"Barnett Waddingham is diabolically bad SIPP manager"

I transferred my SIPP to Barnet Waddingham (BW) because my previous provider did not allow certain investments. BW is diabolically bad and treats client service as an annoying inconvenience to be dispensed with. On 16th February, I received notice from Interactive Investor that it would cease providing its Pension Trading Account service and thus clients were to transfer their accounts elsewhere. After many attempts, I managed to get hold of my BW relationship manager, MC. He assured me that he would find an alternative PTA provider and would email me to let me know. That, as always in the past, never happened. MC is a disgrace to his profession. After waiting for several weeks, I contacted BW again and was put through to someone who assured me that he would come back with the information I needed. I also asked for a change of relationship manager because MC was absolutely useless. The person I spoke with agreed to pass my message to his superiors. It has been 1.5 months now and nothing has happened. Today, I tried calling BW again but, of course, their robot informed me that all the agents were tied up… This happens all the time. If you’re looking for a SIPP provider, the last firm you should go to should be BW. It is pathetic beyond belief and specialises in adding insult to injury - a true disgrace to its industry.

UPDATE: Since BW replied to this review promising to get in touch, I have heard nothing from them. Pathetic! Avoid Barnet Waddingham like the plague!

"Can’t get the money due from my…"

Can’t get the money due from my pension. They don’t want to pay out, they tell me that I have had other payments from other pensions so I do not qualify. These other pensions have been checked and verified by them ( lies and codswallop!!). Hard to get to speak to anyone, often it feels like they’ve put the phone down.
Unprofessional and seemingly rather dodgy.
I feel that this company needs further investigation

"Never calls back"

I managed to speak to someone around 10 days ago and needed further information. I have been calling every day since then and left messages, been transferred through, been cut off, been told he will call me back and nothing. They obviously dont need the business. Going to look for another SIPP provider.

"Still waiting for pension 8 months after fathers death"

My father died in August after a brief stint in a care home with my mother. We are yet to receive any form of widows pension from his ex British Steel pension because of these Muppets. It is one excuse after another and the last message was that they were so sorry and it was waiting for a letter to be authorised, well sorry doesn't pay care home bill for mum, now seeking legal advice.

"Is this being run from a back bedroom?"

Feels like Barnett Waddignham is being run as a spare-time business by a bloke who has lost interest.

Any requests gets an automatic answer that warns of delays in responding (seemingly unchanged since the depths of Covid). No hope of a prompt and substantive acknowledgment, let alone prompt action.

I lodged a formal complaint about this repeated unresponsiveness, and got no response. Rang them, and spoke to a receptionist who, after 13 minutes, had to admit that she could find nobody to handle what was now a complaint about a complaint. I gave them a full working day in which to make contact if I wasn't to go to the Ombudsdman - and they responded in two working days.

But that was a rare exception: a subsequent application for a drawdown payment has gone unacknowledged, so I am going to have to waste time chasing to see if they have received and actioned it, as time is running out at the end of the tax year.

If you aren't already a customer, do think very carefully about whether you want to sign up to this level of service.

[FOLLOWUP NOTE 9 March - it is perhaps telling that Barnett Waddingham were substantially quicker to respond to the above review than they have recently been in responding to my requests to them as a customer!]

"Totally Shambolic Organisation"

My husband is taking early retirement due to my poor health and contacted his occupational pension provider back in June to ask for a pension forecast for retiring in January 2023. He was told that this would be sent to him in the next 10 days. He was then informed that Barnett Waddingham had been appointed as new Trustees and would be responsible for providing this. He made numerous calls between August and December which resulted in nothing other than excuses, lies and downright incompetence. This ranged from “we have not yet received the records” to “I am working on it at this moment and it will be in the post tomorrow” Needless to say it didn’t arrive and funnily enough they were working on it every time he phoned, which ended up being on a weekly basis! The forecast eventually arrived in December too late for him to take retirement in January due to a three month notice period. He called them in early January stating that he wished to retire in April to be told that they had to reissue the forecast and paperwork. He expressed concern that it would take so long again and was assured this would not be the case and that it would be done quickly. On the basis of this he handed his notice in at work. We are now at the end of Feb and not surprisingly still no forecast or paperwork to claim his pension. He has been calling weekly again all through February and getting the same pack of lies on every occasion as he got last year. We are now in a position where he is five weeks from retirement date with nothing in place for his pension and absolutely no confidence whatsoever that he has any hope in hell of getting it on his retirement date. This is totally unacceptable that their failures are risking leaving their pensioners with no employment, no income and no lump sum to pay off a mortgage! I really cannot find the words to express how worrying and upsetting this is and it is not the appalling service that anyone should have to suffer at the hands of what is supposed to be a professional organisation trusted with managing huge Company Pension Funds. We could not have avoided the situation we find ourselves in but for anyone considering dealing with this organisation in any shape or form all I can say is AVOID

"Abysmal service from this company as a…"

Abysmal service from this company as a pension scheme administrator - who seem determined to do absolutely everything possible to stop clients accessing their own pension benefits. 4 Months and counting now!!

"Attempts to 'bounce' SIPP investors onto an insurance policy they don't need."

I and my fellow SIPP investors have experienced endless problems with this company over many years. the majority now revolve around bullying communication from its Property Team which constantly tries to devise ludicrous scams to force us onto its own block property insurance, despite our properties all having perfectly adequate insurance cover. they are clearly on some sort of incentive deal with their insurer. We've complained bitterly but they just won't behave. We are going to have to refer the issue to the FCA for the second time.
I have also recently tried to correspond with Barnett Waddingham about a share trading account I have within my SIPP. This is quite an important issue. I wrote on the 3rd March to the mystery standard email address we are provided with (they don't provide an actual account manager contact) and received a standard response suggesting I'd receive a proper response within 5 to 10 days. It's now the 27th March and I haven't heard a peep. I just can't get a service out of these people.

"Awful service after our mother passed…"

Awful service after our mother passed away in October. Now the end of January and this company seem to put everything in the way of paying out towards her funeral cost. Still no payment received, just another letter via snail mail during postal strikes asking for national insurance details, after 3 months!!

"Thanks for your patience!"

I wanted to retrieve my log in details for a pension and would like to praise Lewis of the Glasgow office for his patience while I followed his instructions.