Scottish Friendly Omdömen 3 096

Awful
Firm . Website issues . Invested £6k in 2022 , it’s worth £5.5k now .

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!

I wanted to contribute to my Grandchild's Junior ISA Account and initial information said this could be done by a Bank Transfer payment - no mention of restrictions!
However when my Junior ISA top up account was processed I was forced to make a payment by regular DD or Lump sum in the following Month through the SF App and not through my On line Bank Account
This is ridiculous as it is therefore not possible to make the transfer immediately and will clearly cause problems towards the end of the tax year.
I want to be able to make a payment at short notice on a date I want to make it - ie Today or Tomorrow
On this bas the Family will have to consider changing to a more flexible Junior Isa Provider
VERY Disappointing and unsatisfactory

So, after 10 years of paying £270 per year, getting notices every year of the bonuses I had earned, and receiving a final payment notice telling me of my final bonus, I got paid £2568.95 which is less than the £2700 I had invested. They either employ the worst investment team, or take extortionate fees.
Either way, a poor investment - don’t waste your money.
Update - I did as Scottish Friendly asked, and got in touch. It would appear that while I was complaining, Scottish Friendly were fixing their error. On the the day I sent an email, a cheque arrived for £566, so thanks. Also, because the complaint was upheld, they're sending a little bonus, so for all of that, I'll change my 1 star to 5, thanks

Good to save plus 50 on top of investing

I was really struggling to log in to my account with Scottish Friendly, and I just have to say how amazing the support was.

Cathrine was so kind, patient, and genuinely helpful. She stayed on the line with me the entire time to make sure I was able to sign in properly. Knowing how busy they are, she could easily have asked me to try again later or left me to sort it out myself but she didn’t. She stayed with me until everything was sorted.

You don’t always expect this level of customer service these days, but Cathrine truly went above and beyond. Scottish Friendly are incredibly lucky to have her on their team. Thank you, Cathrine!

This company refuse to pay out cashback for signing up where all terms have been clearly met.

They were supposed to pay me £310 for contributing £100 per month to their ISA. Instead, they sent me a £50 voucher and claimed that this was instead of the £310 cashback and that they would not be honouring the cashback payment.

This is a terrible attitude towards their customers. How they can see this as a fair resolution is beyond me.

Please don't bother sending me a generic response trying to paper over the cracks of your awful company. I am writing this review so other people don't have to deal with you in the future.

Avoid this company at all costs.