Scottish Friendly Avis 3 103

Scottish Friendly - a Scottish stereotype of not wanting to let go of money. Especially if it's someone else's money.

I wanted to register on their myplans site so I could start a pension drawdown. Their site rejected my details so I had to ring them. Phone was answered quickly and the person on the phone was pleasant. However when I gave them my details they told me they don't allow drawdowns, I could either take the lot and pay tax on it or take nothing.

If I wanted to drawdown I would have to move to another provider. So that's what I am doing.

I had a very pleasant chat with Catherine this afternoon who helped me out a lot with something that had been giving me some stress. It was reassuring to hear her lovely voice sorting out my issue.

Very easy app to use

I am completely disgusted with this organisation. I took out a child trust fund for my grand daughter which completed on 23rd December 2025. She lives in the US and the absolute morons in that office cannot figure out how to send it to her. She even opened a different bank account with Capital One and still they cant figure out how to send it. They even lied to me that they could send a cheque in dollars but couldn't figure that out either. We are now 4 months down the line and she still doesn't have her money. Beyond ridiculous..

Easy to use - all relevant information accessible

Easy to open and manage using the App, great customer service, everything is clear and straight forward

The App is so easy and friendly to use love it 🥰 Thanks to you all I recommend a Scottish Friendly ISA take out one now from only £10 a month.

very easy to apply and everything was explained step by step

After putting £50 monthly investment for 2yrs and 9 months (£1650), I just learnt that my current value is £1669, meaning I made £19 in almost 3 yrs.
So I accepted that it was a waste of time and asked to withdraw my money. Surprisingly, Scottish Friendly who has been taking 1.5% of my money as charges is now saying that they will take £50 off the balance as their admin fees.
Be careful with his company as I experienced incompetence in investing funds and greed in their charges

Completed application for a Junior ISA on 24th March with a lump sum payment for the tax year 25/26. Scottish Friendly didn’t take payment out until 7th April despite saying it would be done for 4th so now contributions shows as tax year 26/27. No notice to say payment would not be taken in time for tax year end and fund’s unsubscribed for over a week so loss in interest. Was advised to raise with customer service team as per this response to trustpilot review however got standard response saying unwilling to help

Declan at the customer service centre was THE most helpful and friendly representative I have ever spoken to. Nothing was too much trouble and he was on the phone with my daughter and I through the whole process to ensure our issue was dealt with and resolved. A credit to the company.

I love the concept behind what they do as a business, but the app itself is really frustrating to use. It never remembers my login details, and the whole sign-in process isn’t very user friendly. Most apps now let you log in with fingerprint or face recognition, which makes things so much easier. Because of that, I honestly forget to use it sometimes and don’t put as much into it, purely because logging in feels like such a hassle.

Booked an over 50 plan to leave money for my grandkids when I pass. Really easy at 66. Did online & got email straight away direct debit set up so reassuringly easy to sort. Would definitely recommend.

Not brilliant I have to say
was not straight forward to set up one off payments to the account from someone else

I find it unacceptable that the current processing times for security checks and withdrawal takes between 5 and 10 business days (five days for the checks themselves, and another five days for cash withdrawals). My 18 year old daughter (with a bank account, driving licensee & passport) is watching the value of her fund decrease, while these ‘security checks’ are completed. Meanwhile, opening a Monzo bank account takes just five minutes, and securing a loan with money in your account can happen in under two hours.
I wonder if Scottish Friendly will provide clarification regarding the reasons that a security check and cash withdrawal (where an individual is accessing their own funds) might require up to 10 business days? I wonder!

My direct debit was cancelled in error by your organisation in January 2026. Since then, I have made repeated efforts to have it reinstated for my funeral policy, which I have been paying into for several years. My personal details, including my bank account, address, and name, have not changed.

Despite my consistent attempts to resolve this issue, as of today, 23 March 2026, the direct debit has still not been re-established. As a result, I am now in arrears by four payments.

I have contacted your company multiple times—approximately twice per month—yet the issue remains unresolved. During these interactions, I have received inconsistent and contradictory information:

Initially, I was told the direct debit had been set up over the phone. However, when no payment was taken, I called again and was informed that nothing had been set up.
I was then told that direct debits could not be arranged over the phone and that documentation would be sent by post, with the option to complete and return a form electronically.
I completed and returned the form via email while on the phone with your agent, who confirmed that the document had been received, was correctly signed, and would be processed by the back office for payments to resume from the 1st of the following month.
After receiving no confirmation, I contacted your company again and was informed that my signature was missing—contradicting what I had previously been told.
I subsequently provided a screenshot clearly showing the signature, yet was then told the issue may be due to your system not accepting PDF documents, which is highly concerning for a company operating in 2026.

Additionally, I have been informed that your company does not make outbound calls, yet I was promised email confirmation within 48 hours on multiple occasions, which I have not received. One of your agents even acknowledged that I should have at least received a courtesy email.
As someone with over 20 years of experience in customer service, I find the level of service I have received to be wholly unacceptable. The repeated errors, lack of accountability, and failure to resolve a straightforward issue have caused significant frustration and inconvenience.

Pleasant fast efficient all info available
Easy to use and invest

The easiest and simplest way to apply for a junior isa. So impressed. Pain free!