"Somewhat surprised by the poor ratings …"

Somewhat surprised by the poor ratings of Selftrade here by some.
I have been a long-term user of Selftrade (even before it was acquired by Equiniti) and have built up quite a portfolio for me and my family with Selftrade, including ISAs and Child Trust Funds.
Among the many benefits I have found with Selftrade are their very useful Watchlist and Portfolio functions, the ability to very quickly see the valuation and profitability of each investment and the fact that I have been able to trade on any market (here and abroad) and any instrument; shares, ETFs, Corporate Bonds etc.
I have always been able to trade any stock time at any time (unlike some other trading platforms) with effective tools to set or limit my buy/sell price.

"Fast efficient service and no hassles"

I have been with selftrade for over 10 years and never had a problem with any transactions. I find the site easy to use and efficient as well as speedy. All repayments have been made quickly without hassle and the advice pages are useful when I need them although that is not often to be fair.

"Apalled"

I have been with Selftrade for over 10 years but I suspect not for much longer. The web site since the last change of ownership is slow, clunky and poorly presented.

I have just become more active again and discover there is no way of measuring the overall performance of portfolio and the data for individual stocks is limited and all over the place (unlike my SIPP provider).

Also I have problems with all two letter tickers: BA, BP, NG and the like show as BA/ rather than BA. It means market data cannot be pulled up without doing an extra search (abysmal interface). I have not tried trading them but I expect problems as I assume the ticker is the key on which data is matched.

I will probably bite the bullet and take the £15 a line hit for peace of mind and better ability to manage the portfolios (mine and my wife's). Just need to research providers, I would be happy to put it in my SIPP provider's hand but do not want all eggs in one basket.

I have raised these issues by secure message it will be interesting to see if I get a response before I request transfer! I worry about how smoothly that will go.

"I've been a customer for over 10 years …"

I've been a customer for over 10 years and find the platform easy to use to buy and sell shares (I've not used it for unit trusts). It's ideal as I don't need any chitty chatty advice.
Charges are OK. Online deals are £11.75 and phone deals are £17.50 which has improved recently from £40. I trade at least once a quarter on my ISA, so I don't incur any annual management fees. Customer service staff are always helpful over the phone. If you wish to attend AGMs, there is no charge for a Letter of Representation which other brokers charge for.
I use Selftrade purely as a trading platform and don't use it for watchlists or other sources of information.
As an execution only service, I'm a happy long-term customer.

"if I could give one star I would"

if I could give one star I would, Shocking website, nothing works, no data etc, unhelpful staff and takes days to get back to your messages.

"Quite frankly"

Quite frankly, the Selftrade website is dreadful. I cannot access any company data, charts or news. Nor can I open my Watchlists. Not much point in a Watchlist if I can't watch it! I've tried on 3 different computers with different browsers to check that it's not 'user error' but the same problems persist. I have complained to Selftrade a number of times but to no avail other than "we are aware of problems etc etc". I want out, but don't see why I should have to pay hefty transfer charges when it is their failure to provide a functional platform.

"Many problems with website"

Many problems with website. Difficult to look up company info'

Once you've looked up one company the next typed in will not appear

Has improved of late, but still below average.

"They really are rubbish"

They really are rubbish. Submitting limit orders online is pointless - they seem to sit there untriggered whilst plenty of trading goes on at similar prices. Quotes are seldom as good as other brokers. It's just a shame that they make transferring such a hassle as well or I'd be out of there as soon as possible.

"Inadequate evening and online support"

I've been using it for years, so I guess that says something.
It's annoying that there is no support after 7pm, which is sometimes an issue when trading US shares (up to 9pm) .
One good thing is that you can request to have more companies added for trading which they are not currently listed on their site.
Their phone support is good, but their online message support is VERY slow (can take up to week to respond)

"Flakey Website"

Always having trouble with the website.
If you report something not working, they say they will fix but don't.
You have to find your own workaraound.