Scottish Widows Reviews

Name: Scottish Widows
Rating: 1.08

1.1 Rating 101 Reviews

1 %

of reviewers recommend Scottish Widows

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1.1

Based on 101 reviews


Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Own Driver
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email
Queries Resolved In	Over A Week

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Scottish Widows 1 star review on 10th August 2023

Anonymous

Scottish Widows 1 star review on 29th August 2022

Mark Radin

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

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“Awful company - don't reply to letter! Expect you to ring - wait in queue for half hour - still waiting my 25% withdrawal after 3 phone calls! I will not ring again - have reported to Ombudsman to investigate”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Who gave a permission to Scottish Widows to make decisions about my pension? I went through hell to get money from my dishonest employer who supposed to pay contributions to my pension but he didn’t and eventually after getting a solicitor involved I got the money payed to my pension pot only to receive a letter from Scottish Widows 6 months later that they payed the money back to my employer account! The reason they gave me was that I informed them that I no longer work there and the their contribution was add-hog payment as agreed!! Now SW take no responsibility for their mistake and no actions of corrections!! This is outrageous!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“I get inundated with letters from them when asked specifically i just want email correspondence. I was told that there was no way on their system to select digital correspondence only. The reason was because "I have to be sent an annual summary via mail". I receive 2 letters every other week about things I already know. In 2021, what company doesn't offer digital only correspondence? Scottish Widows obviously don't care about the environment the amount of paper they waste.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Scottish Widows should be avoided at all costs! Their customer service is abysmal, they appear to be totally incompetent and unable to complete the simplest of transactions. They will ignore your emails completely, and office staff, other than the call centre staff, will refuse to talk to you. They are totally hopeless and in my opinion should not be entrusted with peoples finances.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“They are absolutely shocking and should not be allowed to trade. Caused so much stress by constantly ignoring us and lying. Every week was a different excuse as to why they hadn’t released our funds. We were advised by a solicitor to move it to a different company, which we did and what a different experience!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Scottish Widows is an appalling company - they have prevented me accessing my pension for months. Their website won't let me log on as it doesn't recognise my (their!!) pension number. Customer service letters are then written by bots with platitudes saying that they care only to send them via their website associated email system that I cannot access!! You couldn't with a comedy of errors that matches their incompetence and do-nothing about it approach. Appalling standards - they are a company of snake oil salesmen”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Terrible service. Sent an email to discuss increasing my pension . Still not received a reply. Telephoned after a week of on hold daily for up to 1 hour I finally got to speak to an employee who’s telephone manner was appalling , rude , abruptly & got no where with my needs.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“I had a policy with Scottish Widow for a number of years (28 years plus) and was told that when the policy finishes that I would get a lump sum at the end of it. Since then I learnt that this was a LIE. So I made a complaint against Scottish Widows on the 15th October 2019 (last year) and I have not received or heard anything regarding this? Now it is the 19th February 2021 and I still have not heard anything (not even had any correspondence about this). Could you please tell me on an URGENT BASIS as to what is going on? As I would like this to be resolved this year (at least before the end of this month)? Still not heard a thing not even acknowledgement of of complaint. (nothing).”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“DISGUSTING TREATMENT OF AN ELDERLY WIDOW On the passing of my father we contacted Scottish Widows to put the joint account into my mother's name. They confirmed the account, my mother's date of birth, address etc and requested a copy of the death certificate. This was sent in with a covering letter including the account number as the subject heading. We received the certificate back and a letter stating there was NO ACCOUNT in this name! The fact is that despite the account details being clearly stated in the letter they had input the incorrect digit at the end of the account. After again contacting them and spending 70 minutes on the phone the representative then LIED claiming that account number referred to an 'additional' account that had been in my father's sole name. This is completely false there had never been an account in his sole name and was very upsetting for my mother. Having then asked to be put through to the complaints department this was apprently not possible! After a further 20 mins arguing we were put through to the relevant department to close the account and withdraw funds. After a further 10 mins we were then advised they had the incorrect address (despite them having previously sent written correspondence to the correct address and therefore could not make payment to my mother of her own funds. After they admitted having found the letter they then stated they could not make payment as they did not have my mother's date of birth!!! This is despite them having confirmed these details as part of the identification process. The final excuse for not being able to process the funds is that the date of birth 'was on the other system' and this representative could not see it!!!!! We were then advised that they required my mother to send in identification despite them having confirmed the account was in her name and had accepted that the letter validated her indentity. We are now to lodge a formal complaint and take it up with the relevant governing body. My advice would be NOT TO HAVE ANY DEALINGS WITH THIS BODY AS CLEARLY IT IS POLICY TO MAKE IT AS DIFFICULT AND CUMBERSOME AS POSSIBLE TO WITHDRAW FUNDS. The excuses given takes this beyond mere negligience”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Trying to get information out of them for probate for my late mother. Loads of calls lots of broken promises from them. Impossible to talk to any management to sort out such a bunch of clowns - they need to be taken to court for dereliction of their duties towards their customers”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“My Mother died and we need the value of her fund at the time of death for Probate purposes. After weeks of hellish , obstructive phone calls (they dont answer e mails) just to get this figure we are still non the wiser. They will not give us the information we require. The chances of claiming the fund we expect to be zero. We now have no option but to take legal action. I have no idea how an outfit like this can survive these days with this type of dodgy dealing and appalling customer service - the reviews about them are universally awful. It beggers belief they are under the umbrella of the Lloyds Group. Surely someone has to step in now? I believe there is a big reveal due on this bunch of clowns.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“They are holding onto my pension savings of which I have been using a pensions regulated advisor, i am waiting for them to transfer my tax free amount and transfer remaining amount to another annuity provider. Evry time I contact them they say it is being dealt with. If need be I will seek legal advice. MR.H”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“My pension lost £2000 in value in the last 22 months. I had a letter from them on October the 03rd telling me they are changing the way they invest money and to get in touch by October 01st for any queeries . They can't even post a letter on time.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“just tried to transfer a pension to them. Tried to do it on line, but because I was retiring within a year they couldnt complete the application instead gave a phone number where they would be "on hand to help you along the way" After a long wait on hold I got an advisor who said it was not the function of that office to assist with applications and 'as far as he knew' all applications had to be on line. He asked for a contact number to call me back on but before I could give it cut me off.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Pretty poor. My first experience at trying to transfer my pension to SW. The first agent was half asleep, the second agent passed me to a dead line. I immediately checked reviews online and glad I did. Pension inquiries really do not need to be complicated.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“This company r a joke”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“I really have to ask what is actually the script with this company and more notably with there employees attitudes? These staff, no doubtable young and unreliable have clearly got a can't door attitude. I called a few weeks ago to let them know of the loss of my late husband and after at least a 10 minute hold and then conversation for 30 minutes with a young woman (she didn't seem to care what she was doing or say and her empathetic tone was so underwhelming it was untrue), she them randomly seemed to either cut me off or just put me in another queue without any explanation. I then ended up speaking for another 30 minutes to a gentleman who I had to repeat all my details and information too and he seemed actually genuinely sorry for my loss and also for the experience I had with his colleague and that he would be attempting to look into this matter. I have not YET received a call back about this matter and no doubt I will have to make a complaint to them or the Financial Ombudsmen about there sheer bloody incompetence. This call centre at Dalkeith Road is beyond compare to any other specialist service I have received, no because they are helpful but because they are absolutely beyond in a joke in there care for customers or there willing-ness to help!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“As i am over 55 i have recieved a letter from Scottish widows informing me that i am entitled to 'cash out ' if i wish. I am about to cash in my pension. let's see if scottish widows are as bad as they are reported to be. i have already tried to use the website, which is notoriously outdated. i will keep you updated”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Never knew Scottish Widows you have been warned”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“I tried to claim funds from a matured policy and now live in a different country. The reviews on Scottish Widows is bang on for accuracy there is a reason they get ONE STAR on average so “buyers beware”. If you think they are difficult to deal with wait until you try and claim YOUR money back. They are petty, contradictory, they LIE, all in all put up so many road blocks to stall, their own processes and standards are archaic, out of touch and go against common sense and generally accepted good industry practices anything to delay paying you for as long as possible, they are probably designed to do exactly that hoping you give up. I would never recommend them to anyone and can’t stress enough READ THEIR REVIEWS then go elsewhere. I have sent them certified documentation of my UK passport and Australian drivers licence which they rejected as they were verified by the Australian police as being true copies. Yet they fail to acknowledge I obtained these documents by getting the supporting documentation certified by the same process which is acceptable in EVERY COUNTRY I have lived/worked in. They were good enough for the UK government passport office but not Scottish Widows? Now they want me to get the same documents re notarised even though these documents were obtained by a process they don’t accept? They also wanted a letter resent from my bank and joint policy holder despite having ALREADY received them. Everything is a drama designed to frustrate and stall, they even requested my policy number after receiving it in the mail which prompted them to contact me in the first place? If you deal with them you deal with CONTRACTORS who don't seem to either have access to their database and systems or are too lazy to look, I am not sure which. Seriously put your money under your mattress or review another company (any company) there is NO WAY they can be worse than Scottish Widows, their processes, standards as well as customer focus is right out of the 19th century.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Scottish Widows is rated 1.1 based on 101 reviews