Halifax Share Builder www.halifax.co.uk Review

Good Points
Cheap dealing costs per trade

Bad Points
Awkward and hard to navigate interface
Severely limited in information coverage
Long time to set up initially, and call centres generally unhelpful

General Comments
Although I already had a current account with Halifax, it took the share dealing account 3 weeks to be established. After which, due to errors on their part, it could not be used for a further week. Upon logging in to the online service for the first time, I was extremely disappointed. Their online interface is awkward to navigate, and it provides none of the information an investor would expect from their broker; such as charts and information on corporations, as per what their competitors do provide. Prices quoted are not real time, and you are only told the real price as you are about to deal. It logs out too frequently, forcing you to spend time consistently logging in to view a valuation of your portfolio.



After this experience with the Halifax Group I have decided to take my business to Barclays stockbrokers, and also have transferred all my savings from Halifax to Barclays. I am yet to trade with Barclays, but I have already viewed their much sleeker and professional internet service, and it doesn't look like it was cobbled together in a few hours, as is the case with Halifax.



In short, although the commission paid on deals looks attractive, they have proved to be a complete waste of time and money, and I would recommend that if you actually wanted to make any money on the stock market, that you use another broker.