I received an Invite into the Halifax

sprotbrough

Help – I’ve been a bit of a gullible fool and I’m in a mess. I’ve now become a MoneyLosingExpert
Only just found this Forum and I wish I’d seen it sooner. This is my very first time posting to a forum so please be gentle! It has taken a lot of courage to post & admit my failings.
I received an Invite into the Halifax (warning bells)
I was told my money was not working for me and was losing value (it is now)
Wish I knew about this forum and read your comments, especially Dunstonh, before I fell for their patter, hook line and sinker. I was like a lamb to the slaughter.
dunstonh

05-02-2008 8:23 PM

I quite like the banks selling people naff products. It gives me a job a few years later when I have to sort out the mess.

I'm not joking; I seem to spend more time sorting out tied agent sold rubbish nowadays than dealing with new clean money. LloydsTSB, Halifax and Norwich & Peterborough seem to be the common offenders.

They want you in to flog their products.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=725821

They told me my money was earning less than inflation!
They showed me lots of charts and graphs saying this is how your money could grow!
They said I was a very cautious investor and recommended a Cautious Managed Fund!
Every time I dare look at the value of the investments they recommended, I winch at how much they have gone down (6k in the last month). They even lost £20,000 saying I’d been subject to an ID fraud. I managed to get this back but not before they blamed anybody & everybody in my family, who could have had access to my information.
This whole situation has been a bit of a nightmare and I definitely wish I’d not gone down this route, I write this in the hope it may help others considering these investments.
I just don’t see how my investments are guiding me towards my goals, which are to retire as early as possible. I should have done more research before letting the Halifax loose with the £200,000 it has taken me a lifetime to accumulate. I strongly advise anyone to get a 2nd or 3rd opinion before committing to any investments plans, especially with the Halifax. (My personal opinion)
I suppose, I’m now stuck with these investments and will have to put on hold, my retirement plans until the market light at the end of tunnel is illuminated again. Until then probably more sleepless nights lie ahead.
I would like to seek further guidance, to try and sort out the mess I’m in, but I now have a distrust of the Financial Markets, probably totally unfounded, but where do you turn too.
If as Dunstonh says “I quite like the banks selling people naff products”, “I seem to spend more time sorting out tied agent sold rubbish”, how do they get away with this practice?
I have £130k in 2 Guaranteed Investment Plans which are losing value daily, I suppose I’ll have wait two more years for the five year term of the guarantee to kick in and get my investment back, but the Halifax will have had my money for 5 years and I will have lost any interest that could have been made some ware else.
I also have £33k split between an ISA Investor and a Personal Investment Plan, both of which are losing value daily. I pay £500 monthly into these but they lost £600 last month, as these do not have guarantees, should I stop paying into them and should I also cash them in and cut my losses? I asked the PFA at the Halifax and she said they should pick up when the daffodils come out. (I’m not kidding) They just don’t seem interested or bothered about any losses.
Apologies for the long post, but the stress and worry that I endure over this, is certainly not good for my health. What is worst about this situation is that I never received an invite back into the Halifax, to say your investments are performing very poorly at the moment and maybe re-evaluate them. I was prompted to book an appointment myself after receiving a Don’t Panic type letter from Halifax HQ; this is when I found out how much money I was losing on a regular basis. I know I should have monitored the investments more closely myself, but not really sure how to. (Still don’t)
The Halifax doesn’t show you how to monitor them other than give you a phone number and send an annual report, but this just depresses me more. If this is what can happen to their Cautious Managed Fund, heaven help the people with higher risk funds. I have put my trust in the Halifax and feel totally let down and out of pocket in a big way.
Some details: Debt Free, No Mortgage & have ISAs.
Guaranteed Investment Plan 70k St Andrews Life Assurance
Guaranteed Investment Plan 60k St Andrews Life Assurance
ISA Investor 12k Halifax Investment Fund Managers’ inc Stakeholder
Collective Investment Plan 5k Halifax Investment Fund Managers’
Personal Investment Plan 21k Halifax Life
Thanks in advance for any constructive comments; I already know I’ve been a stupid idiot.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

WOW!!! :eek:

That's a difficult read. I think you would be as well just sticking to the default font until you get the hang of things.

Edit:

If you had done a 'preview post' before posting you would've seen how it was going to be.

go2here.us

Wa..
it's so diffcult to understand..

sprotbrough

Help I’ve been a bit of a gullible fool and I’m in a mess. I’ve now become a MoneyLosingExpert

Only just found this Forum and I wish I’d seen it sooner. This is my very first time posting to a forum so please be gentle! It has taken a lot of courage to post & admit my failings.

I received an Invite into the Halifax (warning bells)

I was told my money was not working for me and was losing value (it is now)

Wish I knew about this forum and read your comments, especially Dunstonh, before I fell for their patter, hook line and sinker. I was like a lamb to the slaughter.

dunstonh 05-02-2008 8:23 PM
________________________________________
I quite like the banks selling people naff products. It gives me a job a few years later when I have to sort out the mess.

I'm not joking; I seem to spend more time sorting out tied agent sold rubbish nowadays than dealing with new clean money. LloydsTSB, Halifax and Norwich & Peterborough seem to be the common offenders.

They want you in to flog their products.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=725821
________________________________________

They told me my money was earning less than inflation!

They showed me lots of charts and graphs saying this is how your money could grow!

They said I was a very cautious investor and recommended a Cautious Managed Fund!

Every time I dare look at the value of the investments they recommended, I winch at how much they have gone down (6k in the last month). They even lost £20,000 saying I’d been subject to an ID fraud. I managed to get this back but not before they blamed anybody & everybody in my family, who could have had access to my information.

This whole situation has been a bit of a nightmare and I definitely wish I’d not gone down this route, I write this in the hope it may help others considering these investments.

I just don’t see how my investments are guiding me towards my goals, which are to retire as early as possible. I should have done more research before letting the Halifax loose with the £200,000 it has taken me a lifetime to accumulate. I strongly advise anyone to get a 2nd or 3rd opinion before committing to any investments plans, especially with the Halifax. (My personal opinion)

I suppose, I’m now stuck with these investments and will have to put on hold, my retirement plans until the market light at the end of tunnel is illuminated again. Until then probably more sleepless nights lie ahead.

I would like to seek further guidance, to try and sort out the mess I’m in, but I now have a distrust of the Financial Markets, probably totally unfounded, but where do you turn too.

If as Dunstonh says
I quite like the banks selling people naff products, I seem to spend more time sorting out tied agent sold rubbish, how do they get away with this practice?

I have £130k in 2 Guaranteed Investment Plans which are losing value daily, I suppose I’ll have wait two more years for the five year term of the guarantee to kick in and get my investment back, but the Halifax will have had my money for 5 years and I will have lost any interest that could have been made some ware else.

I also have £33k split between an ISA Investor and a Personal Investment Plan, both of which are losing value daily. I pay £500 monthly into these but they lost £600 last month, as these do not have guarantees, should I stop paying into them and should I also cash them in and cut my losses? I asked the PFA at the Halifax and she said they should pick up when the daffodils come out. (I’m not kidding) They just don’t seem interested or bothered about any losses.

Apologies for the long post, but the stress and worry that I endure over this, is certainly not good for my health. What is worst about this situation is that I never received an invite back into the Halifax, to say your investments are performing very poorly at the moment and maybe re-evaluate them. I was prompted to book an appointment myself after receiving a Don’t Panic type letter from Halifax HQ; this is when I found out how much money I was losing on a regular basis. I know I should have monitored the investments more closely myself, but not really sure how to. (Still don’t)

The Halifax doesn’t show you how to monitor them other than give you a phone number and send an annual report, but this just depresses me more. If this is what can happen to their Cautious Managed Fund, heaven help the people with higher risk funds. I have put my trust in the Halifax and feel totally let down and out of pocket in a big way.

Some details: Debt Free, No Mortgage & have ISAs.

Guaranteed Investment Plan 70k St Andrews Life Assurance
Guaranteed Investment Plan 60k St Andrews Life Assurance
ISA Investor 12k Halifax Investment Fund Managers’ inc Stakeholder
Collective Investment Plan 5k Halifax Investment Fund Managers’
Personal Investment Plan 21k Halifax Life

Thanks in advance for any constructive comments; I already know I’ve been a stupid idiot.

Sorry about stange looking post, trying again, It was my very first ever post.

dunstonh

If as Dunstonh says
I quite like the banks selling people naff products, I seem to spend more time sorting out tied agent sold rubbish, how do they get away with this practice?

There is a minimum standard and the banks meet that minimum standard. Remember that the banks are a salesforce. Many have dropped the adviser tag from their sales people and the FSA have proposed from 2009 they will not be allowed to use the adviser tag.

They told me my money was earning less than inflation!

Which is true and is a risk with savings accounts. Especially older more obsolete versions. The risk of inflation is higher if you take the interest as income. Over 10 years £100k would drop to around £65k in real terms value if you take the interest as income. So, nothing is risk free.

They said I was a very cautious investor and recommended a Cautious Managed Fund!

Halifax's favourite fund. Nearly all seem to end up in there. Its not very good but it does match your risk profile so nothing wrong there.

I just don’t see how my investments are guiding me towards my goals, which are to retire as early as possible. I should have done more research before letting the Halifax loose with the £200,000 it has taken me a lifetime to accumulate. I strongly advise anyone to get a 2nd or 3rd opinion before committing to any investments plans, especially with the Halifax. (My personal opinion)

Best thing to do is never use a bank or salesforce for advice.

I suppose, I’m now stuck with these investments and will have to put on hold, my retirement plans until the market light at the end of tunnel is illuminated again. Until then probably more sleepless nights lie ahead.

Some you are stuck with but some can be amended very easily.

I would like to seek further guidance, to try and sort out the mess I’m in, but I now have a distrust of the Financial Markets, probably totally unfounded, but where do you turn too.

Distrust is unfair. I would say you should now have a realisation that you chose the wrong distribution channel for your needs. Banks are fine with perhaps £4k in an ISA or £5k in unit trusts. However you should never have gone to a bank for the money you had. You should have gone straight to an IFA.

I have £130k in 2 Guaranteed Investment Plans which are losing value daily, I suppose I’ll have wait two more years for the five year term of the guarantee to kick in and get my investment back, but the Halifax will have had my money for 5 years and I will have lost any interest that could have been made some ware else.

Spot the word guaranteed. GEBs are pretty rubbish normally (one exception at the moment). However ANY investment should be for a term of 5 years or more.

In the short term investments will go down as well as up. 2007 wasnt a great year to start investing or hold low to medium risk investments. However, you dont look at one year in isolation. You have to average it out over the years. You will get a good year, a bad year and a nothing year. You could be up 15% one year, down 5% the next and then up 2% the year after. Or for those that started in 2007 (or even 2006), you have the bad year to begin with.

The guarantee on your products means that if there is a loss, you have some protection on maturity.

I also have £33k split between an ISA Investor and a Personal Investment Plan, both of which are losing value daily. I pay £500 monthly into these but they lost £600 last month, as these do not have guarantees, should I stop paying into them

No. Not quite yet. The ISA allowance is important. Especially with your aim of retirement planning. However, you need to address other issues which this links to. Also, now is a great time to be paying money in monthly. Just not where you are putting it.

I asked the PFA at the Halifax and she said they should pick up when the daffodils come out. (I’m not kidding) They just don’t seem interested or bothered about any losses.

That gives you an indication of the low skills of a typical bank insurance agent. They are not interested in losses or servicing unless you have more money to invest. Banks target and pay staff on new business only. Not servicing existing. Tied agents at the bank are not allowed to recommend switches or changes. It is not within their remit.

The Halifax doesn’t show you how to monitor them other than give you a phone number and send an annual report, but this just depresses me more. If this is what can happen to their Cautious Managed Fund, heaven help the people with higher risk funds. I have put my trust in the Halifax and feel totally let down and out of pocket in a big way.

Actually last year was generally a good year for higher risk investors. It was really only the lower risk and medium risk areas that fell back. However, I will repeat that you dont look at one year in isolation when you invest. Remember it zig zags and you have zagged to begin with and havent seen a zig.

I have put my trust in the Halifax and feel totally let down and out of pocket in a big way.

The Halifax havent done anything wrong and your expectations from them do not match the service they have available. You needed an investment IFA but you chose an insurance salesperson. You also need a bit of eduction on investing which a decent IFA will give you but a sales rep wont.

I suggest you see an IFA at the earliest opportunity. Whilst the GEBs totalling £130k are stuck there until maturity, the ISA investor, collectives and PIP can all be sorted out easily.

northern_munky

The Halifax tried this with me as well just before Christmas, they rang me up and asked me in, as soon as I went through the door all they wanted to do was sell me some stocks and shares ISA's and put a huge chunk of my wages in there every month. Luckily I didn't agree to any of it, but still one hour of my life wasted in there. Wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them now.

sprotbrough

Special thanks to you Dunstonh for the analysis of my post, apologies to the forum for my first post, I typed it in word, cut & pasted, this made it look a mess, plain text in future.

Looks like I’m stuck with the GEBs, I’ll have to wait in hope of some zigs, but probably more zags to come, the way the markets are looking at the moment.

Spot on with:

I would say you should now have a realisation that you chose the wrong distribution channel for your needs

I know how much the Halifax will be involved in my future monetary plans!!

You’re right distrust was a bit harsh, heat of the moment, sorry if offended.

I’m now looking to see if I can find an IFA in my area asap, so many in the yellow pages, any pointers to how I could short list the choice?

You said:
Some you are stuck with but some can be amended very easily

and if I should stop paying, you said:
No. Not quite yet. The ISA allowance is important. Especially with your aim of retirement planning. However, you need to address other issues which this links to. Also, now is a great time to be paying money in monthly. Just not where you are putting it.

Could you please enlighten me as to any amendments and the other issues you mention, especially to NOT stop paying into them even though they are losing as fast as I put it in?

I hope you are able to elaborate and offer comments within the bounds of the forum, especially what I should be saying to the IFA and what he may possibly suggest, with regards to the ISA Investor, Collectives and PIP.

I thank you very much for taking the time to reply. It is very much appreciated.

[Deleted User]

sprotbrough wrote: »

Special thanks to you Dunstonh for the analysis of my post, apologies to the forum for my first post, I typed it in word, cut & pasted, this made it look a mess, plain text in future.

Hi,

when I do anything in Word, before posting here, I just change the font to Verdana 10, same as used here, then copy and paste.