Companies you don't trust

Kwik-Fit

All companies.

All company.

Booking.com

Halfords

Ryanair

Dentists

the BBC

I trust socialist cooperatives even less.

Trust Pilot

B.T and Amazon have both screwed me in the past.

I have only ever ordered one thing from Amazon but they kept taking £8 a Month out of my Bank Account  for Express Delivery for the next 3 Months till I copt on.

Sky

Betfair

South Sea
East India

Homebase

TD Trump Deutschland
    Tour DuPont
    Trump Home
    Trump Ice
    Trump International Golf Club (West Palm Beach)
    Trump International Hotel
    Trump International Hotel and Tower (Vancouver)
    Trump International Hotel Las Vegas
    Trump Model Management
    Trump Mortgage
    Trump National Doral Miami
    Trump National Golf Club (Bedminster, New Jersey)
    Trump National Golf Club (Jupiter, Florida)
    Trump National Golf Club (Los Angeles)
    Trump National Golf Club (Philadelphia)
    Trump National Golf Club (Washington, D.C.)
    Trump National Golf Club Westchester
    Trump Ocean Resort Baja Mexico
    Trump Park Avenue
    Trump Plaza (Jersey City)
    Trump Plaza (West Palm Beach)
    Trump Productions
    Trump Shuttle
    Trump Steaks
    Trump Tower
    Trump Tower Manila
    Trump University
    Trump Vodka
    Trumped!
    Turnberry (golf course)

trumpton

Pc World....Poor and over priced all round

It this the market without British Gas?   Why do people continue to think that they are still the company that they used to be?   I am unbiased by the way, the nearest natural gas supply to us is 2 miles away.

Kwik fit are awful, complete rip off, set my engine on fire once true story, the reason why I learnt how to do most repairs on my car myself. Halfords BQ overpriced. Any second hand car dealer, buy private !

Kwik fit fitted me some new tyres about twenty years ago...One of my wheels fell of before I got home....Trust me that is a true story.

Vincent

i'm on the kwik fit bandwagon, but a wheel fell off. < comedy gold
went in with a flat, they took the keys gunned the car toward the fixing bays & hit the breaks.
i have driven enough cars to know what happens when you break hard but they assured me my front
shocks had gone. imagine their surprise when i showed them my very recent MOT receipt with the
new front shocks included.
to be fair the guy didn't miss a beat and said "ah yeah new shock abs often act like old ones
before they bed in"
there were words, it got unpleasant & i got my new tyre somewhere else but i did have a sneaking
admiration for the sheer nerve of it.

I'm rather cross with F&M at the moment. Last Thursday they had completely run out of foie gras.

Some good calls. Less transparent but potentially far more expensive, Hargreaves Lansdown.

My Kwik-Fit Story.  Mrs decided she wanted all new tyres before going on driving holiday.  Most of them were very near so no problem - only that it was Sunday morning and few options.

Kwit Fit bloke said we've got this great deal and can give you 4 tyres fitted £450.  I said I don't think so, mate.   Cue some pressing of buttons on the cash register/computer and hey presto he can do it for £200.

He managed a situation, which would have been embarrassing for some with a nonchalance suggesting it was a regular occurrence.

Unfair to include Hargreaves Lansdown without including the whole of the financial services industry.

Disagree. HL position themselves at the most conservative end of the spectrum of financial services. This leads to their advisers acting contrary to the best interests of their clients in certain situations.

"Car Store"...

Part of "Stratstone" who advertise them, but don't sell them!

Have to fill out a contact form, but it won't send till you hit "Reserve", and have to pay £99.00!

You would have to be mental to go along with that!

Reviews are hideous, and one person paid £200 to have one moved closer, and was, at the last word, fighting to get it back!

Any high street bookmaker

n-power...

Check out the reviews....
.
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.npower.com

I was £252 in credit, on the last quarters bill, but they increased my direct debit from £63.00 to £91.00 per month!

When I queried it they said "we don't like our customers getting into debt"!!!

Isn't that a brilliant way of forcing their customers into debt?

Anyway I am now £63.00 in credit, and they are reducing my payments to £37.00!

"National Tyres and Autocare"....

...at least not the branch I have used!

Best bit is MOTs for £27.

Worst bit, going twice with punctures in almost new tyres.

They look, and say fine...go for a sit down, and coffee, and guy comes back, and asks me to take a look...

Tyre is now off and he shows me black rubber dust, and says he can't fix it!

I must be stupid to have fallen for it twice, and bought new tyres, and even paid for disposal of the old ones,
that they will clearly sell on!

Sky charged me for full years phone rental after I joined BT asked for the money back they said yes on the phone but never returend a penny just kept knocking money off my sky tv subscription cheeky R soles

..... This leads to their advisers acting contrary to the best interests of their clients in certain situations.......

Exactly.  I give you the Financial Services Industry.

Yes, that's true too, Jack, but HL TandC's put them in a special category. Anyone looking to transfer a DB pension should avoid them: happy to explain why by DM.

I know too many people who put faith in (commission incentivised) financial advisors.  The whole industry stinks.  Opaque charges, and fees.

I know a financial advisor working for one of the 'wealth management' companies and he knew f-all about investment trusts.  I am sure you can guess the reason.

Thanks for the offer but I have no involvement in that area.

The Police Co.

Anyone can call himself a "Financial Adviser."
And you're right, his best interest rarely coincides with that of his client.
Best thing is to take charge of your own finances. Unfortunately, in the case of a DB pension, Govt compels the client to pay for the advice of a FA. What could possibly go wrong?

Anyone can call himself a "Financial Adviser."

That's not strictly true UB. Qualifications are needed to be authorised and contrary belief the regulations are strict and heavy penalties are inflicted on those that ignore them.

My advice is to seek independent advice and not those that are tied.

*contrary to popular belief

Macarony, that's quite strange about Sky not refunding your money because Virgin done the exact same thing to me. An industry fault perhaps?

Aspro - I gather there are Financial Advisers as well as Authorised Financial Advisers but what are the qualifications required to become an Authorised Financial Adviser?

You cannot be a Financial Adviser (legally) unless you have a minimum of the Financial Planning Certificate (or the current equivalent). The same applies with mortgages (CeMap or equivalent required).

It all came in during the late 80's when I used to work for Prudential. A field force of 9000 representatives were reduced to 3,500 once it became an industry requirement. Suffice to say it is a tough test.

I found this Aspro.
https://www.reed.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-financial-advisor/
Get qualified
It is not a necessary requirement to have a degree to become a Financial Advisor. However, it is a highly competitive industry, and having a specialised qualification like the Level 3 CPD Certificate or Advisory Level 4 Course can help set you apart to employers.

So I don't think it is illegal to call oneself a Financial Adviser. Anyway, my experience is that I am much happier being in control of personal finances. There is an awful lot of bull$hit permeating the industry and it is unfortunate that Govt guarantee their income stream with the requirement to take their advice. I'd agree with taking "independent" advice if I thought people could access it through a FA. Probably the Govt services and CitizensAdvice have the most integrity.

You cannot offer financial advice unless authorised. You cannot be authorised without the required qualifications, but you don't need a degree. That page is slightly misleading.

You will notice when you phone companies that their messages often say that they will not offer advice but can offer information of products available. To offer advice is as I've already said, it is illegal but as you say, you can call yourself a Financial Adviser but you can't legally offer advice.

I have the equivalent CPD (FPC) and I have CeMap, but am now retired. As I'm no longer authorised I too am bound by the same rules.

To add to this it makes sense. The UK is heavily regulated (as is all of Europe). How can one be trusted to offer people investment advice without the correct knowledge and qualifications and protocols. They were put in place for a reason and that is to protect the public.

I bow to your superior understanding of what it takes to be a FA, Aspro. Yet there is no doubt that financial advice is currently being doled out contrary to the best interests of clients, and it is very difficult to legislate the practice away.

You can stop unscrupulous advice even with qualified advisers. That's just the way life is, unfortunately.

*cannot

Absolutely, Aspro.
I read a story that may be too perfect to be true (it was in The Guardian). John Crace was persuaded by an acquaintance to take out a personal pension back in the day when it was all the rage: which, as a freelance journalist, was topped up irregularly through decades. He recently was delivered a statement telling him that his plan was on target to pay him £4k a year when he retires. Soon after, he received a call from said acquaintance, who is now an "ambulance chaser" advising him to make a claim against being mis-sold the very pension he earlier foisted on him.
Whatever the provenance, it does show an industry riddled with paranoia against potential compo claims down the line (particularly true of Hargreaves Lansdown) and making decisions on that basis.

The same applies to those that were advised interest-only mortgages. There are many adverts circulating for compensation and it is worrying as I done quite a few, however; on all paperwork it was clearly advised of the repercussions of not having a repayment vehicle. At point-of-sale, on subsequent letters confirming their decision and on all paperwork received from the lender etc.

After doing my own research it is clear that most people made a fortune anyway on the growth of their properties and claims are very unlikely to result in compensation. Nevertheless, it is still one of those areas that gives me a few sleepless nights.

I can imagine, Aspro.
I'm afraid we're living in a different country now - it's a grievance culture and where there's a grievance, a compensation claim isn't far behind.

The old financial planning certificate was a joke. Even the upgraded Level 4 Diploma isnt exactly testing.

Perhaps Dotch, but 5,500 of Pru staff couldn't pass it and lost their jobs

To be fair in those days the average advisor was like a second hand car salesman.

The FPC should have been easily achievable by anyone who had a couple of 'O' Levels.

Agreed. When I joined many of them were old boys too.

FPC wasn't difficult but (as you say) it did expose what was in the industry before it became regulated.

Sadly, at 58 I have to say that I no longer trust the vast majority of larger companies - and plenty of smaller ones, as well.

From hiring a skip (what a blo**dy trial that is) to buying a car, too many companies hide behind so called legislation in order to prise more money of their customers.


Yes, there is plenty of 'nanny-state' legislation but a lot of it is being hugely mis-interpreted by jobsworths and rip-off merchants.


This has become a sad country now with cheap and nasty becoming the norm.


Gone seem the days where a company grew and grew through selling goods or services at good prices without any fuss or faff. Now, they don't even seem to care if you use them again providing they can rip out your wallet just once.


And, as for the constant customer reviews we are all sent to fill out...well, don't start me off.

Energy companies. There's normally always a better tariff than the one you're on unless of course you've already done the research to find it in the first place, and often the savings are huge not just a couple of quid.

Aspro,a relation of mine went to work for the pru in the 90s.when he started up he was sent to a state of the art learning centre think it was in Newport Parnell.he said that all the emphasis was on know your customer & customer care as well as a thorough knowledge of their products,he was there a good few weeks & passed all his modules &fp1&2. When he got back to his sales office it was a different story though,he was told to forget school & get sales by any means possible,he said the pressure for sales was horrendous.when he packed it in after a year or so he was on the edge of a nervous breakdown.classic case of a company seen to be doing everything by the book but in reality using cowboy tactics.i had quite a few things with the company at the time but shifted it when I heard his stories.