Name: Foresters Friendly Society
Address: Third Floor, Enterprise House, Ocean Way, Southampton
Rating: 4.42

“How is this company allowed to run like it does. I invested £20000 . A few years ago and have made less than £1000 in interest . I might as well have put it in a bank or under my mattress. If I withdraw then I'm subject to an MVR. Which I've never heard of before and would end up with less than £19000 . Some investment that is . I get notified re. An annual bonus for a couple of hundred pounds if I'm lucky and that seems to be that . Current bank rates are as high as 5% so just where is my money invested? I see these same questions time after time in the comments section here. Someone is making money but it certainly isn't the customers . Not turning out to be a very friendly society at all . Are us investors merely funding society activities ? Extremely dissatisfied and rather concerned that I'll never get my money back unless I pay a penalty fee to do so? No banks , building societies would last a week if they did that so how can you get away with it ...oh and it takes ages to get anyone to actually answer your phones so my money at least isn't paying for that . How do I find out just how much my savings in total are or is it merely this annual bonus rubbish?”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 months ago

Good Afternoon Mr Noblett, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and we are sorry to hear that you are dissatisfied with your Investment and experience with Foresters Friendly Society. The plan you have taken out with the Society is a long-term savings plan backed by investments and is not a cash product. As stated at the point of purchase in our important information documentation, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than you have paid in to your plan during periods of negative investment performance. In periods of market volatility a Market Value Reduction (MVR) may be applied to ensure exiting policyholders receive a fair share of the OIF and to protect the policyholders that remain invested in the OIF. An MVR was applied for policies within the Order Insurance Fund for the first time in November 2022. Although a Market Value Reduction is not desired, the existence of an MVR is necessary as it protects members who do not take their money out of the OIF during poor market conditions. It is important to understand that the MVR will only apply to the policy should you wish to close your policy, withdraw, or transfer your monies at the time there is an MVR in place. We understand how concerning the MVR is for you and for the impact this has on your investment, and we, at Foresters, are keen to remove this as soon as possible. This is why we are reviewing the implementation of the MVR at least quarterly by the investment committee, which is made up of our most senior management team. The MVR will be removed as soon as investment returns allow so as not to cause detriment to all policyholders within the with-profits fund. The investment shocks that all investment markets have experienced may mean that the fund could take some time to recover. You are able to email claims@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk or contact us on 0800 101 8312 for a valuation on your plan Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.

Posted 8 months ago

“I liked the idea of Foresters. They seemed like a traditional, compassionate organization who would look after their customers. Unfortunately I was wrong! Their customer service is appalling. I have been trying for weeks to get a paper partial withdrawal form. I'm still waiting. Fobbed off so many times that it now feels like a deliberate act rather than incompetence. I would have sorted this out online like I do with my other fund managers. Unfortunately as I've had an account for nearly 5 years I don't qualify for an online account. Priority is given to new accounts rather than to established loyal customers. Nice policy! If you are going to rely solely on a paper-based system I suggest you at least try to make it efficient. I should probably close my account but my fund is subject to an MVR so I can't even do that without suffering a large financial loss. There is no indication of when, if ever, this MVR will be removed. I was told that they had never placed an MVR on funds before and when used it is only ever for the short term. Can you tell me how long this MVR has been in place and when you expect it to be removed? My advice is avoid this company and invest your funds in a company that operates in the 21st Century.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Hello Mr. Hodgson, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, we are really sorry to hear that you feel like our customer service is not up to the exceptional standard it should be and apologise for any inconvenience caused. I have been in contact with our claims team who advised that the partial withdrawal form that you had requested has been sent 3 times, once by email and twice by post so we are really sorry to hear that these have not arrived safely for you. I have requested that this is sent today via recorded post so we hope this finally arrives and the claims team leader is going to reply to your email today. We’ve recently invited all members that took out new plans between the beginning of last year, and the portal’s launch, and we’ll shortly be inviting those that took out plans in 2022 and 2021. Whilst I can’t confirm when you’ll be able to register for the portal, please rest assured that we’re working hard to allow you to do so. During periods of extreme investment market volatility, we might need to apply a Market Value Reduction (MVR) when you withdraw some or all of the money in your plan in order to protect remaining members within our Order Insurance with profits Fund. An MVR is an adjustment that can be applied to the value of your investment if you choose to cash-in or withdraw from your plan during volatile investment conditions, reducing how much you get back. It ensures that everybody gets their fair share of the returns from a with profits fund and is designed to protect members who do not take their money out of the fund during poor market conditions, this has been in force from November 2022 and is regularly reviewed by the Board. Unfortunately I am unable to confirm when this will be removed at this current time. If there is anything else we can do please contact our member sales and service team on 0800 783 4162.

Posted 1 year ago

“For a £16k investment for all of 2023 I earned zero % interest. What's worse is they are applying an MVR of nearly 10% so I will lose nearly £1,500 when transferring or withdrawing my money. Customer service is excellent but promised online access never happens and a very, very bad investment”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Good Afternoon, Thank you for taking the time to write a review and we are sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the product that you have chosen. We apply our annual bonuses in May each year and then you receive your annual bonus statement in the July, we work a year in arrears with our bonuses, so this years statement will be for 2023. we’re currently working to invite as many members to register as possible, as quickly as possible. We’ve recently invited all members that took out new plans between the beginning of last year, and the portal’s launch, and we’ll shortly be inviting those that took out plans in 2022. Whilst I can’t confirm when you’ll be able to register for the portal, please rest assured that we’re working hard to allow you to do so. if you would like to discuss the investment with one of our friendly member sales and service team, please contact 0800 783 4162 and press option 1, we would be happy to help with any queries.

Posted 1 year ago

“in 2017 I invested 80k in a low risk policy. this was split into 40k in my name and 40k in my wife's as advised by my financial advisor he said this would be the best idea as freebies were offered to members during the year and this way would double our freebies when offered. I was told that the investment would yield between 5-6% annually so we went with it. I called today 19/02/2024 to ask how my investment was going as I had heard nothing for a while. Now this is in it 7th year and here is what I have earned in interest. £138.65 in total. Yes you have read it correctly £138.65 in total. I cannot believe it but have been assured this is what I have should I want it out. I had no fixed term from the beginning and no penalties, How can this be correct? it works out at less than £20 per year interest. I am gutted to say the least. My advise is steer clear”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“Despite making contact twice I have received no response. I’m hoping this will change soon, even an acknowledgment, but if not I will escalate to the relevant authorities”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, please could you advise which team you have been trying to make contact with and we will arrange for someone to contact you when it is convenient to you.

Posted 1 year ago

“Never in my life heard of an investment provider that does not have any way for you to check your investment performance. I have over £6K saved with them and no idea if it’s appreciated or not.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate your frustration and are able to advise that we launched our member portal in July last year which provides our members with plan information such as plan value. Initially, the portal was only available to members who took out a plan after the launch date, so that we could evaluate real world performance of the portal and seek member feedback, making adjustments where needed. This work is currently ongoing, and we are initiating the onboarding process for members who took out plans before July of last year. This will be done in a phased manner, starting with the most recent plans and progressively working backward. This approach allows us to effectively manage the volume of invitations and subsequent sign-ups. We will be in touch to notify you as soon as it becomes available for you to register. In the meantime, we are able to provide plan values over the phone and we also send out annual statements regarding the plan’s value. Information about our fund is available on our website in the About Us/About Our Funds section. We appreciate your patience regarding the delay in inviting you and other members who took out plans before the portal's launch. As a member-focused business, we want to make sure that we’re offering the best possible portal experience when the time comes. If you would like any further details, our Member Services team are available Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm, on 0800 988 2418 or by email membersalesandservice@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk . Kind regards, Foresters

Posted 1 year ago

“We took out two policy via Quidco 16th December 2023,sent it with free post as per instructions,with transfer forms included. We only recieve emails But No savings plan information or any dd's set up so a complete waste of our time, so will stay with current provider. How can I answer the following questions so you want us to contact you to complain after we summited our new policy online and have a policy number very poor”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Hi Lee, thank you for your review and for discussing the transfer process with our Member Services team today. Transfers between different ISA providers can take up to 30 days and are largely dependent on when the existing ISA provider can send us all of the required information so we can then set up the new ISA for you. We have chased your existing provider and we are delighted that you have chosen to move forward with the transfer which should take place shortly. Welcome to the Foresters family. If you have any questions in the meantime, please do let us know. We are available Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm on 0800 988 2418 or by email memberservices@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk. Kind regards, Foresters.

Posted 1 year ago

“Money invested and then market value reduction applied. Can’t get money out without taking a hit on initial investment.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. It’s important to remember that the savings plan you have opened with us is a longer-term investment which is designed to be held over many years. Investment volatility is not unique to Foresters and is being experienced by all investment providers and their customers. So, while short-term investment value changes can be unsettling, it’s important to maintain a longer-term view as well. As a result of investment volatility, a small proportion of plans that have invested in our Order Insurance with profits Fund in previous years have a Market Value Reduction (MVR) applied to them but no MVR is currently in place for plans taken out in 2023. This is the first time in our history that we have had to apply an MVR. As an adjustment that can be applied to the value of your investment, if you choose to cash-in or withdraw from your plan during volatile investment conditions, which reduces how much you get back, it ensures that everybody gets their fair share of the returns from a with profits fund and is designed to protect members who do not take their money out of the fund during poor market conditions. You will only see the effect of an MVR should you wish to withdraw your money at the time there is an MVR in place. An MVR can be added, removed, increased or decreased at any time and, as we are unable to predict future investment market performance, we are unable to advise how long the MVR for previous year’s investments will be in place for. Our investment team are continually looking for additional opportunities to improve returns whilst remaining within risk tolerance levels. If you have any further questions, please do let us know. We are available Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm on 0800 988 2418 or by email membersalesandservice@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk. Kind regards, Foresters Friendly

Posted 1 year ago

“Lost almost 10% in an ISA run by Foresters. They placed a market value reduction on my ISA so my £20,000 went down to around £18,000.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. It’s important to remember that the savings plan you have opened with us is a longer-term investment which is designed to be held over many years. Investment volatility is not unique to Foresters and is being experienced by all investment providers and their customers. So, while short-term investment value changes can be unsettling, it’s important to maintain a longer-term view as well. As a result of investment volatility, a small proportion of plans that have invested in our Order Insurance with profits Fund in previous years have a Market Value Reduction (MVR) applied to them but no MVR is currently in place for plans taken out in 2023. This is the first time in our long history that we have had to apply an MVR. As an adjustment that can be applied to the value of your investment, if you choose to cash-in or withdraw from your plan during volatile investment conditions, which reduces how much you get back, it ensures that everybody gets their fair share of the returns from a with profits fund and is designed to protect members who do not take their money out of the fund during poor market conditions. You will only see the effect of an MVR should you wish to withdraw your money at the time there is an MVR in place. An MVR can be added, removed, increased or decreased at any time and, as we are unable to predict future investment market performance, we are unable to advise how long the MVR for previous year’s investments will be in place for. Our investment team are continually looking for additional opportunities to improve returns whilst remaining within risk tolerance levels. If you require any further assistance, please contact us by email at membersalesandservice@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk or by phone at 0800 988 2418. Kind regards, Foresters.

Posted 1 year ago

“The NISA account was opened in June 2023 but I am still not allowed to register for the online account management portal. Just keep receiving ridiculous messages like: "The update to our site that included the new member Login portal launched a number of weeks ago. It will be a little while yet until we can onboard all existing members due to the complexity and scale of the project. Our Member Services teams are unable to set up portal access on request. We'll be in touch when it is your turn to register." This does not sound like the 21st century service standard, to be honest, especially when many financial services providers allow you to register, open and manage online accounts in an instant.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Hi Alexander, We appreciate your frustration regarding your current inability to register for and make use of our member portal. We launched the member portal in July of this year, and it is currently accessible only by members taking out plans after the launch date so that we could evaluate real world performance of the portal and seek member feedback, making adjustments where needed. Additionally, as a multi-brand business a significant amount of work has taken place so that members who hold plans from across our various brands are able to see and manage them all in one place. We hope that you'll appreciate that delay in inviting you, and other members who have taken out plans before the portal launched in July of this year is because as a member-focused business, we want to make sure that we’re offering the best possible portal experience when the time comes, and that a significant amount of technical work needs be done in order to do so. The work mentioned above is ongoing, but we are now beginning to onboard members who took out plans prior to July of this year, and will do so in a phased manner, starting with the most recent plans, and working our way back so as to be able to manage the volume of invitations and subsequent sign-ups. For plans that were taken out in July of this year, as yours was, we hope to be able to have invited you to register before the end of the year. Kind regards, Foresters.

Posted 1 year ago

“WARNING! to anyone going through a cashback site where Foresters (so called) friendly society promises cashback after 3 months minimum investment period. You actually have to be invested for 12 months. Why even mention 3 months in your marketing!! Its an old school business with no online access nor any information where your money is invested or how it is doing, you get no statements or anything! Avoid this fraud company FFS”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Hi, thank you for your feedback. We understand that you have been in touch with our member services team who have explained the following: As advertised, the terms of our cashback offers are for a minimum of 3 monthly direct debit payments to be made or, in the case of a lump sum investment, for your investment to remain with us for a minimum of 3 months, before you are eligible for the cashback to be paid. As our plans are designed for the medium to long term, our terms also stipulate that if, having received a cashback payment, you are to close your investment within 12 months of the commencement date we reserve the right to deduct the value of the cashback from any surrender value or refund of premiums. With regard to account access, we recognise that we must keep enhancing our service offering to members. As such, we recently launched our member portal. New members have access to their investments through our online portal where any payments made into the plan can be seen, and we will be rolling this out to existing members. Kind regards, Foresters Friendly

Posted 1 year ago

“You'll notice their site is very flashy and looks very presentable, albeit you can't actually login and see any of your information - this is allegedly being rolled out but as a customer for over a year with £12k invested, I still haven't had an invite. Thus all comms has to be by email or phone - with emails regularly going unanswered. My investment was put under a MVR meaning I can't withdraw without a penalty (about 5% of my pot). Whilst I understand this is in the T&Cs and am fine with it, their was no underlying communications to state this prior to my investigation into my fund. Secondly, they can't state when it will be lifted. Nor is there any real information available via their service desks or their website. They will refer you to their website for news but it offers no more than a buried comment about some pre-2023 funds being under a MVR and no ability to find updates or any other method of being updated other than pinging their service desk every day. The website is set up for sales, thus the information is jarringly lacking on their site once your money has been taken. Personally this feels like a bit of a farce and the lack of transparency is very very worrying - I'm pulling my funds out as soon as the MVR is lifted. (If I can every find out when)”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Hi Dean, thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We have just launched the initial phase of our member portal in July this year and, as you state, this initial phase is accessible for new plan holders only, with existing plan holders being issued invitations during a phased introduction throughout the rest of 2023. We appreciate that you are eager to sign-up for the portal and we will be in touch to advise when you are able to register for your account. It’s important to remember that the savings plan you have opened with us is a longer-term investment which is designed to be held over many years. Investment volatility is not unique to Foresters and is being experienced by all investment providers and their customers. So, while short-term investment value changes can be unsettling, it’s important to maintain a longer-term view as well. As a result of investment volatility, a small proportion of plans that have invested in our Order Insurance with profits Fund in previous years have a Market Value Reduction (MVR) applied to them but no MVR is currently in place for plans taken out in 2023. This is the first time in our history that we have had to apply an MVR. As an adjustment that can be applied to the value of your investment, if you choose to cash-in or withdraw from your plan during volatile investment conditions, which reduces how much you get back, it ensures that everybody gets their fair share of the returns from a with profits fund and is designed to protect members who do not take their money out of the fund during poor market conditions. You will only see the effect of an MVR should you wish to withdraw your money at the time there is an MVR in place. An MVR can be added, removed, increased or decreased at any time and, as we are unable to predict future investment market performance, we are unable to advise how long the MVR for previous year’s investments will be in place for. Our investment team are continually looking for additional opportunities to improve returns whilst remaining within risk tolerance levels. Best wishes, Foresters.

Posted 1 year ago

“Money stuck in this bank earning little to no interest and cant remove it unless I give back £400 cashback they offered me to sign up - drawn in with a deal to get stuck in for an entire year. Will read the fine print in future and avoid businesses like Foresters Friendly.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Hi Daniel, thank you for your feedback. We understand that our Member Services team have been in touch and have clarified the cashback offer terms and conditions with you. It’s important to remember that the savings plan you have opened with us is a longer-term investment which is designed to be held over many years. Investment volatility is not unique to Foresters and is being experienced by all investment providers and their customers. So, while short-term investment value changes can be unsettling, it’s important to maintain a longer-term view as well. If you do need any further assistance in future please contact us by email memberservices@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk or call 0800 988 2418. Kind regards, Foresters.

Posted 1 year ago

“Terrible customer service. Really poor handling of my claims on termination of policy. Avoid investing with this company at all costs. Would have given zero stars if possible.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Hi Richard, thank you for your review. We appreciate that you felt the claims process was onerous however, for some plan types, we do require adequate documentation for establishing identity at claim stage which ensures that we protect the money and security of our policyholders. This safeguards the plan so that only authorised individuals have access to the payout. We appreciate your cooperation in fulfilling these requirements and we can confirm that our claims department were as flexible as they were able to be, whilst still adhering to our procedures. If you have any further concerns or questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact our claims department. Best wishes, Foresters.

Posted 1 year ago

“Been trying to get my money out for several months now and they never reply to emails, calls etc”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Hi Andy, thank you for bringing your feedback to our attention. We sincerely apologize for the experience you had, and we genuinely appreciate your willingness to provide us with more information so that we can address the issue promptly. We have thoroughly checked our records, but unfortunately, we couldn't find any of your emails regarding this matter or find your details as a registered member based on the information provided. To ensure we fully understand the situation and resolve it, we kindly request you to contact us directly via email at claims@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk or call us at 0800 101 8312 to provide some further information. We look forward to hearing from you soon and resolving this matter to your utmost satisfaction. Kind regards, Foresters

Posted 1 year ago

“Still waiting for my ISA documents, having opened an account 14 days ago. Now 28 days.............and still no documents”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Hi Charles D, many thanks for leaving us a review. We know you’ve spoken with our Member Services team recently to raise the postal issues that appear to be occurring with you not receiving your policy pack, despite it being sent twice via first class post. The team called you yesterday but didn’t get an answer so they left a message to confirm that the policy documents have been put in the post again, this time by recorded delivery, so that they are guaranteed to be delivered within 3 working days. Please rest assured that your plan was set up once your application was received. Our Member Services team are on hand if you have any other queries. Best wishes, Foresters

Posted 1 year ago

“Not happy that my Stock and Shares ISA is losing money thousands and thousands of pounds. I will not pay another penny to FF and will withdraw my money as soon as the amount is back to what I paid in. This has never happened to me before with previous financial companies.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Hi Kathy, thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We know one of our Member Services team has contacted you today following your review. Investment volatility is not unique to Foresters and is being experienced by all investment providers and their customers. It’s important to remember that your savings plan is a longer-term investment, which is designed to be held over many years. So, while short-term investment value changes can be unsettling, it’s important to maintain a longer-term view as well. Since 2020, there have been a number of global challenges that have had an impact on investment returns. Issues like the state of the global economy, increased energy costs driving up the prices of goods and services, political developments such as the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the mini-budget turmoil more recently plus the impact of COVID-19 have all contributed to stock market volatility. As a result of the investment volatility, a small proportion of plans that have invested in our Order Insurance with profits Fund in previous years have a Market Value Reduction (MVR) applied to them but no MVR is currently in place for plans taken out in 2023. This is the first time in our history that we have had to apply an MVR. An MVR is an adjustment that can be applied to the value of your investment if you choose to cash-in or withdraw from your plan during volatile investment conditions, reducing how much you get back. It ensures that everybody gets their fair share of the returns from a with profits fund and is designed to protect members who do not take their money out of the fund during poor market conditions. You will only see the effect of an MVR should you wish to withdraw your money at the time there is an MVR in place. An MVR can be added, removed, increased or decreased at any time. Our investment team are continually looking for additional opportunities to improve returns whilst remaining within risk tolerance levels. Best wishes, Foresters.

Posted 2 years ago

“Unfortunately i had to cancelon the 5th as requested i sent the form to do so on the same day to the email requested had no reply as of yet .”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Hi Colin, thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear about the experience you have had and would be happy to look into this for you. If you could please contact us by email memberservices@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk or call 0800 988 2418 to provide some further information we’d appreciate it. Kind regards, Foresters.

Posted 2 years ago

Hi Colin, thank you for contacting us about this. We believe our Member Services team have since been in touch and this matter is now being resolved. If you do need any further assistance in future please contact us by email memberservices@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk or call 0800 988 2418. Kind regards, Foresters.

Posted 2 years ago

“Have not heard anything at all sin e my application”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Hi Joanne, we are sorry to hear about your experience and would like to thank you for providing feedback. We understand from our Member Services team that your query has now been resolved. If this is not the case, or if we can provide any further assistance, please contact us by email memberservices@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk or call 0800 988 2418. Kind regards, Foresters.

Posted 2 years ago

“avoid using this company, its taken me over a month to get back my money after approval, I've sent a number of emails chasing up payment and promised dates via email and never received I'm owed over £3000 pounds, still on going to this date.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Dear Ryan, We are sorry to hear about the experience you have had and would like to thank you for providing feedback. We understand from our Claims team that your query has now been resolved. If this is not the case, or if you have any further enquiries, please contact us by email memberservices@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk or call 0800 988 2418. Kind regards, Foresters.

Posted 2 years ago

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Postal Service
Average Delivery Time	Within 5 Days
On-time Delivery	Greater than 70%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders	100%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Email, Live Chat, Telephone
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour
Customer Service	4.5 out of 5

Foresters Friendly Society Reviews