Barclays Stockbrokers move to Smart Investor?
Discussion
Has anyone else woken up this morning to find that their old accounts at Barclays Stockbrokers haven't moved over to the new Smart Investor platform as planned for today?
Their online support chat and telephone lines are 'experiencing exceptional levels of calls'.
If it has gone wrong you think they'd email or put a notice up on the website.
They asked us all to check everything today!
Their online support chat and telephone lines are 'experiencing exceptional levels of calls'.
If it has gone wrong you think they'd email or put a notice up on the website.
They asked us all to check everything today!
Ok. It seems that the only way to see the accounts is by using Pinsentry to log in.
If you log in using passcode and memorable details they don't display!
First impressions of the new site..... not good.
The old site was slick and quick. Perfect for dealing. This site is cumbersome.
X div dates aren't displayed any more.
And...... all the online history has completely gone. Can't view dividends and transactions at all.
I can feel a slow inefficient transfer to another broker coming on. :-(
If you log in using passcode and memorable details they don't display!
First impressions of the new site..... not good.
The old site was slick and quick. Perfect for dealing. This site is cumbersome.
X div dates aren't displayed any more.
And...... all the online history has completely gone. Can't view dividends and transactions at all.
I can feel a slow inefficient transfer to another broker coming on. :-(
So it seems that most things on the new system needs me to use the card reader so everything is now slowed down. I know it's supposed to be more secure but it's having the result of keeping me out too. I simply don't want to carry my card reader and card with me everywhere.
I used to trade regularly on the spur of the moment when I saw a good buy. Now I have to get out my debit card and use the pin gadget. I also look after my wife's investments which means I have to carry my wife's debit card rather than her!
I've been looking at swapping to Hargreaves Landsdown. I know someone who uses IWeb but that seems quite basic. Any other suggestions?
I used to trade regularly on the spur of the moment when I saw a good buy. Now I have to get out my debit card and use the pin gadget. I also look after my wife's investments which means I have to carry my wife's debit card rather than her!
I've been looking at swapping to Hargreaves Landsdown. I know someone who uses IWeb but that seems quite basic. Any other suggestions?
Early days for me. I'm out and about this week so using the pinsentry is ridiculous!
I'll have a proper look at it from home next week and if I still don't like it then it looks like I'll have a long drawn out transfer process elsewhere.
But where?
I'm sure Barclays are swamped with transfer out requests so it could be painful.
fido said:
Not that impressed so far. I can't even find the company I want to buy shares in!
I used to be able to click on any stock I held and look at the RNS feed for it and the last trades.Has that now gone?
The new system seems very cumbersome. Not geared towards fast easy trading.
I had a dealing limit on my old account so I could deal without depositing funds first. That's also now gone.
All pretty poor.
I too have been with them since the Fidelity and Schwab days.
I'll also give the new site chance to grow on me before taking transfer action but so far I haven't been able to find any of the data that I used to use regularly on the old site.
I agree that it seems to be a site targeted at the novice investor rather than a regular sophisticated investor.
Speed is important with trading.
Last week prior to the switch they removed all trading limits.
I spotted a purchase I wanted to make. Rather than carrying out a deal in a few seconds and then have the funds collected by direct debit on settlement day automatically I had to go through a procedure that took 30 which included a call from my debit card to verify the deposit transaction. By the time I bought the price had moved.
Two days later I spotted a similar purchase. Again deposited the funds but when I came to trade I was told that a price could not be offered for the value I wanted to invest. So, I abandoned the trade and requested a withdrawal of the deposit that I'd just made. However it says that I can't withdraw funds until they clear which is 7 days after the deposit. The transfer then takes a further 3 days.
So, if I pay money in by debit card it then takes 10 days to get it back.
Maybe the dealing limit was a unique feature of Barclays stockbrokers and maybe I won't find anything similar elsewhere but it was a very useful facility to offer valued customers.
I'll also give the new site chance to grow on me before taking transfer action but so far I haven't been able to find any of the data that I used to use regularly on the old site.
I agree that it seems to be a site targeted at the novice investor rather than a regular sophisticated investor.
Speed is important with trading.
Last week prior to the switch they removed all trading limits.
I spotted a purchase I wanted to make. Rather than carrying out a deal in a few seconds and then have the funds collected by direct debit on settlement day automatically I had to go through a procedure that took 30 which included a call from my debit card to verify the deposit transaction. By the time I bought the price had moved.
Two days later I spotted a similar purchase. Again deposited the funds but when I came to trade I was told that a price could not be offered for the value I wanted to invest. So, I abandoned the trade and requested a withdrawal of the deposit that I'd just made. However it says that I can't withdraw funds until they clear which is 7 days after the deposit. The transfer then takes a further 3 days.
So, if I pay money in by debit card it then takes 10 days to get it back.
Maybe the dealing limit was a unique feature of Barclays stockbrokers and maybe I won't find anything similar elsewhere but it was a very useful facility to offer valued customers.
env said:
Glad I came across this, I am furious with the way the cut-over has been managed and will be moving two significantly sized portfolios away from them because of this.
I cant log in. I have not been able to log in since the cut-over. I have all my details but it claims I have been set-up with a memorable word. I have never had any other Barclays products. Even Barclays staff dont know how to get around this. They are having a think about it and will get back to me. Which is fantastic on a frequent trader service.
The phone lines are jammed, the Barclays Stockbrokers staff overwhelmed, it is a farce.
Goodbye Barclays Smartinvestor, hello Share Centre.
The big problem is that given the current chaos I dare not initiate a transfer to another provider. It would be an accident waiting to happen! They must be overwhelmed with transfer requests.I cant log in. I have not been able to log in since the cut-over. I have all my details but it claims I have been set-up with a memorable word. I have never had any other Barclays products. Even Barclays staff dont know how to get around this. They are having a think about it and will get back to me. Which is fantastic on a frequent trader service.
The phone lines are jammed, the Barclays Stockbrokers staff overwhelmed, it is a farce.
Goodbye Barclays Smartinvestor, hello Share Centre.
Ha ha!
I've just tried to make a withdrawal of cash direct to my linked bank account.
Got a bit green tick saying "Withdrawal Complete" together with a red error message saying "You need to be logged in to perform this transaction".
Of course I was logged in!
You think they'd have tested things maybe?
I'm seriously worried about having my investments with them.
I've been taking screen shots!!
I'm wondering whether to put some of my long term holdings in to share certificates again!!
I've just tried to make a withdrawal of cash direct to my linked bank account.
Got a bit green tick saying "Withdrawal Complete" together with a red error message saying "You need to be logged in to perform this transaction".
Of course I was logged in!
You think they'd have tested things maybe?
I'm seriously worried about having my investments with them.
I've been taking screen shots!!
I'm wondering whether to put some of my long term holdings in to share certificates again!!
PostHeads123 said:
wilwak said:
Ha ha!
I've just tried to make a withdrawal of cash direct to my linked bank account.
Got a bit green tick saying "Withdrawal Complete" together with a red error message saying "You need to be logged in to perform this transaction".
Of course I was logged in!
You think they'd have tested things maybe?
I'm seriously worried about having my investments with them.
I've been taking screen shots!!
I'm wondering whether to put some of my long term holdings in to share certificates again!!
The site seems to have problems with IE11 I got similar but it worked in Chrome, for a banksite not to work with IE 11 is p*ss poor.I've just tried to make a withdrawal of cash direct to my linked bank account.
Got a bit green tick saying "Withdrawal Complete" together with a red error message saying "You need to be logged in to perform this transaction".
Of course I was logged in!
You think they'd have tested things maybe?
I'm seriously worried about having my investments with them.
I've been taking screen shots!!
I'm wondering whether to put some of my long term holdings in to share certificates again!!
OK so just typed a long message in the secure message system to report the problems ....
You guessed it....
" 6 - Sorry, we're having difficulties with your request. Please call us on 0345 600 2323 (from outside the UK, +44 247 684 2063) and quote error code 6. Lines are open 24 hours a day, every day. To maintain a quality service, we may monitor or record phone calls. Call charges
800040 - Please select your email address. "
An error message!
Call waiting time 60 minutes +
You guessed it....
" 6 - Sorry, we're having difficulties with your request. Please call us on 0345 600 2323 (from outside the UK, +44 247 684 2063) and quote error code 6. Lines are open 24 hours a day, every day. To maintain a quality service, we may monitor or record phone calls. Call charges
800040 - Please select your email address. "
An error message!
Call waiting time 60 minutes +
I've started using the new platform properly now.
I find that the research is not a patch in the old site. I am now having to use the London Stock Exchange website for RNS and news etc.
I am also finding that the quote and deal system is not working. For the first time in years I've had to place limit orders and wait for them to be executed. These are the same shares that was was buying easily on the old system.
They need to really improve things or lots of customers will leave including me.
I find that the research is not a patch in the old site. I am now having to use the London Stock Exchange website for RNS and news etc.
I am also finding that the quote and deal system is not working. For the first time in years I've had to place limit orders and wait for them to be executed. These are the same shares that was was buying easily on the old system.
They need to really improve things or lots of customers will leave including me.
I was with someone today while they dealt using the HL IPad App. Seemed very basic.
Is the HL website far better than the app does anybody know?
I was keen to watch as I'm looking at alternatives to Barclays.
The share he bought cost him 788p which seemed high to me. I logged in to Barclays and we did consecutive quotes. I was quoted 782p at the same moment.
It seems that HL use the full bid-offer spread whereas Barclays always beat it.
He also paid £11.95. Mine would have been £6.
So, I'm wondering whether to just stick with Barclays and give them chance to sort it all out.
Is the HL website far better than the app does anybody know?
I was keen to watch as I'm looking at alternatives to Barclays.
The share he bought cost him 788p which seemed high to me. I logged in to Barclays and we did consecutive quotes. I was quoted 782p at the same moment.
It seems that HL use the full bid-offer spread whereas Barclays always beat it.
He also paid £11.95. Mine would have been £6.
So, I'm wondering whether to just stick with Barclays and give them chance to sort it all out.
The dividend finally arrived after two weeks waiting.
I’m now waiting for the proceeds of a corporate action that was all settled on 29th September.
Barclays certainly aren’t fast and slick at the moment.
Still a very frustrating service and the new platform is painful to use.
I’m thinking of transferring many of my longer term holdings back in to share certificates!
I’m still waiting for the proceeds of a tender offer that was settled on 29th September.
Two weeks later still no money and worse still the remaining shares in that holding are frozen so I can’t sell them.
Rubbish!
I asked how long transfer’s out are currently taking.
They said a transfer takes 10-12 weeks and currently due to the high demand it is taking 8 weeks to process requests.
Does that mean a total of 18-20 weeks to get out? Yikes!
Two weeks later still no money and worse still the remaining shares in that holding are frozen so I can’t sell them.
Rubbish!
I asked how long transfer’s out are currently taking.
They said a transfer takes 10-12 weeks and currently due to the high demand it is taking 8 weeks to process requests.
Does that mean a total of 18-20 weeks to get out? Yikes!
It’d be interesting to know who people have transferred to....
I look after accounts at iWeb and HL for family members.
The spreads quoted on both are far wider than Barclays. Wasn’t at all impressed with the HL interface. iWeb is ok but feels a bit basic.
I’ve opened sharedealing accounts with IG and AJBell.
IG feels the same as the Spread Betting and somehow feels more risky than a straight broker.
The one that immediately seemed the best and more comparable to the old Barclays platform was A J Bell.
I’m very nervous about making a transfer that makes my entire portfolio untraceable for 10-12 weeks!
I look after accounts at iWeb and HL for family members.
The spreads quoted on both are far wider than Barclays. Wasn’t at all impressed with the HL interface. iWeb is ok but feels a bit basic.
I’ve opened sharedealing accounts with IG and AJBell.
IG feels the same as the Spread Betting and somehow feels more risky than a straight broker.
The one that immediately seemed the best and more comparable to the old Barclays platform was A J Bell.
I’m very nervous about making a transfer that makes my entire portfolio untraceable for 10-12 weeks!
I made a formal complaint.
1. Dividends are slow to be applied to accounts
2. Online Support Chat is showing as ‘Not Currently Avaliable’
3. Online Support Secure Messaging just produces an error.
4. Telephone Support Lines are suffering long wait times.
I received a written letter today....
1. Dividends are reflected on accounts within 10 working days which is in accordance with T&C’s and also FSA requirements.
2. Online Chat does work.
3. Secure Messaging does not produce error messages.
4. We have transferred 250,000 accounts to Smart Investor. Long call wait times are to be expected at this time.
They hope that these answers satisfactorily resolve my complaint.
Ok. So now I’m furious.
I was willing to give Barclays time to sort this out but their response is totally dismissive of me.
Appalling.
1. Dividends are slow to be applied to accounts
2. Online Support Chat is showing as ‘Not Currently Avaliable’
3. Online Support Secure Messaging just produces an error.
4. Telephone Support Lines are suffering long wait times.
I received a written letter today....
1. Dividends are reflected on accounts within 10 working days which is in accordance with T&C’s and also FSA requirements.
2. Online Chat does work.
3. Secure Messaging does not produce error messages.
4. We have transferred 250,000 accounts to Smart Investor. Long call wait times are to be expected at this time.
They hope that these answers satisfactorily resolve my complaint.
Ok. So now I’m furious.
I was willing to give Barclays time to sort this out but their response is totally dismissive of me.
Appalling.
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