Pru UK Avis 

It was well set out

Good service in the end few hiccups at the beginning couldn't send money to my bank account but got cheque via post quite quickly!

Easy to deal with, this is far too long I nearly gave up

Shocking - DO NOT try make these people your pension fund. Terrible investment options and restrictions - extremely poor comms.

ONE STAR – YEARS OF OBSTACLES TRYING TO ACCESS MY FATHER’S OWN PENSION

I very rarely feel compelled to write a review like this, but our family’s experience of Prudential has reached the point where it needs to be documented publicly.

My father is now 72 years old and has been trying to access his pension as a full uncrystallised lump sum. What should have been a clear process has turned into an extraordinary and exhausting succession of telephone calls, emails, letters, forms, signatures, changing requirements and apparently endless additional hurdles.

The wider history goes back approximately 12 years, with the most intensive efforts to resolve the matter continuing for the last two to three years.

We were previously led to understand that my father required a suitably qualified financial adviser before Prudential would proceed. After an enormous amount of effort, we have finally obtained the appropriate financial adviser, the necessary paperwork has been completed and returned, and we believed we were finally approaching the end of this process.

Instead, yet another requirement has now been introduced.

Throughout this experience, my father has made his wishes abundantly clear: he wants to access his pension as a full lump sum.

He understands that there may be tax consequences. He understands that financial advice may recommend alternatives. He is entitled to receive appropriate warnings and advice. But advice is not the same thing as preventing an adult from ultimately making his own informed decision about his own retirement savings.

The constant introduction of further requirements has left us questioning when this process will ever actually conclude.

What makes the situation particularly troubling is the sheer amount of time and energy that has been required simply to reach this stage. We have dealt with repeated conversations, correspondence, paperwork and different explanations over a period measured not in weeks, but in years.

My father should not have to spend his retirement repeatedly fighting to access money that he has accumulated for precisely this stage of his life.

We have now reached the point where the entire history is being compiled into a formal chronology, including correspondence, telephone calls, advice given, documents requested and delays encountered.

I also have serious concerns about whether the way this matter has been handled throughout has met the standards expected of a regulated financial-services provider. Those concerns will now be escalated through the appropriate formal channels, including the Financial Ombudsman Service.

I am not asking Prudential for a favour.

I am asking Prudential to bring this extraordinarily prolonged matter to a conclusion and enable my father, having received the appropriate advice and information, to exercise his decision regarding his own pension.

After everything our family has experienced, I could not in good conscience recommend Prudential to anyone based upon the service we have received.

I sincerely hope Prudential now takes ownership of this case, reviews the complete history rather than treating each contact as another isolated transaction, and finally resolves it.

Phone answered quickly and efficiently
I think tax liability on bonds is not as straight forward as first told

What sort of pension fund refuses to transfer?
I have an existing pension fund with the Pru
I recently discovered an old pension only worth
£1800 & decided to transfer it into my existing Pru fund, only to be told by the Pru this can only be done by a financial advisor!
Why the hell should I pay a financial advisor just to transfer £1800 ?
So I will now be doing the exact Oposite , apparently a financial advisor is not necessary to transfer my large pension pot into the smaller pot. So goodby Pru it’s been nice knowing you for 50 years 🤬

The person I spoke with was very helpful and informative

Member of your team was knowledgeable and helpful

I have been investing in my workplace Defined Benefit pension for some years but knew I should be adding to a DC pot to supplement as I started quite late. Our institution works with Pru so without enough research I started putting money each month in to what they call an AVC. Their frequent delays to invest the monthly payment, poor online interface, patchy communication and gaslighting ( apart from their phone team who have always seemed excellent but a little powerless to change the creaky culture) meant very soon I decided to change tack and invest in a SIPP myself and transfer the tiny pot over. I am now stuck in an endless loop where Pru won't believe that this tiny pot is not being eyed by fraudsters, and so haven't let me transfer my own small amount of money out for months and keep sending ever more hoops for me to jump through after I give them the info they've asked for. I was only with them a few months but hopefully will be free of their endless red tape, high fees and and paper-based communication soon.

I spoke to a highly professional advisor who made the process I wished to complete very straightforward.

Horrendous!!
As Power of attorney for my late father I had been attempting to draw down his pension before he reached the age of 75 to pay for his care needs. Their lack of knowledge around POA is very concerning, after 3 years and not getting anywhere, asking for same documents, time wasting, not understanding the Poa documents my father sadly passed last year having turned 75. We are now 12 months into dealing with his estate due to the delays caused by Pru and their lack of knowledge, accountability, customer service. Solicitors are involved which is also costing a lot of money and we’re not getting anywhere. This has caused so much stress and anxiety and has resulted in family disputes over the years, I would not recommend this pension provider to anyone!

Very poor customer service. Extremely slow.
They often offer goodwill payments of <£100 but this is valueless as whilst they state they will make a goodwill payment in reality they never follow through and actually make a payment

I found the whole process and assistance in my dealing with Pru, was very straight forward, very well handled with all the questions i needed being well covered to and the relevant documents being supplied as agreed.

You get there eventually if you persist with the communication.

an easy experience

Excellent service with polite and helpful staff.

I achieved my objective but it took more time than I consider reasonable and I was given some confusing information which proved to be incorrect.

Very helpful