Transfer from wtw taking ages

javixeneize

hi

I have started a transfer from wtw to another provider more than 8 weeks ago and still has not been completed

wtw says my funds were sold on 7th April but the new provider still has not received the funds. Since then, the fund has grown around 5%

What can I do here? Is that timeframe reasonable? Am I entitled to a financial compensation due to the financial loss?

Brie

lots discussed here today….

WillisTowerWatson slow admin — MoneySavingExpert Forum

and you must remember that this is the busiest time of year for any pension scheme so things are always going to be delayed.

javixeneize

“and you must remember that this is the busiest time of year for any pension scheme so things are always going to be delayed.”

according to fca consumer duty that’s no longer a valid excuse. Anyway I started my transfer in early March so they let it slip into the busiest period of the year

so, my main question is about the financial loss. Would it be covered by them? Am I entitled to that?

JoeCrystal

No, you are not… Transfers takes time. Months even.

javixeneize

why not? I am reading some cases in the pension ombudsman where it ruled favourably for the requester.

https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/case-study/transfer-delay

also this https://www.addleshawgoddard.com/en/insights/insights-briefings/2024/pensions/sipp-and-ssas-update-august-2024/ombudsman-rules-on-measure-of-loss-in-transfer-value-delay-case/

so my understanding is that if i can prove that their delay caused a financial loss (my funds were sold on 7th April and still have not been transferred, and I can’t find any rationale behind that), then they should cover that gap

since then the funds have grown a 5% so clearly there is a financial loss caused by their delay

Veloflyer

I did a similar thing with WTW which was a fairly basic/fundamental transfer of funds from a DC company pension administered by them to AJ Bell. It took 10 months never mind 8 weeks, despite both myself and Bell reacting almost immediately to any request from them.

Unfortunately what you and I may consider an unacceptable delay, others - particularly WTW - see as normal service. This may have been acceptable if it was justified, but I am afraid I never received any justification, explanation or reason when I pressed them. Welcome to the UK I suppose…. I can only advise frequently chasing them up, perhaps lodge a formal and properly orchestrated complaint and consider redress via the pensions ombudsman.

javixeneize

the key for me is the last paragraph. I have already lodged a formal complain, which they will ignore for sure. That’s why ombudsman exists, so, did you raise a case with them?

PensionsStuff

What is their response for the delay, what do they say is happening now / since 7th April?

Marcon

I have started a transfer from wtw to another provider more than 8 weeks ago and still has not been completed

Anyway I started my transfer in early March

Early March to 20 April is 6 or 7 weeks, not 'more than 8 weeks ago'.

so they let it slip into the busiest period of the year

You will have been placed in a queue for your request to be actioned. If you didn't start your request until a few weeks before the tax year end/Easter, that queue is likely to be rather longer than at other times of the year. Sometimes I wonder about the FCA's grasp of reality…

 I have already lodged a formal complain, which they will ignore for sure.

Highly unlikely they'll ignore it, but it's premature and frankly a bit OTT at such an early stage. The transfer process isn't like a simple withdrawal/transfer of funds from a 'normal' investment account. Pension transfers are hedged around with restrictions aimed at protecting the consumer, and those protections often cause considerable aggro where the member concerned doesn't realise (?why should they) quite how onerous they are.

I can only advise frequently chasing them up, perhaps lodge a formal and properly orchestrated complaint and consider redress via the pensions ombudsman.

Might be better if OP left them to get on with their job and once the funds are with the receiving scheme, that would be the moment to make a formal complaint/request for an explanation of the delay. OP would only be entitled to compensation if the delays were unreasonable and they can demonstrate that they've lost out as a direct result of those unreasonable delays. If the transfer process raised concerns which the administrators needed to check out (known in the trade as amber flags), then there may be nothing unreasonable about the delay.

javixeneize

What is their response for the delay, what do they say is happening now / since 7th April?

their only explanation is that I don’t know how this works, they are the experts and the disinvestment process takes up to 3 weeks.

I challenged and said that process should be 2 or 3 days, just to sell the funds and keep saying I was wrong

anyway for any reason this has just happened the day after raising a complain with them. Magic…

Veloflyer

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81971342#Comment_81971342

No - my job got in the way of doing stuff that I ought really not to be doing. However, I was so exasperated with them that I did set out a case to present to the obudsman and was on the cusp of so doing just before they sorted it.