Pension transfers also have a dismal record. Transfer times have increased, despite every technology advancement.
Prominent offenders, according to the Origo Transfer index (April 1 2022 to March 31 2023), include People’s Partnership (formerly The People’s Pension), whose overall transfer time took 37.1 days, closely followed by LV, which recorded an average transfer time of 33.5 days, and NEST at 20.7 days.
In any delay, pension values can change by tens of thousands of pounds. Not my idea of good service.
Conclusion
Many unsung financial services heroes (including most FTAdviser readers) routinely give outstanding service, but few people are motivated to sing their praises.
It is only when things go wrong that people write to journalists, or complain on social media. We usually only hear from disgruntled customers when things go wrong, rarely when companies deserve our praise.
Even so, the litany of failings you can find on the Financial Ombudsman Service website (79,921 new complaints in H2 2022) shows why an experienced financial adviser, with contacts at his finger tips and clout to match, can work miracles.
If, like King Charles himself, advisers can live up to this noble ambition, a rosy future is in store. Failure to do so could imperil their very survival.
Stephanie Hawthorne is a freelance journalist
