FTAdviser readers have reacted to criticisms of poor service from the Embark platform, now known as the Scottish Widows Platform.
It comes after adviser Tim Morris claims he spent more than five hours trying to get answers from the platform, with the delays leading to concerns from his clients and risking his reputation.
The platform apologised to Morris for the delays and offered to pay him £450 and £100 to each of his clients as a “gesture of goodwill”.
Several readers said they have also faced problems getting through and are moving their clients off the platform.
One said: “I will actively be moving all my clients from Embark/Scottish Widows, this is due to the poor service that I receive from the platform and the Sipp provider. They are all shocking from a service point of view.”
While another added: “I am in the process of moving all of my clients off the Embark platform due to the shocking service experienced.
“A recent pension transfer took three months to complete because Embark staff sat on the paperwork for one month and at the point of transfer itself, they sent the pension funds but did not update Origo which resulted in the monies having to be returned to Embark from the new provider on two occasions.
“Basic requests for information are not being completed as no-one answering telephone calls or emails. I even resorted to sending written requests by recorded delivery and six weeks later I'm still awaiting responses.”
However one reader defended the platform saying it is designed to be digital without the need for human interaction.
They said: “It has taken a while to learn the new UI [user interface] but we think they are one of the better platforms and we get nearly everything resolved on the web chat - very responsive to us so [Tim] must have hit the grey space between tech and human- it is worth persevering as one of lowest costs and everything digital.”
While another claimed there is similar poor service with other platforms.
They said: “Is that not just the norm for platforms? I use six and that is my experience across the lot, poor service frequently speaking with people that do not understand the platform very well, so you are always being put on hold whist the individual searches the site to try and find an answer, only to find what you have been told is not accurate and off we go again seeking an answer, repeat etc etc.”
In July the platform was rebranded as the Scottish Widows Platform meaning all accounts will be moving to the new system.
It is expected to include "new digital capability" including self-serve functionality and removing some forms and physical signature requirements.
In response to Tim Morris' complaint, a spokesperson for the platform said: “We have apologised to Mr Morris for not requesting all the information we needed to process the instruction when he first came to us and paid compensation for time it took to sort it out which he accepted. We have also spoken to him again to ensure he is comfortable with the action taken.”
