Self Trade www.selftrade.co.uk Reviews
Latest Reviews
★☆☆☆☆
“What happened to you?”
Written on: 30/04/2013
Like others i have been with them for years and havesizeable portfolio with them. The website was old fashioned but functional. For reasons known to their marketing team, they replaced half the old site with an imitation of facebook. Just because it is possible to do something doesn't mean it needs to be done. The new site is a demonstrator for web development with precious little thought on how a punter is going to use it. Interactive Investor is a much cleaner experience (and cheaper).... (read more)
★★★☆☆
“Averag Online Broker with regressive customer services”
Written on: 13/04/2013
I am using them since they were Comdirect. I notice the level of Customer Service and their website is deteriorating each year...... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“New Website Caused ISA Nightmare 2013”
Written on: 08/04/2013
Have been a Seltrade customer for 5 years and had set up separate accounts soley for ISA share investment. Went in on Friday and today to use my ISA allowances for last and current year for both my wife and I only to discover that due to very poor clarity on the website that I have put money in to and bought shares in a Dealing account and not my ISA account!!!! I had originally set up these accounts as ISA accounts only, but now there is a dealing account included which is the first stop... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Poor Customer Service”
Written on: 15/03/2013
I have a number of Brokers and can quite honestly say the customer service of Selftrade is some of the worst I have ever experienced. They do not respond back to queries. They seem to have very little knowledge of the Stock Market and fail to meet the needs of there customers. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“New website abysmal”
Written on: 15/03/2013
Been with self trade from co direct days and never had any concerns until new website introduced. Major backwards step, have contacted them many times about concerns but zero action taken on their behalf. Moving my entire portfolio. Do not use this company their online support and presence really is incredibly poor now whereas the old site was excellent by comparison. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Avoid this company at all costs. ”
Written on: 11/03/2013
Website is terrible. I recently called up to buy 10k of US stock. The phone was answered by a 'dealer' who didnt have a clue, kept asking stupid questions. In the end i asked if she was really a dealer and she admitted she was a trainee, i asked for a proper dealer or a manager and she was the only one answering the phones, this was 2pm in the afternoon ffs. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Website”
Written on: 02/03/2013 by jhoncampbell
I was highly impressed with Selftrade up until the 3 months ago. Then they decided to improve, now, they are a nightmare. The part of Selftrade that is appropiate is SELF, you are on your own with this outfit. I am out. Avoid. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Don't trust them”
Written on: 04/02/2013 by Jjj1001
Terrible company. Website is terrible, customer service is awful. Recently I phoned up to buy £10,000 of a us company, Merk, the 'dealer' kept firing a reference code asking me if I 'wanted to deal' . I kept saying, what is the company name and symbol. In the end the dealer admitted she wasn't a dealer, was just a trainee and no one else was available to take my call. The website is a mess and they cannot explain why I have old positions showing that I no longer hold. They say no... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Selftrade: Twilight of the Gods and a Disappointed Virgin”
Written on: 31/01/2013
I joined Selftrade in Jan '09 as an on-line trading virgin. Within 2 days I was up and running and could navigate with ease the wealth of detailed graphical and tabular data, world stock markets, news, national and international perspectives, company and stock analysis and, of course, trade shares. I liked the Selftrade set-up so much that I recommended it to 4 friends. HOWEVER, the simple original pricing structure changed and went up...and up...and up. Much, much worse, on 3.12.12,... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“New website Sloow ”
Written on: 30/01/2013
Been with Selftrade over 5 years, its been fine unitl the new website was launched or should i say beta tested on us poor souls.. Please take not Selftrade there are lots of brokers out there willing to sign up your disgruntled customers. Please get this website working better like the old one did or I am out of here..In this day of customer experience social sharing on websites like this you must take note of your customers Whoever sold you this new slow ..zzz website - get your money back...! (read more)
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Showing 1 - 10 of 66 Reviews
★☆☆☆☆
“Had enough”
Written on: 25/01/2013
Been with them for over 10 years and like others I agree they have become exponentially worse over the last few years. The immensely rubbish new website is the final straw. I'm out. Dont come in is my advice. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Abysmal website experience”
Written on: 21/01/2013
Since they changed their website recently, I have had nothing but problems. Very awkward and confusing to use and customer services are incapable of providing solutions. Now in process of moving my account to another provider. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Consistently poor service”
Written on: 28/12/2012
I've held an account with Selftrade for seven or eight years, since it was SquareGain. I've had nothing but problems with them. Among other things, I had to chase them for nine months for the proceeds of some shares that were sold, and they did nothinguntil I got the Financial Ombudsman onto it. I have constant problems with their website - being locked out because I'm not using it frequently enough, my PIN not being recognised even though I know for certain that it's the right PIN, etc. ... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“slow transfer”
Written on: 08/10/2012 by tiredandweary88
They've had my initial start up funds for 5 days now and are saying that a cheque takes 5 days to clear which they know is a lie don't bother with this shonky outfit (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“RIP OFF MERCHANTS”
Written on: 24/09/2012
Selftrade are the worst company to deal with. Unless you have time to log in everyday and check their secure messages its a waste of time as they haven't learned how to send emails yet! I apparently owed them a "management" fee which I wasn't aware of as I hadn't logged in recently to check for messages, guess what they did to get their management fee, sold some shares I was holding without asking or telling me. I think its an absolutely disgusting thing to do. Don't trust them with a penny. (read more)
★★★★☆
“Excellent company”
Written on: 09/08/2012
I have been a customer with Selftrade since they were ComDirct and I have no complaints. They provide an excellent service for my stocks and shares ISA; they keep me well informed; trading is easy; customer services are always happy to explain things to me as a relative novice; their site is easy to navigate compared to other sites I also use. I do not usually write reviews but feel Selftrade are being unfairly critisised; my views are completely independant and I do not have any connection with... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Progressively Worse”
Written on: 26/06/2012
I've been using Selftrade for a decade, since they were ComDirect, and they were excellent, cost effective and helpful. That has changed in the last few years as they have introduced different management fees, annual or inactivity fees which seek to maximise profit if you aren't on their website constantly trading. Their website is one of the worst I've ever used, not user friendly and difficult to navigate but generally the worse thing is penalising users for nt being day traders. (read more)
★★★★☆
“Works Fine For Me ”
Written on: 08/06/2012
I have been trading through self trade since 2009 and even when they introduced a fee I was sent a letter saying I did not need to pay the fee on my trading account. had no problems at all. Good service both online and customer service. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Selftrade promised Amazon voucher for ISA but still...”
Written on: 05/06/2012
I've been a Selftrade customer for many years and they seem to be getting progressively worse. For example, they don't allow customers to enroll in company dividend reinvestment schemes- while Selftrade does offer a dividend reinvestment function at £1.50 per transaction - it is restriced only to UK FTSE shares. Overwhelmingly disappointing. The customer services staff are extremely rude too. Just seems like an all round unprofessional outfit - for example, they advertised a £15 amazon... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“AVOID”
Written on: 17/05/2012 by BADCHOICE
THIS IS A RIP OFF COMPANY WHO INDUCE YOU IN WITH NO FEES THEN APPLY THEM LATER AND RIP YOU OFF. I INSTRUCTED THEM TO CLOSE MY BANK ACCOUNTWITH THEM AND SEND ME MY MONEY, THEY NEVER DID THIS AND THE FSA SEEM TO THINK THEY ARE OK TO DO THIS. THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER COMPANIES THAT OFFER FAR BETTER TERMS AND SERVICE, SO YOU HAVE TO ASK WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO USE SELFTRADE. (read more)
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Showing 11 - 20 of 66 Reviews
★☆☆☆☆
“Sky High fees and management Fees!”
Written on: 01/05/2012
Kind of annoyed with the somewhat suspect attitude of this company, the usual shlock of not informing anyone of the charges that are about to come falling down upon your head I don't even normally bother writing reviews but I'm so annoyed with the overzealous management fee which, yes I knew did exist and yes it was partly my fault for letting it go to the back of my mind. But I had signed up along time ago, then the stealth charges come into to play. I would of been happy if they kept me... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Impossible to deal with”
Written on: 04/04/2012
Attempted to add over £10,000 to my shares ISA today, authorised by my bank, told by Self Trade, I cannot do it because the address on my share account is different even though I moved 4 years ago and credited my ISA last year with my current address. They would not accommodate me in any other way so that I could get the money into my account before the deadline and change my address afterwards even though I passed all the security checks and offered to transfer there and then through debit... (read more)
★★☆☆☆
“Yet another offer with small print”
Written on: 02/03/2012 by gerbold (3 reviews written)
I saw the ads on the money sites for this, telephoned Selftrade and asked if the numbers of Kindles were limited. I was told I would get one - no conditions. I never noticed any date limit nor was any drawn to my attention. Can't recall anything on the literature. Sent them a cheque + docs as no DD payment appeared available. Telephoned 01/03 to find out where my Kindle was and then was told of cut-off date. It's apparent though, from a previous review,that the offer was over BEFORE 31st... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“What A Load of Tripe”
Written on: 04/02/2012
recently opened a cash Isa with Selftrade and deposited £5000, and as I bank on line with Barclays I printed off an up to date on line statement that showed my name, address and account number and sent it to them as requested. Thats it Job sorted ! Or so I thought. Today I received a letter from Selftrade saying, Thankyou for providing us with a bank statement. Unfortunately,we are unable to accept this statement to verify your bank details, as it is a photocopy. For us to verify your... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“selftrade free kindle offer”
Written on: 25/01/2012 by markxl500
Phoned to ask if free kindle offer was still available and was told yes for 12 minutes YES 12 MINUTES. As offer was not due to end until 31 January a week away i was a bit shocked.Asked adviser why "just pulling the offer". Adviser did not give a s**t .When i want to invest £5000 i would expect a little more enthusiasm .Just read the other reviews and realised its not just me .Personally i would AVOID this company. (read more)
Nopatience's Response to markxl500's Review
Written on: 12/02/2012
What nonsense: the publicity clearly said the offer could be withdrawn at any time. 31 Jan was the deadline for the funds to be in the account to qualify for the Kindle. They obviously had a target anmount with the relevant number of Kindles. Once that amount was achieved the offer ended. You're just miffed cos you missed the Kindle.
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Ohanothergreatday's Response to markxl500's Review
Written on: 19/05/2012
Oh Nopatience, thank you for your comment. Its clear that a couldn't give a... attitude on the phone is OK, and not being clear and transparent is also OK. I must lower my expectation. So politeness, which is free of charge last time I checked the yellow pages is out, and a rubbish attitude is in. Couldn't he just say, "I'm so sorry, the offer has come to an end as there is a deadline, which unfortunately you'll see of our website." Of course, Nopatience, clearly paying for someone to doll out rubbish is the new now, and accepting it is what?, the new me. As the Americans say, "get a life", oh, and that means, not the one you've got.
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★★★★★
“Trading companies are writing bad reviews on each other”
Written on: 09/10/2011 by Jonathanmchugh (1 review written)
Hi I am getting the feeling that trading companies are writing bad reviews about other trading companies. An it is not helpful when there is all this negativity. I am trying to get an honest opinion on Halifax, Saxo, TD Waterhouse and Selftrade are there any real reviews out there? Thanks (read more)
Tinyelvis's Response to Jonathanmchugh's Review
Written on: 17/01/2012
Avoid Selftrade at all costs.
Very rude and unhelpful customer services and expensive.
There are a lot of cheaper (and better) alternatives out there.
The "secure mailbox" is a joke as well. They will not alert you to any important mails that are sent to this mailbox.
Reply to this comment
★☆☆☆☆
“Selftrade - Expensive service and rude customer service”
Written on: 01/09/2011 by TinyElvis (1 review written)
Very poor. Much better and cheaper alternatives out there. Customer services are very rude and give the impression they couldn't care less about their customers. Very arrogant. I think it's staffed by a bunch of wannabee fund managers who obviously feel customer services is beneath them. Joined them before they started charging an annual maintenance fee of approx £50. Decided to leave them and transfer to Motley Fool Share dealing. Arranged transfer and motley fool advised by email (and... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Awful, awful, awful”
Written on: 01/09/2011 by weirdbeard (1 review written)
Like many other people, I was helpfully "opted-in" to Selftrade's management fee via their "secure online messaging". Get this - they don't even send you email, they send you messages that you're only aware of when you log in. And if you don't respond, they treat that as a yes! We're all in the wrong business. After lengthy arguments (over secure messaging, of course), they agreed to refund management fees incurred and allow transfer out to another provider. This I tried to do. Which then... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Selftrade Share Dealing Service ”
Written on: 24/08/2011 by martinja1 (7 reviews written)
I have had a share dealing account with Selftrade for over the past 4 years, just recently Selftrade blocked my account and froze all my funds, I was unable to access any funds or either pay money into or out from this Share Dealing account, I was unable to buy shares when the market prices were low. Selftrade gave me no notice prior to blocking my access and freezing my funds. Selftrade did not send me any notice that my account was frozen, they only sent me notice to amend my direct debit... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“AWFUL - AVOID Self Trade at all costs!”
Written on: 11/08/2011
In my experience Self Trade cant even do the simple things right - like reply to emails promptly or sort on-line access issues. Annual mgt fee is not competitive for small holdings. I would def look elsewhere...my experiences with HL have been far better. (read more)
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Showing 21 - 30 of 66 Reviews
★☆☆☆☆
“Selftrade appear to be incompetent when dealing with...”
Written on: 20/02/2011
Selftrade appear to be incompetent when dealing with direct debits and with cash transfers both in and out of their accounts.
I am in process of closing accounts for my wife and myself.
My complaint to the FSA is in process of being dealt with.
I am being successful in persuading others to close their accounts because of Selftrade's incompetence.
Their updating of transfers is so slow that it gives incorrect information and leads to incorrect decisions by customers.
(read more)
Guest's Comment
Written on: 02/08/2011
Absolutely 100% right, my experience has been the same with direct debits, also with direct transfers via debit card. I managed to lose last years Shares ISA allowance because of them and I've currently been waiting 3 weeks to fund this account. Information on one part of their site doesn't update other sections and nobody seems to understand how the system works (probably because it doesn't) It frightens me that a company with staff so comprehensively incompetent have responsibility for the value of funds held. Their annual fee is the icing on the cake for me, I'm looking to move my accounts to Interactive Investor although expect the related costs from Selftrade to be equally horrific.
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★☆☆☆☆
“This company has progressively be taken over by...”
Written on: 22/11/2010
This company has progressively be taken over by different companies and the fees have gone up and up
The service has been appalling at times
They have now announced a further huge increase in dealing fees and have more than doubled transfer out fees to try to stop people transferring their accounts
Transfer now before the new fees take effect
There are better brokers out there
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“ ”
Written on: 19/11/2010
Unfortunatley I was not prepared to pay their annual fee again, like other customers they have lostmy commission fees, I was dealing 10/12 time a month!
Gone to Iweb they charge £10 a transaction and no management fee, the web site is far more superior.
Anyway just got a letter this morning from selftrade (after closing my account), Telephone charges have increased from £12.50 to £17.50 (£2500 or under) and £40.00 for ((£2500 - £100,000), starts from January 1st!
Glad I...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Logged on to my account yesterday (27 Sept) for the...”
Written on: 27/09/2010
Logged on to my account yesterday (27 Sept) for the first time in several months. Discovered a message in the website's mail box informing me of the annual management charge and that I could have 3 free trades if I used them by the end of August - which obviously I couldn't do as August had been and gone. Company refuses to reinstate the free trades.
When I signed up for this account there was no management charges, I received paper annual statements and messages to my email account when...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“I used Selftrade a couple of years ago to sell some...”
Written on: 12/07/2010
I used Selftrade a couple of years ago to sell some shares as they were the cheapest at the time.
I left some money in my account to keep it open for another sale. A few days ago I get a letter to my home telling me I owe them £30!
On investigation they have introduced a yearly fee and not informed me. If you google it you will find many people in the same boat.
However they say, don't worry, if you don't want to pay us the £30 you owe use we will keep the remaining money from your account,...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Shockingly regular outages, glitches and other general...”
Written on: 12/03/2010
Shockingly regular outages, glitches and other general problems. They also suffer from one of the most badly designed trading systems I've ever used (well, apart from SippDeal, who sit at the very bottom of the pile). For example, they don't let you see more than 5 stocks in your porfolio at a time before you have to paginate. It's almost like they're trying to annoy you on purpose. I've given them one star simply because they've yet to actually delete my account by mistake. But I wouldn't... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“the only thing going for this company is that the...”
Written on: 06/03/2010 by bubbasparks (14 reviews written)
the only thing going for this company is that the application process is faster than some of the others. otherwise, overpriced for the poor level of service and all in all, they're useless. (read more)
★★☆☆☆
“Did have a account with Selftrade which I ran as a...”
Written on: 15/01/2010
Did have a account with Selftrade which I ran as a hobby, buying and selling small amounts of stock. Agree with the set charge for buying and selling. But they introduced a fee for holding onto your stock/having a account with them. Basically, they shot themselves in the foot, probably lots of people have left them for the same reason, had to give away a lot of stock as cost of selling was worth less than charges. Many Thanks for encouraging keeping business NOT! (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Useless site. Annual charge sucks now. Charging me to...”
Written on: 15/12/2009
Useless site. Annual charge sucks now. Charging me to transfer ISA. :(:(:(:(:( (read more)
★★★☆☆
“Selftrade provides me with adequate UK market research...”
Written on: 08/12/2009
Selftrade provides me with adequate UK market research information and an acceptable share dealing service to handle my SIPP and ISA shares. Selftrade has handled a number of new share issues very efficiently. The trading platform can be slow at times of high activity but as I'm not a daytrader it usually works fine for me. Identification of shares not eligible for ISAs could be made sooner in the dealing process. The dealing charges seem competitive except the annual fee pushes these quite... (read more)
Guest's Comment
Written on: 02/08/2011
Key words: 'adequate', 'acceptable', 'slow at times', 'annual fee', 'quite high' perhaps most important 'alternatives'. Really wish I'd read all the reviews before using this useless company.
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Showing 31 - 40 of 66 Reviews
★☆☆☆☆
“We have 2 accounts including my partner's for last 3...”
Written on: 08/10/2009
We have 2 accounts including my partner's for last 3 years. I sold funds and did not receive payment and after many calls, finally I got the credit after 32 days. During this time, I lost opportunity to invest and lost over £600. Now looking out for another firm - any suggestions from experience? (read more)
Guest's Comment
Written on: 02/08/2011
Guess it's a bit late but I'm looking at 'Interactive Investor'. I trade exclusively in US listed stocks and although the trading fee is a little higher there's no irritating annual fee.
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★☆☆☆☆
“In July 2009 they introduced an annual fee of £40...”
Written on: 06/10/2009
In July 2009 they introduced an annual fee of £40 without telling me. The message in the account doesn't help, if you buy shares and keep them there for a long time, so you hardly log in.
That was a rip-off strategy: Offer a free account and when you have enough people, introduce a annual fee which most people will pay, because they don't know about the change. They didn't want to inform the customers in a proper way, using email, postal address or phone number, which everyone has to...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“I decided to close my account with Self Trade because...”
Written on: 29/09/2009
I decided to close my account with Self Trade because of the introduction of an annual charge. To be honest as their was little activity on my account I wouldn't be much of a loss. However, they seem desperate to keep me; after months of aggro I still do not have all my share certificates and they have not returned the cash that was in my account. In fact they lifted £70 from it a couple of days ago. No, they didn't tell me they were doing it!
Compared to the Barclays account that my...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Self Trade introduced 40 pounds fee on execution only...”
Written on: 02/09/2009
Self Trade introduced 40 pounds fee on execution only account with no adequate information about the changes. Phoned them and they informed me that they delivered the message to my online account with them and per their terms and conditions that is sufficient. Now I am aware that other people also received important communications from them in that way. Do not trust them and am closing my account with them. Will also be pursuing them with the ombudsman/. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“I am new to trading online. but i already know that...”
Written on: 03/08/2009
I am new to trading online. but i already know that this Self Trade site is not good. Half the time it take's in excess of minutes to log on. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Self Trade is the MOST unreliable site I have ever...”
Written on: 03/08/2009
Self Trade is the MOST unreliable site I have ever used. Endless notes on the frontpage. They were down the other day due to a power failure!
I lost £12k on RBS by not being able to sell out - site down and phone lines insufficient.
Have taken whole portfolio out - losing the tax benes of the ISAs - just to get away from this shower.
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“30 july, one more breakdown!! ”
Written on: 31/07/2009
30 july, one more breakdown!!
31 july, 'power outage' that now has the appearance of a substantial system failure.
Selftrade say service is now back to normal. They are in some other world!
My portfolio,message board, and watchlist are nearly useless. The watchlist is completely haywire, and Selftrade are inaccessible !
When you get through by phone you get rubbished by people who rabbit on.
Selftrade used to give a wonderful service, with an unbelievably good website.
But since last autumn...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Terrible service from self trade - the site was down a...”
Written on: 30/07/2009
Terrible service from self trade - the site was down a few days ago for 3 hours and is down today 30/7 from 9am, still down at 10am with the message 'We have a major power outage. We are working to recover our service. Please check our website for updates.'
They don't answer the phone or respond to messages.
They charge one of the highest rates £12.5 per trade and £35 + VAT annual fee.
Avoid at all costs.
(read more)
☆☆☆☆☆
“Self Trade are rubbish, stay well clear. ”
Written on: 03/07/2009
Self Trade are rubbish, stay well clear. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“I've given Self Trade a 1 out of 10 because at least...”
Written on: 23/06/2009 by BeinnEddra (1 review written)
I've given Self Trade a 1 out of 10 because at least I've been able to withdraw all my money. They've introduced an annual charge starting on 1/7/09 but you can't get through on the phone. They don't read the messages you send them via the online messaging facility. I've had to write them to tell them to read my messages. I've been unable to place trades by telephone even, before 4.30pm. The site looks good, but features like Stop-loss randomly don't work, and people who promise to phone... (read more)
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Showing 41 - 50 of 66 Reviews
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Lautbry's Comment
Written on: 29/03/2013
interactive brokers is the best