Standard Life Aberdeen Reviews 13

STEER CLEAR! Worst investment I have made! The policy has made a massive £6400 in 33 YEARS🤔😂😂😂! So they can mess up their finances and our endowment plan, offer you peanuts in compensation then when they are making millions they don’t have to pay it back? Any other institution or private person would be the opposite! Fortunately it is not tied to a property or mortgage unlike some.

Date of experience: July 03, 2025

The saga continues!

It's always rather worrying when a so-called 'financial company' can't read a bank statement. They will ask for a CURRENT bank statement, and then 21 days later, inform you that they need a bank statement showing 'day-to-day' transactions. You didn't ask for THAT and it took you 21 days to notice!

There ARE transactions on the statement and there is clearly a DATE on the statement. You can't please these people!

Then they asked me for my address. Is your address NOT on your bank statements in England? They are in other countries, I assure you - even third world countries!

English is my THIRD language so is it just me? 21 days to NOTICE the error - and they didn't even apologise. Why don't English people speak plain English so they can be understood by everyone?

Date of experience: March 27, 2025

This is the worst company to have your superannuation with. Their communication is very poor, I have been trying to update my account information for the past 6 weeks. I get told to do one thing when I ring up. Send messages through their internal message system. Then receive a letter 10 days later requesting something else This has happened twice so far. Why cannot they just respond in a reasonable time frame through their internal message system. I can see that other people have a nightmare trying to gain access to their pension. Definitely will not consolidate any of my expertnal vales pensions with them.

Date of experience: January 22, 2025

Exceptional customer service, solid investment returns

Date of experience: June 13, 2024

I have a SIPP with Abrdn/Standard Life and asked them many months ago to fulfil my request to transfer the SIPP plan I have with them to an Occupational Pension Scheme which is a Small Self Administered Scheme.
I completed their transfer forms, sent confirmation of everything they asked for many weeks ago, they confirmed they had received everything, but having chased them & the receiving Pension Scheme provider and administrator many times, who are sending reminders to Abrdn/Standard life we are getting no response?
In the meantime I am losing out on growth on my pension funds due to there excessive and unreasonable delay in a bull run.
I am going to complain to the company and have spoken to the Pension Ombudsman who asked me to complain to the company 1st, and then the TPO.

I know the ceding scheme has to go through the TPO traffic light system to prove employment, plus if that raises an amber flag, then I need a safeguarding meeting with Moneyhelper.ork.uk, but I have evidenced my employment and having worked in financial services all my adult life, I totally understand about pension scams etc, but the barriers Abrdn/Standard Life put up to delay transferring my funds when we are now in a bull run is in my view incompetence and shows ‘they do not treat their customers fairly’ or with Due Care and diligence’ as they have a ‘Duty of Care’ to treat me fairly which is an FCA requirement.
The CEO of Abrdn/Standard Life must be made aware of this and get something done about it as it reflects on them ans an person and the company.

If this is not transferred (which is my statutory right) and Standard Life do not provide an answer to this within 7 days then I will also make Martin Lewis aware of this situation as the consumer champion.
Abrdn/Standard Life please get this sorted ASAP with 7 days please???

Date of experience: June 06, 2024

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY
We live in Australia and my husband is at his so stressed trying to drawdown HIS pension from this company since 22/8/23
We have called nearly every night to face “you haven’t submitted A, B or C”Yet he has confirmation he had from someone else in the company on the app!!!!
We have had to postpone works being done here which in itself is causing financial pressure on us - the penalties here are high for delaying any projects.
We cannot get anyone who can answer our simple queries on what’s happening even at supervisor level.
This is very concerning to us as a family.

Date of experience: October 18, 2023

This company are absolutely useless, they have consistently over about 3 years failed to make any money but have managed to reduce my pot all the time. Due to inflation etc I am now a lot worse off than if I had invested in fixed rate bonds etc.
As someone else pointed out they are still getting their fees though, so why should they care?
From a very disappointed investor.

Date of experience: August 03, 2023

Sub-Standard Life and pension guaranteed
Restrict investment choices so people who trust their selection options lose big time. If complaining they are slippery, deflectice and blurb denial of wrongdoing! Badly run, badly managed turn £675k into £533k in just a few months! Avoid this outfit you work hard for your money and all they do is do their best to lose your money. Simply put promises and pledges made by their new CEO to turn this terrible outfit around is out of time, worse still they simply don't care! Why... Because the Ombudsman is useless and as such they allowed to get away with loosing your retirement savings and pay themselves fat salaries for sub- standard performance.

Date of experience: May 01, 2023

HORRENDOUS , OBSTRUCTIVE AND FRANKLY COMPULSIVE LIES
HORRENDOUS , OBSTRUCTIVE PENSIONS OMBUDSMEN AND COURT ACTION NOW PROGRESSING
Once a trusted company now ,something is not right , obstructive in allowing me to withdraw my fund, delays of weeks when a fund should have immediate access, these funds were to finance supplies to the Polish Border for the Ukraine Conflict , even had the nerve to suggest I should not be withdrawing my own money to help people , These guys are simply trying to obstruct and delay withdrawals so make sure you research your exit as I would no longer invest with this firm , I do no trust what they say as so many lies since February this year, false promises , similar to other reviews , DONT LEAVE YOUR FUNDS WITH THEM !!!!!!

Date of experience: April 18, 2022

Finally taking my pot out. A week later of missed calls, hanging up, messaging no further forward. My *investment lost 10%) not as bad as hargreaves who they took over. They are corporate thiefs and money launderers. Don' ever have a private pension.

Date of experience: February 12, 2022

Terrible time trying to transfer my SIPP from Elevate to another platform. Elevate rec'd instructions in April 2021 and I still don't have all my positions transferred. I don't think they even know what I have with them. Very very slow to reply to emails. Their investigations team is hopeless and you just get fobbed off - system problem leading to manual reconciliation to work out what I have. I've raised a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman, but they too haven't started to look into this. Anyone else in this position? The system problem must have impacted others. I'd love to meet/contact you

Date of experience: January 27, 2022

Standard Life is one of the worst company managing our hard earned monies, It takes two or three attempt to get them to understand a simple request like statement between quarterly date. Regrettably, many employer's pension managed by SL. The return is atrocious on majorities SL fund. I switched over from SL to other funds and managed to gain better return. Their charges are exorbitant compare to their below par performance.

Date of experience: August 02, 2021

I have been a customer with Standard Life for many years using (via an IFA) their WRAP platform to contain my SIP and ISA investments (my lifetime savings). I am currently in the process of moving my not inconsiderable funds to a competitor (Transact).

For legal reasons I will not set out in this forum why. I would welcome a direct dialogue with Standard Life Aberdeen in regard to this matter.

Date of experience: February 25, 2021