Clerical Medical Investment Group Limited Reviews 

The FCA should be sending a team over to India to find out what is going on with the Administration at Clerical Medical. The standard of their work is actually a danger to all of their clients and the entire operation should be shut down immediately…they are certainly unfit to be handling people’s money. The biggest issue here is that customer service and the complaints team based in the U.K. seem to have very little, if any, influence over what is going on there. It is out of control! A far greater concern is the senior management at this organisation, in their sheer ignorance, have allowed this to happen, and it continues to deteriorate. Not only should these people be sacked, but they should never be allowed to work in the industry again. What a disgrace.

First I must pay tribute to the customer services staff - responsive, helpful, professional, but sadly let down by the back office decisions takers, whose arrogance/inefficiency/lack of management control mean that they do not respond directly, either to clients or to the customer services staff. Unnecessary delay, misinformation, contradictions, delays in responding, undoubtedly dealing with them is a dispiriting and at times worrying and infuriating nightmare. Thankfully, I am no longer involved with them.

I initiated transfer of my workplace place pension I had with CM for 20years via Nest pension, CM indeed transferred the funds to nest pension within 3 weeks of requesting the transfer. A letter was sent to notify me that a request had been made for transfer of my pension which I confirmed Last week and funds released this week to nest pension

I have been trying to transfer my stakeholder pension for many months and still do not have my money. As experienced by many here, service from Clerical Medical has been appalling at every point of contact. Is it deliberate or just incompetence?
When attempting to raise a complaint I was told they are not accepting new complaints as the department is backlogged.
Recommended you avoid Clerical Medical.

Battling to try and get a cash manual projection on my ex company pension and i am just being pushed from pillow to post, i have been asking since early september and i keep being fobbed off and i have put a complaint in with not action after 11 days which breaks their own rules of replying within 8 days. I was hoping to withdraw this small pension to assist me during a very heavy marriage breakup and i could do with the funds right now feel very upset and frustrated by it all . the service is non existant, i even feel its contributed to my depression right now , i wonder what they have got to hide ? no money maybe or funds to pay out ?

I have been trying to transfer my pension out of Clerical Medical since April. Despite repeatedly filling in the same forms the process keeps timing out because of the receiving pensions HMRC form is only valid for 1 month. Clerical Medical take weeks to process anything then send out spurious paperwork requests which consistently take 10 to 14 days to arrive, and the HMRC form then becomes invalid and the process repeats. You phone them up, they are polite saying everything is on track and then you get another letter to ask to complete the same forms again. They are a joke and should really be banned from managing pensions.

I have been trying to transfer an old AVC to my current workplace pension since March. They insist on sending things by post, but get the address wrong and delay sending by weeks. I Have been trying to do this since March and am still being fobbed off and delayed. Even when I try to complain I am ignored. These guys are making money off MY hard earned money (interest rates are especially good at the moment). They are withholding my money. I need it for my roof which is leaking and needs repairing. I have no money to pay for the repairs. I have mental health conditions and am an alcoholic and this stress has caused panic attacks and relapses. I am going to the financial ombudsman. Avoid avoid avoid and if you need money or anything from this shambolic company you’d better start requesting it 5 years in advance. Even that wouldn’t be long enough.

Terrible company. Left my Father with no payment for 2 months. I raised a complaint and still no payment . I was promised the missing annuity payments would be in my Father's account in 3 to 5 working days. We are rapidly approaching close of business on the 5th working day with no payment.
My poor father is 88 and in a care home. He needs this money to pay his fees. Why does it take so long ?
Shame on you Clerical Medical / Scottish Widows

Stay away from this company! Have to wait more than 10 days for an answer or receive a letter to a request, this should be instant. Many times even much longer, terribly slow. On one occasion had to wait 3 months for an answer. One department cannot reach another department. Nobody knows what’s going on. One person only, from the complaints department , who understood what was required…Mr Fayenka, he deserves a star.

4 months and my pension still not transfrerred. Duplicate forms broken promises, mistakes 3 complaint managers and a mysterious form they failed to send me. APPALLING. Does withholding my money constitute theft. (They are Scottish Widows now)

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY - AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
They do not even deserve a one star.
I have been trying to transfer an old pension I had with a previous employer for over a year. I filled in all the required information straight away, they then asked for the same information again and because they are so slow it passed the 90 days so had to start the whole process again. They NEVER return my numerous calls,apparently they are supposed to get back to you within 48 hours. Customer service is non existent. At my wits end and trying to investigate what I can do next. Escalate to the FCA?

Attempting to transfer my pension from Clerical Medical has been an absolute nightmare for me.

This is my second attempt, the first was scuppered due to massive delays and then they said I had to resubmit a form because it was more than 90 days old, it wasn’t even 30 days old. The amount of stress this has caused is unconscionable.

I made a second attempt, armed with the knowledge I’d learnt from my first attempt I asked them to detail what they needed from me and the receiving party. Needless to say several weeks later I received a letter asking me to request something else from the receiving party.  After doing this several weeks went past before I received another letter asking for proof I had sought financial advice and that this request was a mandatory requirement. Pension Wise advised me that certain pensions had safeguarded benefits where it was mandatory/a legal requirement to obtain regulated financial advice, however they further advised my pension did not have a safeguarded benefit.

This whole process has been extremely distressing and inconvenient especially considering Clerical Medical have been around for a few hundred years, you would have thought they would be able to deal with the straightforward process of transferring a pension by now!

I have phoned and sent emails to the Annuity section of this company in Edinburgh and receiving no explanation as to why my monthly payments have not been sent to my bank account. This started in August

Unfortunately I have to write a very scathing review of this company. I have been trying to get to the bottom of why it is taking so long to release funds from my investment bond. I requested the surrender 6 weeks ago. I have had no email correspondence (specifically asked for as I live overseas and the postal service is very unreliable where I live) Firstly there was an issue with who certified my copies of ID etc. therefore I re-sent it, now they cannot seem to find that paperwork even though it was done by recorded courier delivery and I can tell them who signed for it at their Edinburgh office. It is really proving to be a very untrustworthy company and I would advise people to stay away for their own good.

I have been trying to get a P60 form since August 5th, as no document had ever been sent. Several phone calls (average wait time of 25 minutes). Advised that it takes 20 days to get the document. Complaint raised to back office team who operate in different location. I have also spoken (27th September) to a complaints manager (!) who advised that they cannot confirm when the complaint will be addressed or resolved as it has not been allocated yet !!. The issue is still outstanding. This is not a difficult document to supply.
Update : The matter was finally resolved on the 30th September and I have now received the form.

I’ve been trying to transfer my Clerical Medical Pension for 9 months. I have provided all the information they require as has the receiving agent. Their information requests are on-going and keep asking for the same information - it is near insanity. Do not use this company if you want to see your money.

My dad retired in March & being an OAP was confused by all the jargon of trying to retrieve his pension. I helped him appoint a financial advisor who got the ball rolling. 2 of his other pensions have been paying out for months however 6 months later Clerical medical are repeatedly asking for information that has already been provided & are withholding my dads pension. Phone call to CM always receive “the person you need to speak to is on jury service” or “the person you need to speak to is on holiday” for over 6 months!!! I am not sure if the plan is he dies before they have to pay out……the stress this is causing him due to not being able to afford his outgoings means they may well get their wish. This company are heartless fraudsters & someone needs to shut them down!!! As many other have said, we would give them 0 stars if we were able to. Please invest your money elsewhere!!

Took out an endowment policy in 1999. They kept me informed annually which was always on track. At maturity they were prompt at sending out the relevant paperwork, stopping my direct debits and sent me the money within a couple of days of the maturity date. When I had to contact them to ask questions they answered quickly and were polite and knowledgeable. Thank you!

Complaint reference 18381747 ?
Still I wait

My father died in September 2023. He held a Whole of Life Policy with Clerical Medical. My brother and I are the beneficiaries. It is nearly TEN months since our solicitors first made contact regarding our father’s policy, and still we are no nearer in getting any sense out of Clerical Medical, despite our solicitors making a formal complaint! Clerical Medical continue to ask for duplicate information and documentation which our solicitors have already provided to them.

Since 1993 our father made regular monthly payments to Clerical Medical in complete good faith. We are absolutely disgusted by the complete incompetence of Clerical Medical. It is an insult to our father.

When I decided to phone the company myself and eventually got through to an advisor, I was told that the “policy was closed”. This was a few weeks ago. Could it be that Clerical Medical hold on to people’s money for as long as possible, as our solicitors seemed to have received one excuse after another, and after reading other Trust Pilot reviews and other online articles, including those written in major newspapers, I fear this maybe the case.

My brother and I have contacted the National Press.