Old Mutual Flexi Pension bad service.

I have found the process of assisting clients with their Flexi Pension policies increasingly frustrating and unnecessarily difficult. The level of service received raises serious concerns regarding the efficiency, accuracy and overall approach to the administration of these policies, particularly where clients are seeking access to funds to which they may be entitled.

The concerns include, but are not limited to, the following:

Unnecessarily complicated processes: Routine requests often become unnecessarily difficult to resolve, requiring repeated follow-ups and excessive administrative intervention.

Delays in processing payments: Clients experience frustrating delays in accessing their funds, with insufficient clarity regarding the reasons for these delays or when payment can reasonably be expected.

Administrative errors: Mistakes in the handling or processing of requests result in additional work, repeated submissions and further delays, placing an unnecessary burden on both advisers and clients.

Poor communication and accountability: Obtaining clear, consistent and definitive answers can be difficult, with issues often requiring repeated escalation before meaningful progress is made. Not even team leaders call one back to assist with difficulties.

Client impact: These ongoing difficulties create unnecessary stress and uncertainty for clients, some of whom may be relying on their pension benefits to meet essential financial obligations.

Of particular concern is the impression created when repeated administrative obstacles and delays prevent clients from accessing their funds timeously. While I appreciate that regulatory requirements, verification procedures and internal controls must be followed, these requirements should not result in avoidable delays, repeated errors or processes that appear unnecessarily obstructive.

Clients should not have to endure an excessive administrative burden to access benefits to which they are legitimately entitled. Equally, financial advisers should be able to engage with a provider's administration team in a professional, efficient and constructive manner.

I believe Old Mutual needs to take these concerns seriously and review the manner in which Flexi Pension claims, withdrawals and related administrative requests are handled.