Lloyds TSB - Taking the Widows to the Cleaners!

John_M_Business

I had a small savings investment over ten years with Scottish Widows - just £50 per month... it's just about to mature and I have been given my final estimated value...

So, £50 per month over 10 years equals £600 a year, equals £6000 total invested.

Three years ago, about the time that Lloyds TSB consumed Scottish Widows, the estimated future value was was about £5,800, which was a pretty reasonable future value as far as I was concerned... I was thinking that given I was putting another £1,800 into it over three years, I should be looking to somewhere between £7k and £8k, possibly over. ;D

The reality is enormously disappointing. The estimated value after ten years is now £6004.79...
>:(

So, Lloyds has managed to take a good performing investment and shaft it completely. I have paid just under £2k into the account during the last 3 years, and it has gone up by a mere £150.

The total percentage ROI over TEN years is 0.08%; per year (I can't be bothered to work out compound etc.) this means a little less than 0.01% return.

So, 'thank you very much Lloyds' - you've fleeced another customer... for a change. But just rest assured that I will not be dealing with you or your many 'guises' (i.e. companies that you have swallowed and then decimated) at any point in the future. Business or Home.

Goodbye!

Fatboy_NSS

Eh? All investments are likely to have performed badly over the last few years as stock markets across the world have taken a battering. Plus it is arguable that the performance of any fund is influenced by luck more than judgement, and your fund just seems to have had a bad few years. If you have any complaint it sounds like it's with the salesman who sold you the product originally, as your post makes it sound like the risks involved with this investment weren't explained to you adequately.

John_M_Business

Badly, in my mind, is one thing... 'diabolically' is another.

The FTSE 100 share index has dropped from about 5,000 to 4,500 (and is a good parameter for market performance) since 2000 - about 10% altogether. Given that those managing the Scottish Widows fund should have some investment sense (and given that it was sold as a 'safe' policy), you would estimate that the performance in the last three years should be no worse than 10% drop. Given that the performance was taken from the end of 2001, let's call this a 7.5% drop.

For simplicity's sake, take 7.5% from the last valuation and an average of 5% from the money paid in since (because it's spread over three years) and you get a 'worst case scenario' of: £5412 + £1710 = £7122

It is my belief that it is no coincidence that since Lloyds TSB have taken over the fund, there has been mis-management resulting in the awful and risible performance outlined.

It is in Lloyds TSB's interest to recoup the money paid out for Scottish Widows and who better to target but those that have been acquired - especially those who are 'locked in'.

It is also common practice for these high-street rip-off merchants that rely on customer misinformation and inertia to fill their own wallets.

I tried to avoid them but, through acquisition, they came hunting for me! >:(