Which? condemns ‘huge variations’ in IFA fees

Er , Hello

Are these people at Which? Complete numpties or do they aspire to a communist state? OF COURSE there are disparities in fees – it’s called a Free Market Economy and reflects the very competition of which you have previously stated you are so in favour. Either this has been poorly reported or you really are a daft bunch. Has it not even occurred to you that the seemingly outrageous fee quoted was just a polite way of saying to the potential client – bugger off I don’t deal in these small cases, it just isn’t worth my while. (Could it possibly be as a result of the high regulatory costs?)

Posted by: Harry Katz

Inevitable consequences

The poor people at Which are simply scrambling around trying to find a role for themselves and they do sound very purile. I could go around the country checking the prices for a huge range of things and would find a lot of disparity but thats life. I am free to price around its what drives economies and efficiency, in the "Which" ideal world everyone would charge the same and simply get lazy and innefficient. But then if that happened I am sure we could all get a job at Which or even with the growing list of regulators !!!

Posted by: Darrell Monteith

"a little knowledge"

Once again we have Which? making utterances over matters of which they have very little or no understanding - it is blatantly obvious that these pontificators have little or no experience of business or commerce - however, never have they let total ignorance of a subject inhibit them from casting an opinion on that subject. I recall the endowment "scandal" when Which? set off the hue and cry over "mis sold" endowments - ignoring the differences between unit linked endowments and with profits endowments; perhaps someone should have sat them down in a darkened room and explained to them the fundamentals of £/cost averaging but, no, that would have been an embarrassment for Which? (and, I would guess, the regulators) - God forbid that the general public were to learn the truth and the facts! That was certainly NOT on Which? agenda. The inevitable "knock on" effect of Which? meddling and ill-informed statements over the years has certainly helped to discourage the general public from making any financial provisions for themselves - a situation not helped by the FSA et al; I can never recall either Which? or the FSA actually encouraging the general public to consult an IFA - neither has Which? ever made an honest comparison between the standard of advice and service between IFAs and the high street banks- now that WOULD be interesting! We can only dream, I suppose.

Posted by: Chris Sellers

What the!

This is the first time in the whole RDR debate that I have sat down and Laughed out Loud!! Just as were getting to grips with adviser and consultancy charging and weighing this up with the local economics of the area.. demographics, geography, our client offering etc and sorting out a price point out comes some twaddle telling us some of our colleagues may be charging too much. Or are our other colleagues letting us down by not valuing their services enough?

Posted by: Steve Baker

Fools

There's an old saying that a fool knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing. It appears to me there are a lot of fols at Which! If Which is the consumer champion it should perhaps look at the cost of regulation in our profession as ultimately it is the consumer that pays these costs. Then perhaps Which could analyse if such costs are fair, justified or warranted. All the regulatory, compliance and insurance costs on top of all these ambulance chasing claims management companies are sending costs through the roof. However I suspect this is a task too difficult for Which to take on so it is easier to come out with this latest nonsense. Any adviser that thinks they could transact a £5,000 pension switch for £50 is insane in my opinion considering all the work involve and the potential liability at a future date without time limit. The fee of £2,500 does seem excessive but is likely to have been quoted by the adviser firm as a polite way of saying they don't really want to transact such small business. Many other industries also operate a similar practice to allow them to focus on the business which they wat to transact. This is a sensible strategy within any well run organisation and should be applauded and not criticised. But then again that wouldn't really be news that Which could put out as an eyecatching headline, would it?

Posted by: jonnieb666

Which is NOT a consumer champion

Which losts any right to be a "consumer champion" when it set up it's own mortgage service taking commission!! Maybe it should judge itself first before making judgements on others.

Posted by: Michael Fallas

£50 for a pension transfer

I would like to know what IFA would charge £50 for a pension transfer? From start to finish, including client meetings, it could take 20 hours plus to give the advice. Is the IFA mad? Or working for £2.50 ph?

Posted by: Stephen Halt

Typical Which?

All Which? have ever done, from what I can see, is state the bloody obvious, shout about what is wrong without & bleat about cost. Nothing about how they would like to see things done, nothing about what value advisers provide & have no idea bout running a business. I have never had much, if any, faith in them.

Posted by: David

WHICH rag?

Any IFA who speaks to the WHICH rag is a nit. Sorry to be so blunt about my esteemed fellow profesisonals, but history is consistent and clear.

Posted by: Justin Thomas

Bl**dy Fools

It's a free market and the consumer is sovereign. Have they not heard of 'shopping around'? I thought they advocated it? And they are authoritarian fundamentalists. How dare they demand state control over pricing. And as far as I know every IFA I know clearly publishes their fee costs. Which? is a commercial organisation that makes a profit out of judging other businesses. I judge Which? a failure - for free.

Posted by: Steven Farrall