Foresters Friendly Society Reviews

Name: Foresters Friendly Society
Address: Third Floor, Enterprise House, Ocean Way, Southampton
Rating: 4.41

4.4 Rating 658 Reviews

85 %

of reviewers recommend Foresters Friendly Society

Company Reviews

Metrics

Info

4.4

Based on 658 reviews

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Postal Service
Average Delivery Time	Within 5 Days
On-time Delivery	Greater than 66%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders	100%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Email, Live Chat, Telephone
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour
Customer Service	4.5 out of 5

About Foresters Friendly Society:

Foresters Friendly Society has been helping with family finances since 1834. As a mutual society, we don't have shareholders so our profits are instead distributed to our policyholders in the form of bonuses and also through our Foresters Extras membership package.

Visit Website

Phone:

0800 988 2418

Location:

Third Floor, Enterprise House, Ocean Way
Southampton
SO14 3XB

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Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Sort by: Most Recent Most Recent Highest Rated Filter: None None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“Very helpful”

Helpful Report

“I have had a plan with Foresters for 12 years now and only just had to contact them today. The young lady I spoke with whose name is Laura Rowe was perfect. The fact the name itself has ‘friendly’ in the title is an understatement. She was pitch perfect. Her tone of voice was exceptional. Really cared and I could have stayed on the phone for ages. She dealt with my query with speed and accuracy. Knew exactly what I wanted even before I did. What a legend! I hope this compliment gets back to her because she made my day. Thank you Laura!”

Helpful Report

Good Morning Mr Lambie, Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a lovely review. We will be sure to let Laura know about your feedback and appreciate your kind words. We are happy to hear that you have found the customer service at Foresters Friendly a positive experience and hope that you would consider saving with us again in the future. Thank you again.

“How is this company allowed to run like it does. I invested £20000 . A few years ago and have made less than £1000 in interest . I might as well have put it in a bank or under my mattress. If I withdraw then I'm subject to an MVR. Which I've never heard of before and would end up with less than £19000 . Some investment that is . I get notified re. An annual bonus for a couple of hundred pounds if I'm lucky and that seems to be that . Current bank rates are as high as 5% so just where is my money invested? I see these same questions time after time in the comments section here. Someone is making money but it certainly isn't the customers . Not turning out to be a very friendly society at all . Are us investors merely funding society activities ? Extremely dissatisfied and rather concerned that I'll never get my money back unless I pay a penalty fee to do so? No banks , building societies would last a week if they did that so how can you get away with it ...oh and it takes ages to get anyone to actually answer your phones so my money at least isn't paying for that . How do I find out just how much my savings in total are or is it merely this annual bonus rubbish?”

Helpful Report

Good Afternoon Mr Noblett, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and we are sorry to hear that you are dissatisfied with your Investment and experience with Foresters Friendly Society. The plan you have taken out with the Society is a long-term savings plan backed by investments and is not a cash product. As stated at the point of purchase in our important information documentation, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than you have paid in to your plan during periods of negative investment performance. In periods of market volatility a Market Value Reduction (MVR) may be applied to ensure exiting policyholders receive a fair share of the OIF and to protect the policyholders that remain invested in the OIF. An MVR was applied for policies within the Order Insurance Fund for the first time in November 2022. Although a Market Value Reduction is not desired, the existence of an MVR is necessary as it protects members who do not take their money out of the OIF during poor market conditions. It is important to understand that the MVR will only apply to the policy should you wish to close your policy, withdraw, or transfer your monies at the time there is an MVR in place. We understand how concerning the MVR is for you and for the impact this has on your investment, and we, at Foresters, are keen to remove this as soon as possible. This is why we are reviewing the implementation of the MVR at least quarterly by the investment committee, which is made up of our most senior management team. The MVR will be removed as soon as investment returns allow so as not to cause detriment to all policyholders within the with-profits fund. The investment shocks that all investment markets have experienced may mean that the fund could take some time to recover. You are able to email claims@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk or contact us on 0800 101 8312 for a valuation on your plan Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.

“Outstanding Customer service and amazing member benefits included with plan. I’m especially interested in using the Educational award and optical and dental grants but it’s also good to know about the Financial support I could get if needed and the child support fund as well after the minimum time frame for those to activate.”

Helpful Report

“I liked the idea of Foresters. They seemed like a traditional, compassionate organization who would look after their customers. Unfortunately I was wrong! Their customer service is appalling. I have been trying for weeks to get a paper partial withdrawal form. I'm still waiting. Fobbed off so many times that it now feels like a deliberate act rather than incompetence. I would have sorted this out online like I do with my other fund managers. Unfortunately as I've had an account for nearly 5 years I don't qualify for an online account. Priority is given to new accounts rather than to established loyal customers. Nice policy! If you are going to rely solely on a paper-based system I suggest you at least try to make it efficient. I should probably close my account but my fund is subject to an MVR so I can't even do that without suffering a large financial loss. There is no indication of when, if ever, this MVR will be removed. I was told that they had never placed an MVR on funds before and when used it is only ever for the short term. Can you tell me how long this MVR has been in place and when you expect it to be removed? My advice is avoid this company and invest your funds in a company that operates in the 21st Century.”

Helpful Report

Hello Mr. Hodgson, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, we are really sorry to hear that you feel like our customer service is not up to the exceptional standard it should be and apologise for any inconvenience caused. I have been in contact with our claims team who advised that the partial withdrawal form that you had requested has been sent 3 times, once by email and twice by post so we are really sorry to hear that these have not arrived safely for you. I have requested that this is sent today via recorded post so we hope this finally arrives and the claims team leader is going to reply to your email today. We’ve recently invited all members that took out new plans between the beginning of last year, and the portal’s launch, and we’ll shortly be inviting those that took out plans in 2022 and 2021. Whilst I can’t confirm when you’ll be able to register for the portal, please rest assured that we’re working hard to allow you to do so. During periods of extreme investment market volatility, we might need to apply a Market Value Reduction (MVR) when you withdraw some or all of the money in your plan in order to protect remaining members within our Order Insurance with profits Fund. An MVR is an adjustment that can be applied to the value of your investment if you choose to cash-in or withdraw from your plan during volatile investment conditions, reducing how much you get back. It ensures that everybody gets their fair share of the returns from a with profits fund and is designed to protect members who do not take their money out of the fund during poor market conditions, this has been in force from November 2022 and is regularly reviewed by the Board. Unfortunately I am unable to confirm when this will be removed at this current time. If there is anything else we can do please contact our member sales and service team on 0800 783 4162.

“Very happy, great customer service.”

Helpful Report

Hi Sarah, thank you for taking your time to leave us such a great review. We are delighted to hear that you have decided to invest with us, welcome to Foresters Friendly!

“For a £16k investment for all of 2023 I earned zero % interest. What's worse is they are applying an MVR of nearly 10% so I will lose nearly £1,500 when transferring or withdrawing my money. Customer service is excellent but promised online access never happens and a very, very bad investment”

Helpful Report

Good Afternoon, Thank you for taking the time to write a review and we are sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the product that you have chosen. We apply our annual bonuses in May each year and then you receive your annual bonus statement in the July, we work a year in arrears with our bonuses, so this years statement will be for 2023. we’re currently working to invite as many members to register as possible, as quickly as possible. We’ve recently invited all members that took out new plans between the beginning of last year, and the portal’s launch, and we’ll shortly be inviting those that took out plans in 2022. Whilst I can’t confirm when you’ll be able to register for the portal, please rest assured that we’re working hard to allow you to do so. if you would like to discuss the investment with one of our friendly member sales and service team, please contact 0800 783 4162 and press option 1, we would be happy to help with any queries.

“Easy to negotiate site, same for completion of application form, all processed very quickly.”

Helpful Report

Hi Elizabeth, thank you for taking your time to leave us such a great review. We are delighted to hear that you have decided to invest with us, welcome to Foresters Friendly!

“Super voyage 🏷”

Helpful Report

Thank you for taking the time to write a review for us, we are happy that you are happy.

“in 2017 I invested 80k in a low risk policy. this was split into 40k in my name and 40k in my wife's as advised by my financial advisor he said this would be the best idea as freebies were offered to members during the year and this way would double our freebies when offered. I was told that the investment would yield between 5-6% annually so we went with it. I called today 19/02/2024 to ask how my investment was going as I had heard nothing for a while. Now this is in it 7th year and here is what I have earned in interest. £138.65 in total. Yes you have read it correctly £138.65 in total. I cannot believe it but have been assured this is what I have should I want it out. I had no fixed term from the beginning and no penalties, How can this be correct? it works out at less than £20 per year interest. I am gutted to say the least. My advise is steer clear”

Helpful Report

“After doing some research about different providers, i decided that the Foresters Friendly Societies product was much better than the other competitors in the market. The service provided is excellent, and applying online is very clear and easy to understand. I would highly recommend them.”

Helpful Report

Hi John, thank you for taking your time to leave us such a great review. We are delighted to hear that you have decided to invest with us, welcome to Foresters Friendly!

“Despite making contact twice I have received no response. I’m hoping this will change soon, even an acknowledgment, but if not I will escalate to the relevant authorities”

Helpful Report

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, please could you advise which team you have been trying to make contact with and we will arrange for someone to contact you when it is convenient to you.

“Gives good value for money for the present with great hope for the future!”

Helpful Report

Hi Sinifesimi, thank you for taking your time to leave us such a great review. We are delighted to hear that you have decided to invest with us, welcome to Foresters Friendly!

“Never in my life heard of an investment provider that does not have any way for you to check your investment performance. I have over £6K saved with them and no idea if it’s appreciated or not.”

Helpful Report

Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate your frustration and are able to advise that we launched our member portal in July last year which provides our members with plan information such as plan value. Initially, the portal was only available to members who took out a plan after the launch date, so that we could evaluate real world performance of the portal and seek member feedback, making adjustments where needed. This work is currently ongoing, and we are initiating the onboarding process for members who took out plans before July of last year. This will be done in a phased manner, starting with the most recent plans and progressively working backward. This approach allows us to effectively manage the volume of invitations and subsequent sign-ups. We will be in touch to notify you as soon as it becomes available for you to register. In the meantime, we are able to provide plan values over the phone and we also send out annual statements regarding the plan’s value. Information about our fund is available on our website in the About Us/About Our Funds section. We appreciate your patience regarding the delay in inviting you and other members who took out plans before the portal's launch. As a member-focused business, we want to make sure that we’re offering the best possible portal experience when the time comes. If you would like any further details, our Member Services team are available Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm, on 0800 988 2418 or by email membersalesandservice@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk . Kind regards, Foresters

“We took out two policy via Quidco 16th December 2023,sent it with free post as per instructions,with transfer forms included. We only recieve emails But No savings plan information or any dd's set up so a complete waste of our time, so will stay with current provider. How can I answer the following questions so you want us to contact you to complain after we summited our new policy online and have a policy number very poor”

Helpful Report

Hi Lee, thank you for your review and for discussing the transfer process with our Member Services team today. Transfers between different ISA providers can take up to 30 days and are largely dependent on when the existing ISA provider can send us all of the required information so we can then set up the new ISA for you. We have chased your existing provider and we are delighted that you have chosen to move forward with the transfer which should take place shortly. Welcome to the Foresters family. If you have any questions in the meantime, please do let us know. We are available Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm on 0800 988 2418 or by email memberservices@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk. Kind regards, Foresters.

“Very good society that cares”

Helpful Report

Thank you for taking your time to leave us a review. Best wishes, Foresters Friendly.

“an amazing society. just want to say thankyou for our vouchers we receives from you at Christmas. we never expect to receive them but is always such a lovely surprise and much appreciated especially at this time of year.”

Helpful Report

Hi Emma, thank you for taking your time to leave us a review, we are happy to hear that you found the vouchers to be a delightful surprise. Best wishes, Foresters Friendly.

“Easy to apply for ISAs.”

Helpful Report

Hi Philip, thank you for taking a moment to share your feedback with us. We are happy to hear that you found the application process easy. Best wishes, Foresters Friendly.

“Not happy about using your company at all. Opened a stocks and shares Isa in May, put £1,000 each month for 4 successive months and am still unable to register in your website. Keep being told I'm on the list and will be invited to register eventually. Have no access to my investment anc no idea how it's going. Absolute shambles”

Helpful Report

Hi Ronald, Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We appreciate your frustration regarding your current inability to register for and make use of our member portal and apologise for the inconvenience this has caused you. We launched the member portal in July of this year, initially, it was only available to members who had taken out a plan after the launch date, so that we could evaluate real-world performance of the portal and seek member feedback, making adjustments where needed. Additionally, as a multi-brand business, a significant amount of work has taken place so that members who hold plans from across our various brands are able to see and manage them all in one place. We hope that you'll appreciate that the delay in inviting you, and other members who have taken out plans before the portal launched in July of this year, is because as a member-focused business, we want to make sure that we’re offering the best possible portal experience when the time comes, and that a significant amount of technical work needs be done in order to do so. The work mentioned above is ongoing, but we are now beginning to onboard members who took out plans prior to July of this year and will do so in a phased manner, starting with the most recent plans, and working our way back so as to be able to manage the volume of invitations and subsequent sign-ups. At this point in time, we expect to send your invitation to register to the Portal early in the New Year and will be in touch to notify you when it becomes available for you to register. In the meantime, we are able to provide plan values over the phone and we also send out annual statements regarding the plan’s value. Information about our fund is available on our website in the About Us/About Our Funds section. If you would like any further details, our Member Services team are available Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm, on 0800 988 2418 or by email memberservices@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk. Kind regards, Foresters Kind regards, Foresters Friendly

“Money invested and then market value reduction applied. Can’t get money out without taking a hit on initial investment.”

Helpful Report

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. It’s important to remember that the savings plan you have opened with us is a longer-term investment which is designed to be held over many years. Investment volatility is not unique to Foresters and is being experienced by all investment providers and their customers. So, while short-term investment value changes can be unsettling, it’s important to maintain a longer-term view as well. As a result of investment volatility, a small proportion of plans that have invested in our Order Insurance with profits Fund in previous years have a Market Value Reduction (MVR) applied to them but no MVR is currently in place for plans taken out in 2023. This is the first time in our history that we have had to apply an MVR. As an adjustment that can be applied to the value of your investment, if you choose to cash-in or withdraw from your plan during volatile investment conditions, which reduces how much you get back, it ensures that everybody gets their fair share of the returns from a with profits fund and is designed to protect members who do not take their money out of the fund during poor market conditions. You will only see the effect of an MVR should you wish to withdraw your money at the time there is an MVR in place. An MVR can be added, removed, increased or decreased at any time and, as we are unable to predict future investment market performance, we are unable to advise how long the MVR for previous year’s investments will be in place for. Our investment team are continually looking for additional opportunities to improve returns whilst remaining within risk tolerance levels. If you have any further questions, please do let us know. We are available Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm on 0800 988 2418 or by email membersalesandservice@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk. Kind regards, Foresters Friendly

Foresters Friendly Society is rated 4.4 based on 658 reviews