Let us face it, the Charles Stanley Direct site is complex from a customer point of view. So I needed help to navigate and used the chat facility. I was pleasantly surprised how quick the responce was... See more
Company replied
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Review summary
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What people talk about most
Reviews shaping this summary
CS Direct is a generally efficient and low-cost platform, with a good Helpdesk - particularly as the staff are anglophone and based in Edinburgh. The charges are sensible. I would have given you 5/5... See more
Company replied
Used to be the best value/service for the private investor, with a very personal approach. Since Raymond James took over it is not such good value and the Help Desk does not seem to be so customer or... See more
Company replied
Great platform, which is easy to use and reliable. Good value on fees. Excellent reporting. Slow take-on of a pension I recommended to a friend recently.
Company replied
Company details
Written by the company
Charles Stanley Direct is a personal financial service combining a modern digital experience with the traditional client focused values of private wealth management. It provides all self investors with the knowledge, tools, products, and services to take control of their financial futures and realise the rewards of your investments. Whether you are a novice or an experienced investor we are here to help you every step of the way. You can call our award-winning client service team for technical help or speak to a qualified financial coach if you need guidance. Available online and via the Charles Stanley app.
Online investing
Written by the company
- Invest in your future
- Sign up in minutes to our first-class service to implement your investment decisions, through our secure platform and app.
Contact info
Ropemaker Place, 25 Ropemaker Street, EC2Y 9LY, London, United Kingdom
- 0131 550 1234
- info@charles-stanley-direct.co.uk
- www.charles-stanley-direct.co.uk
3.9
Great
178 reviews
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Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Thank you very much for the reply and yes, the reply you received via our Chat service was from our very real Zac. I'm pleased he was able to help.
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
Cannot recommend
Eleven reasonably good years, starting as a novice investor in 2014. Their service is ok I'd say, though by no means exceptional.
I recently decided to transfer my ISA to a new provider, chiefly due to the difference in platform fees, and then discovered that they charge extortionate exit fees, unlike most other providers these days (even HL do not charge!). I will take the hit, but definitely would not recommend them after this slap in the face, and am pleased to be out, all in all.
1 February 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear Reg:
Thank you for taking the time to leave detailed and considered feedback. We are genuinely sorry to see you go after 11 years with us. You are right that we charge £10 per holding to transfer away but, by way of explanation, this is largely due to the additional administration involved in 'in specie' transfers. We don't charge for transfers away that are just in the form of cash. That said, your comments are fully noted and I'm sorry that this charge affected your experience with us.
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
Quick and helpful response
9 February 2026
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear Julia:
Thank you very much for leaving feedback. I'm glad we were able to help!
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear Mrs Balzan:
Thank you very much for taking a moment to leave feedback. That is exactly what we aim for and please let us know if we can be of further assistance.
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
I had a couple of queries about fees
I had a couple of queries about fees, which I needed clarifying before I invested.
I used their chat function and within a few minutes talked to a guy named Callum.
He was great, explained things to me perfectly and now I'm making the investment i was thinking about earlier
6 February 2026
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear Mr Thomas:
I'm very pleased to hear that Callum was able to help and I've passed your comments onto him. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback and do let us know if we can be of further assistance.
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
I enquired about Switching Funds
I enquired about switching Funds rather than haveing to sell and then buy with the inevitable time lag. I was advised that this was not available (as it is with Barclays Smart Investor, Fidelity and Hargreaves Lansdown).
6 February 2026
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear Mr Hennem:
Many thanks for the feedback. We genuinely appreciate you taking the time to leave your thoughts. If you would like to discuss the timings involved with fund trading, please contact me on ClientExperience@cs-d.co.uk and I'll do my best to help.
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
Customer service excellent
5 February 2026
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear Mrs Brook:
Many thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. It is very much appreciated. I'm delighted we were able to assist.
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
Staff exceptionally helpful with…
Staff exceptionally helpful with a transaction request, as I would have been unable to process the request by phone due to hearing loss.
3 February 2026
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear Frances:
Thank you for posting such a lovely review. I've passed your feedback on in turn and we are very pleased to have been of assistance.
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear Graeme:
Many thanks for taking the time to leave feedback. We genuinely appreciate it.
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear James:
Very many thanks for taking the time to leave feedback. I'm pleased that we were able to help & we are here if you need us further.
Bset regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
support team
14 January 2026
Fast response
Fast response. Gave all the information I needed. Hopefully it will work.
16 January 2026
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear Mrs Grainger:
I'm very pleased we were able to help and thank you for taking a moment to leave a review. We are here in the event of further queries.
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
Quick full and helpful response
Quick full and helpful response. The agent was totally knowledgeable and provided me all the information I needed
6 January 2026
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Thank you very much for taking the time to leave this feedback. I'm very pleased to hear that we were able to help.
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
Prompt and informative holding response given
Very prompt holding response given to chat request, with as full and helpful answer as could be expected at the time. Awaiting follow-up response with further information as it becomes available...
30 December 2025
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear Oliver:
Thank you very much for taking the time to leave this feedback. I'm glad to hear that the team were able to help and if your query needs to be followed up, we are here.
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
Technical problem.
I was trying to use the preferred list of investments earlier last week but there appeared to be a technical hitch. I spoke to Ewan who investigated the problem and said that was a technical problem with the "Filter". He proposed a temporary workaround and said that he would let me know as soon as the problem was solved. I received confirmation from Ewan this morning that all was now well. I accessed the preferred list and all the functions were working normally. Excellent service all round from Ewan and his colleagues.
30 December 2025
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear Denis:
Many thanks for the feedback, for reporting the issue and for your patience while we worked on resolving it. I'm sorry for any inconvenience it may have caused.
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
Stephen has helped me with getting in touch…
Stephen helped me with getting in touch with the right team. He was very helpful.
29 December 2025
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear AL:
I'm very glad to hear that Stephen was able to help. Thank you for taking the time to leave your comments. We appreciate it!
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear Callum:
That's great to hear - thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. We are here if you need us.
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
The website and tech support are woeful.
1 December 2025
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear Mr McKee:
Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback. I fully appreciate your frustration with not being able to trade a certain holding online.
In this instance, by way of explanation, the origin of the issue is with one of our data providers, relating to the Key Investor Document. In practice this means that we are having to liaise with a third party to resolve, which is taking a little bit of time.
In the meantime, we provide a telephone dealing service at online rates for such situations though we understand your preference to trade online.
Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience while we work to resolve this.
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
Charles Stanley Direct - AVOID!
I was tempted by their cash back offer, but never again!
I attempted to transfer a SIPP to CSD. My initial transfer request was made on 31 July, in the end I gave up and cancelled the process in mid-October. In that 2 ½ month period, the first month was wasted with no request being made to the source provider, and the next 6 weeks by repeated promises and failures to send certain due diligence information that the source provider insisted on receiving before transferring funds.
I spoke and messaged CSD on numerous occasions, but they seemed powerless to actually do anything. All they could do was pass on messages to Embark Pensions (EBS), who are the administrator and responsible for doing the transfer. The problem is that my only contact was with CSD, not with EBS, so I could not chase them directly.
I complained to CSD on 5 October. They delayed their response until 28 November (they wrote that they are experiencing a higher than usual volume of complaints – I wonder why!). Their response was simply to deflect all blame to EBS. They wrote “the delays in the progress of your transfer, including failing to send due diligence information….were the fault of EBS”.
I can see there are many negative reviews about EBS elsewhere on the internet. I have no idea of the quality of service of CSD, as I never got that far, but I would strongly suggest avoiding using them while EBS acts as their administrator.
My SIPP was sat as cash during this process. The fund in which I intended to invest went up by more than 10% in this period, so this frustrating and pointless saga came at considerable cost to me.
After I cancelled, I switched to another provider, and the cash was transferred to them in a couple of weeks, showing the process can work efficiently, but not with CSD!
1 October 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear Peter,
Thank you for sharing your feedback and for highlighting your concerns regarding your experience. We take all feedback seriously and continuously monitor our partnership with Embark Pensions to ensure the highest standards of service are maintained.
We’re very sorry that your experience did not meet the high standards you expect from us. Many of our SIPP clients have placed their trust in us for years, and we approach that responsibility with great care and attention. Your comments will help us continue to strengthen our service and ensure that every client feels supported and confident in their pension arrangements.
Best regards,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
It answered the question
5 December 2025
Reply from Charles Stanley Direct
Dear Mary,
Thank you for your positive review. Please let us know if you ever need further assistance.
Best,
Louise
Louise Miller
Head of Client Experience
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