Columbia Threadneedle Investments Reviews 

My sons Child trust finish with BMO which has been overall good but CTI who has required his ISA seems like a con. Over 4% cost, there is something really unprofessional going on here?

We had kids CTFs & JIAs with F&C, which seem to have bounced around a few companies and ended up owned by CT.
I checked the annual statement yesterday - fees were 4.6%!! No wonder the performance is woeful
I am starting the transfer process today but from the reviews above am not hopeful.

Holding on to my son’s money as we speak. ‘The cheque must have got lost in the post’ who sends a cheque in 2024??
He turned 18 in November 23, we started the withdrawal process in December. It’s now Feb 21st. She said if you haven’t received it by March 8th ring us back and when my son queried the delay she said ‘it’s Royal Mails fault’ Absolutely disgusting and bad customer service. I would not recommend this firm to anyone.

Just like everyone else i have the same problem with trying to withdraw money from this disgrace of a company...
They request proof of ID, proof of address, proof of bank account....
This is after paying them money for 18 years from the same address and bank account....
And then their system fails the checks and you start getting requests for paper documents that all have to be sent recorded to prove they have been sent....
So in summary....don't use this company, there are so many decent financial companies out there...
Columbia threadneedle is not one of them...

Zero stars if I could give it. Invested my son’s government grant of £250 in this scam. Took £85 quid off him. A disgrace, never touch this company, they’ll sell you out.

Avoid Columbia Threadneedle like the plague. Still trying to help my 97 year old father to access the funds invested with BMO, after months of truly obstructive requests for us to supply "proof" of his identity, which are then conveniently "lost" so we have to start again. It appears to be a game to this company, to see how long they can keep you from accessing your own money - I suspect they are counting on my father dying before they release the funds so they can start all over again. Truly disgusting approach to their customers- avoid, if you ever want to see your money again.

Wow, exactly the same issues trying to help my daughter cash in her investments as others have had. Given different information on every call. Wouldn’t accept her bank details on the website and eventually received a cheque after making a complaint. Received a letter which I think was supposed to be resolving all the issues, but just commented on one of the telephone calls. No apology for mis-information. Thankfully now have the cheque and will never return to this company.

After a lengthy painful experience in getting my money out I searched reviews to see what other say. Not surprising at all.
*AVOID AT ALL COST*.
Extremely expensive management fees, archaic system, no value and when you try to move your money elsewhere they use everything possible to make it impossible, including making you pay to prove who you are.

I had the same experience as everyone else - requests for more and more information, excuses for not paying…. I finally found the magic words. They are “I want to put down an official complaint”. The moment I said that, they promised to pay within three days, and in fact they paid the very next day. But I am putting down the complaint anyway and fully intend to take it to the Financial Ombudsman. These people need the regulator to look into what they’re doing.

This company is terrible, tried to transfer grandparents accounts (showing grand children as beneficiaries) into their own GIA accounts; the process is the most complicated, paper intensive, overly engineered and time consuming experience I have ever come across. The sheer number of letters and top up forms sent in the post is beyond belief. The staff are very helpful and friendly but trying to do business with these people is impossible. The website is also terrible as others have said. I tried to move money from the GIA to a LISA, has to be done by post (a 7 page form with no information pre populated, are they kidding!). Withdrawing money is done by cheque!!! Withdrawing all money and putting into AJB or HL or similar (whose account opening process was a joy).

Avoid at all costs
They are creating endless excuses to avoid releasing my son's child trust fund money, despite us having supplied all the required documents.
They keep claiming it is being 'investigated' but in fact nothing happens.
Currently considering legal action as the only way to for my son to get his money back from them

Masters at stonewalling and fabricating reasons and hurdles to hold onto investors’ money. Inept customer service. Your best gift to those who may need funds or must address trust and estate administration when you can’t for yourself will be to liquidate and reinvest with a responsible, capable and honest brokerage or fund/plan administrator. From medallion guarantee to excuse and hurdle after another, a year from date of death and almost no progress while they keep hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries’ funds. But, they charge their fees!

This company is awful. My parents invested money for their grandchildren, aiming to give it to them on their 18th birthdays. Each time a child has reached 18 (even though months of notice was given by my father) it was almost impossible to get the funds. When we did finally get some of the funds released (we are still waiting for others) they actually sent a cheque! Not secure, and difficult to pay in. Their level of incompetence (not calling back, repeating requests, continuing investments after the account had been closed, taking no action) was surpassed by them writing to me to ask me to certify my parents' identification, when my mother had died 18 months previously. Still battling to get hold of money, will be escalating our issues. Do not invest with Columbia Threadneedle. We were happy with Foreign & Colonial who were bought up by Columbia, but since then customer service and responsiveness has been minimal, if not totally lacking.

One star is too many!

After having read all these reviews, I see that we are not alone.

We have had a hell of a time TRYING to get funds released but instead we find obstructions and delays. I believe we need to flag the lack of customer service and non-responsiveness to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that has customers’ needs at the heart of what they do. As an executor, we have been trying to get access to funds that have been locked with Columbia Threadneedle for MONTHS. They are asking for everything to certified by a notary or the post office (that won't do it for some of the documents) such as copies of passports, probates, bank statements certified, utility bills, ID cards certified as well as an address that has not changed in 50 years and is on their records. We are now at a point where we can't pay for the care home anymore, a vulnerable person is the victim of he company policy of CT that is to my point of view based on delay and asking for documents that do not exist (original bank statement from an internet bank - welcome to the 21st century). So the bank printed the statement and signed it. No one else in their right mind can certify that unless you let a notary look at your bank account online! And the notary fees! That is money needed to pay for the care home! So we wanted to see a person, any person with all the original paperwork (probate, ID card, bank card, bank statement, passport, etc etc.) in order to speed this process up and get the funds released to pay for the care home but we were refused that. So what is the office in 78 Cannon St, London EC4N 6AG for then? Are the people from the complaints department, trying to avoid direct human contact at all costs as they have no power to make any decisions but refer to their managers that are unreachable for clients? I do agree that security is a priority and needs to be in line with strict standards but the company needs to rethink the way it handles clients. They include a phone number in their letter addressed to a a person living in the EU- yet that number cannot be reached from outside the UK. So when calling to flag this problem and to get a number that can be called from abroad, we are told there is no number for this person/complaints department that can be called from abroad. "But please leave a message for the person you are trying to call." So one more time (the umpteenth time) you give them all the information, proof of identity, etc. that the person you are trying to reach already has simply for leaving a message to get a call back.. only to then be contacted by yet someone else- via email and not via phone - who writes "We have passed the documents to the relevant team for them to review." Back to square one. And what a global company that is!

We are getting ready to file an official complaint with the FCA.

Looking at all the reviews of frustrated customers (sooo many and all about the same issue) - these reviews do not seem to make any difference - same complaint a year ago, six weeks or just yesterday. A word of warning to those that are reading this review - chose carefully where you put your money!

Katastrophe beim Verkauf von Fonds Anteilen. Dauert über 10 Tage und noch immer kein Geld auf meinem Konto!

Absolute worst company. They don't know how to operate a FAX machine, don't offer anything online, require a tremendous amount of unnecessary and impossible tasks just to get a small amount of money that you are entitled to if someone should pass away. Their products make no money. They steal money and refuse to release it. They require medallion stamps just to get a small amount of money out of your account.

I transferred my son's Child Trust Fund and opened a Junior ISA for my daughter. They told me that the CTF was the better option for my son rather than an ISA because of lower charges. In fact, the charges are higher.

Very poor info on the performance of the funds -- hard to see how they are doing.
I applied to transfer to a new provider and they have done absolutely nothing, 4 months later.
Beyond awful and not worthy of a single star.

My daughters Child Trust Fund has just matured and they are making it impossible for her to get her money.

Do not use if you ever expect to see your money

Just awful. Child trust fund recently matured and it's been 3 months and I still can't access the funds because of their ridiculous and obstructive processes. Would never use again.

Beware! This company continue to rack up charges a year after the account was closed (and confirmed closed), with charges accumulating on a continuing basis. This was a Child Trust Fund.

Appalling.