Can you not write to HMRC?

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JustAnotherSaver
JustAnotherSaver Posts: 6,709 Forumite
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in ISAs & tax-free savings
I prefer to write to a company for things like this. I get limited break time and i don't really like using it all up being on hold. As there's still a few months before the end of the tax year i'd rather write off, but i can't find an address anywhere.


Basically i subscribed to a S&S ISA with H.Lansdown this tax year. I put in for a transfer to Vanguard and one of the funds was transferred but the other is taking forever. H.Lansdown said 4-6 weeks. It's probably been about 14-16 weeks now. I've chased them & chased them and keep getting palmed off.


So as i'm now paying in to my Vanguard ISA (but will be under the £20k anyway) i asked Vanguard about my position as i will have paid in to the H.Lansdown ISA this tax year, which isn't closed, and also their own ISA. If H.Lansdown would've pulled their finger out and sorted the transfer it'd all be in one, but it's not.


Vanguard said to contact HMRC so that's what i looked in to doing, but can't find an address. Is it telephone only?
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  • p00hsticks
    p00hsticks Posts: 12,820 Forumite
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    https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/income-tax-enquiries-for-individuals-pensioners-and-employees


    Pay As You Earn and Self Assessment
    HM Revenue and Customs
    BX9 1AS
    United Kingdom
  • Alexland
    Alexland Posts: 9,653 Forumite
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    Talk to HL it might be worth just selling the troublesome fund and completing with a cash transfer before the end of the tax year?
  • JustAnotherSaver
    JustAnotherSaver Posts: 6,709 Forumite
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    p00hsticks wrote: »
    https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/income-tax-enquiries-for-individuals-pensioners-and-employees


    Pay As You Earn and Self Assessment
    HM Revenue and Customs
    BX9 1AS
    United Kingdom
    Danke :)


    Alex - i've tried & tried with HL. They're a waste of time. Just constantly delaying.
  • Alexland
    Alexland Posts: 9,653 Forumite
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    Do you suspect the problem is with HL or the fund manager (presumably Vanguard)? Have you tried raising a formal complaint?
  • JustAnotherSaver
    JustAnotherSaver Posts: 6,709 Forumite
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    Apparently it’s the fund manager IIRC.
    I’ll go though my messages after work and post here the reason they gave.

    I haven’t tried a complaint no. With bank accounts and savings accounts I understand them well so know when they mess up and complain about it when they do (I must be in 4 figures through apology money by now easily).

    But with investments I don’t fully understand it so don’t know if someone is taking the piddle or if it’s ‘just one of them things’.
    I tend to only complain (formally at least) when I know I’m 100% correct.
  • badger09
    badger09 Posts: 11,206 Forumite
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    Forgive me if this is a stupid question:o, but when you opened your new ISA with Vanguard and asked them to transfer your ISA from HL, it did hold only Vanguard funds?
    How many different funds were there?
    Does the HL ISA contain only current year subscription?


    I wouldn't bother writing to HMRC at this point. They won't take any action anyway. If your ISA transfer is not complete by 5th April, they might write to you.

    If you're not happy with what HL are telling you, I would send a formal complaint.
  • Alexland
    Alexland Posts: 9,653 Forumite
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    JustAnotherSaver wrote: »
    Apparently it’s the fund manager IIRC.

    Well if it's the fund manager and you are transferring the holding to Vanguard Investor then surely it is a Vanguard fund? If so have you tried seeing if your Vanguard Investor customer services can put pressure on the fund part of their business to support the transfer?

    Still worth a complaint to HL as it might cause them to runs some checks with fresh eyes.

    Alex
  • londoninvestor
    londoninvestor Posts: 1,350 Forumite
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    Alexland wrote: »
    Well if it's the fund manager and you are transferring the holding to Vanguard Investor then surely it is a Vanguard fund? If so have you tried seeing if your Vanguard Investor customer services can put pressure on the fund part of their business to support the transfer?

    Still worth a complaint to HL as it might cause them to runs some checks with fresh eyes.

    Alex

    FWIW (it's just my anecdote) I've transferred a SIPP, an ISA and some unwrapped holdings out of HL in the last 6 months.

    Different fund managers definitely have different timescales - all three of my accounts contained some Fidelity funds, and they were always the first to move, with other fund managers following behind.

    At one point, Lloyds (the recipient platform) fingered HL as the cause of delays, but subsequently told me the delay was on their side (specifically with their agent Cofunds).

    So while it's natural to think HL will drag their heels when you move business away from them, I didn't see any credible evidence of it. In fact they sent me the forms for the SIPP transfer within about three hours of me requesting them by secure message, and that was on Saturday morning!
  • JustAnotherSaver
    JustAnotherSaver Posts: 6,709 Forumite
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    Right having a look at this...


    The 2 funds in question are VLS 40 and Vanguard Emerging Markets..

    There are no other funds in my HL-ISA.
    The VLS40 moved quite quickly.


    Early October: I was messages by HL to say there weren't sufficient funds in my account to cover the transfer. I could either sell some of the funds or put cash in. I did this the next day.


    End of October i got this from HL:

    I can confirm that we are acting upon your instruction to transfer all holdings to Vanguard, and that this transfer is still in progress.

    When transferring funds to another provider, we are required to contact each Fund Manager directly to request that they re-register your holdings to the other provider's platform. As such, we are dependent upon the Fund Manager's own schedule and whether or not they are based within the UK, as this can affect the speed of the transfer process.

    We have successfully re-registered your Vanguard LifeStrategy 40% Equity to your new provider, and this fund is domiciled in the UK. However, the Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index is domiciled in Ireland, and as such, the process of re-registering fund units has been slightly lengthier.

    Please rest assured that we are actively communicating with the Fund Manager, and we will strive to get the Vanguard Emerging Markets fund units transferred as soon as practicable. Please be aware that stock transfers can take between 2 and 6 weeks to complete.


    After i press them in December i get this reply:

    I apologise for the time it has taken to reply to your message.

    We sent the stock transfer request to the Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund Manager on [end of October - i don't want to be too date specific] 2018, but are still yet to receive confirmation that they have actioned the stock transfer request for your fund holding.

    We do state that transfers should take between 2 to 6 weeks, however as transfers between providers is also dependent on other parties (such as the other provider and fund managers), we are not always able to stay within this time frame. In instances such as your transfer, any delay from the other parties may lead to the transfer taking longer than expected to complete.

    Please rest assured that I have requested for our Transfer team to contact the Fund Manager again, and to monitor the progress of the transfer.




    Every time i message Vanguard they basically say we are at the mercy of the fund manager and they are forwarding my messages to the transfer team.




    4 months to transfer is a bit excessive.



    Is my complaint with HL, with Vanguard (since the funds and who i am going to are Vanguard) or is it really just 'one of them things' and tough luck on how long it takes?
  • Alexland
    Alexland Posts: 9,653 Forumite
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    Maybe time to pickup the phone? I would chase both HL and Vanguard Investor at least once a week each.

    I would chase HL to ask what happened as a result of their transfer team making contact with the fund manager in December. Did the fund manager tell HL when they expected to complete their work? Has that date now passed again?

    I would chase Vanguard Investor to ask if they could speak to their fund management arm to understand the cause of the delay. Explain that this has been very disappointing and you had expected Vanguard overall to have provided you a better service.

    In both cases I would politely remind them how long this has taken and ask them about how they propose to escalate the issue to get resolution.

    If I wasn't happy with the rate of progress or meaningful actions then I would raise a formal complaint.

    Alex
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