makes it worse because they're not working to anything. Two different representatives told me the same timescales as well.  To me it feels like they've giving themselves an extra long time so they can say they said so upfront and they can't be picked up for it.

They're an investment business who have cash products as a sideline so it's understandable (if not excusable) that they err on the side of caution when quoting timescales.

savit4l8er said:

Whatever it is, it's why feel like I'm making a mistake every time I think to do it and I almost know deep down, something else will crop up. I'm already with them but if I was not and knew what I know, I would stay clear,. 

I don't understand why you'd continue to deal with a company that you have such a low opinion of?  Putting to one side the question of why you wouldn't move what's already there over to a better provider, why would you want to add more when there's a huge and competitive cash ISA market out there?

savit4l8er

I won't be attempting to go into reasons to make you understand, it's of no consequence to me unless I had wanted your opinion. As for the point you put aside, why bother adding more, it's answered above already. 


I don't agree about them being an investment business with cash products as a sideline, they are promoting it heavily,  it's becoming to big for that to carry any weight.

Thank you for your input. 

eskbanker

savit4l8er said:

I won't be attempting to go into reasons to make you understand, it's of no consequence to me unless I had wanted your opinion. As for the point you put aside, why bother adding more, it's answered above already. 

I can't see an answer to that but accept that it's your prerogative not to discuss why you're doing something that doesn't appear sensible to an outsider, although it seems odd to repeatedly mention your dissatisfaction with them if you feel the need to keep that off limits!

savit4l8er said:

I don't agree about them being an investment business with cash products as a sideline, they are promoting it heavily,  it's becoming to big for that to carry any weight.

It's a fact that their heritage is investment and that this continues to dominate their asset base, even if they're trying to diversify, but the point was that this will influence their processes and staff.

masonic

I transferred into a HL S&S ISA last year from another S&S ISA (in specie). Took about a week and a half in all. Surprisingly hassle free. The dealing charges are expensive, but the cashback covered that and the platform fee for a year with plenty left over. I've not rushed to transfer out again, although if the right incentive comes along I'll be on it.

I've not really seen anything that would tempt me to engage with their savings arm.

savit4l8er

None of this is really answering my question but I'll just show you this from my post above.
I intend to move my S&S ISA. A cash ISA is relatively easy to manage, the money will just stay there in what I believed was easy swap and change option as required. Should have been reasonable easy I thought. 

I don't believe you were being argumentative and understand your points but in trying to help the other responder, it's taken my question right off track. Anyway, I've been studying this for few days, it's reached the final day to decide and I just thought I'd check experiences on here.  I expect they will be limited if any in relation to my question and it's probably pushing me towards opening an account elsewhere,  So if nothing else, it might help someone else. 🙂