Foresters Friendly Society Reviews

4.6 Rating 495 Reviews

90 %

of reviewers recommend Foresters Friendly Society

Company Reviews

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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. We take a sustainable approach to savings, investments and insurance.

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Phone:

0800 988 2418

Location:

Third Floor, Enterprise House, Ocean Way, Ocean Village

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Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Filter: Rated 2 None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“not helpful staff”

Helpful Report

Hi Mushtaq, Thank you for leaving your review. We're sorry to hear that you are not happy with the service provided and would like to look into this for you. Could you please contact us by phone on 0800 988 2418 or by email memberservices@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk so that we can help. Thank you, Foresters

“There is no online portal so no way of knowing the value of my ISA from one month to the next (they told me they are “working on an online system”. The only way to check my balance is to make a phone call and wait on hold or leave a message for a call back. Apparently a statement is sent out once a year. It’s clearly not kept up with the times. This was sold as a stocks and shares ISA but in reality it is just a fund with an end of year bonus tied to it. Not at all what I would expect of a S&S ISA.”

Helpful Report

Hi, thank you your comments. We understand that some members want to have online access to their savings plan and we are investing in our digital capabilities to enable this service. In the meantime, we are able to provide plan values over the phone and we send out annual statements regarding the plan’s value, plus half-yearly statements to ensure you are aware of how much of your annual ISA allowance you have used. For any details regarding your plan, please call our Member Services team on 0800 988 2418. If the lines are busy, as at times we experience high call volumes, we offer a call back facility in an attempt to support our members by ensuring you are not on hold for long periods of time which we know can cause frustration. Our ISA is classed as a stocks & shares ISA as the fund in which your money is invested invests in a mix of assets including property, equities, cash and UK government bonds, to help minimise risk and increase the potential for returns. Our in-house expert investment team, alongside our external investment managers, manage the fund on your behalf – and make all the investment choices for members. As the 7th largest UK mutual in terms of funds managed, we take a responsible approach to our investments, ensuring we act in a socially conscious way. To demonstrate our commitment to this we joined a global community seeking to build a more sustainable financial system by signing up to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). Should you require any more information about the investment fund, please see the fund page on our website: www.forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk/about-us/about-our-funds/ or alternatively our Member Services team are on hand to answer any questions you may have.

“I think you have got your facts wrong as i have not taken out any savings plan with the Foresters Friendly Society”

Helpful Report

Hi John, thank you for your feedback. Having followed up with our Member Services team we understand that they have contacted you directly about this. If you have any questions or need any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 988 2418 or by email memberservices@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk. Kind regards, Foresters Friendly

“They sent me lots of emails offering marks and spencer vouchers for taking out a bond but then said I wasn’t eligible. To make matters worse they said at the same time they rejected my claim that they put their customers first”

Helpful Report

Hi, thank you for your review. We are sorry to hear about the experience you have had and would be happy to look into this for you. If you could please contact us by email memberservices@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk or call 0800 988 2418 to provide some more information we’d appreciate it. Kind regards, Foresters.

“Had to phone up to receive another welcome pack as first did not arrive not a very good start”

Helpful Report

Hi Stephen, thank you for your comments. We are sorry you have not received your pack. We understand our Member Services team have already been in touch with you and have arranged for another one to be posted to you. If you need any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 988 2418 or by email memberservices@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk. Kind regards, Foresters

“I recently wanted to add into my L-ISA before the end of the tax year, but could not contact you over the phone. I left answer machine messages and had no call back. This is frustrating when you have nearly £20k of my money. It doesn't fill me with confidence... Still no response and I did (reluctantly) put an extra £4k into my pot.”

Helpful Report

Dear Andrew, thank you for your comments. We are sorry to hear about your recent experience. It has come to our attention that some members found it difficult to get through to our team due to the volume of calls we experienced over tax year end and we appreciate receiving feedback on this. Please rest assured that we will review the situation and do our best to ensure it doesn’t happen again. We would like to thank you for raising this and we are pleased to hear that you have been able to top up your Lifetime ISA. If there is any further way we can assist you at present, please do let us know. Kind regards, Foresters Friendly

“feel unclear online application system as we had no idea this was an investment isa rather than a cash isa that we wanted, so i have cancelled.”

Helpful Report

Hello, thank you for your feedback. We are sorry you were not aware our Lifetime ISA is a stocks and shares investment one, not a cash ISA. We do explain the investment type on our website, but we will review the copy to ensure it is made clearer from the start. We are pleased you were able to easily cancel though. If you would like to find out more about any of our other savings products, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us on: 0800 988 2418. Regards, Foresters

“One meal with members and one latter some time later then no further interaction because of Covid-19 restrictions (understandably) TNone of your other questions are relevant”

Helpful Report

“Opened an account with Foresters partly due to a bonus offer of £65 for doing so. It's now tracking at only £50, so not the best start with a financial management company!”

Helpful Report

Dear Frederick, thank you for your review. We are sorry about your recent experience with us. We will look into this for you and will be in touch shortly. Kind regards, Foresters.

Dear Frederick, further to our recent communication, we are glad to have been able to resolve this matter for you. Please do get in touch if you have any questions in the future about your savings plan with us. Kind regards, Foresters

“Joined april last year and had no contact from local agent /secretary till around dec got a mag, and all holidays were full, I rang him and he said they came out in august you should have rang then, I said i never got any mag about them are they allways given out to regulars, he got quite nassty and first said he could not find me, then he said you would have had a mag, must be your postman I said there is nothing wrong with my postman he knows me well, I am a J.P. and i do not have any problems with my post. I did phone someone at your head office but got no joy E A WoolleyJ.P.”

Helpful Report

Hi Elizabeth, thank you for your review. We are sorry to hear about your experience with us. If you'd like us to look into this more, please email memberservices@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk or call 0800 988 2418 with some more information. Kind regards, Foresters.

Foresters Friendly Society is rated 4.58 based on 495 reviews