Iām a bit late to the party here, although in some ways deliberately so as Iāve had to consider my response. I donāt want to repeat already excellent points made by people here and the topic causes me considerable difficulty.
I feel a bit betrayed by this price increase, if Iām honest. It comes so soon after the last one which I defended to the hilt even at the cost of making enemies on this forum and this announcement makes me feel Iāve been taken for an absolute fool! And before anyone argues with me that it isnāt a price increase, it is when you donāt want to pay upfront. Paying upfront is an opportunity cost, because instead of paying more into your investments earlier and paying the monthly fee, you are having to pay Ā£55 upfront that you otherwise hadnāt intended.
As anyone who has read my posts will know, I have no objection to paying increased fees as Iām fully aware of the need for FreeTrade to be solvent. I also was one of those who said that I would like to see an annual payment, but I had imagined that would be a discounted offer, such as Ā£99 for one year of Plus or Ā£50-55 for Standard and not, as has happened here that they set the annual payments to the current rate and jack up both the monthly costs and the FX fees.
Six months ago when the prices went up, I said that the service you received even for Ā£5 per month was excellent value. At the time I would even have said Ā£6 per month was great value. Unfortunately Iām not sure how true that is anymore. Even as a standard user, Iāve noticed a marked decline in customer service. Iāve become a bit disillusioned at their seeming unwillingness to address issues that are obviously losing them money, tax certificates and SIPP employer contributions are two that come up on the forum continually. The one that impacted me was the unacceptable 3-5 day delay in money withdrawal, had it not been for that, I would have become a Plus user 6 months ago. I do object to them raising prices to plug financial holes before they fix issues that are clearly deterring customers from transferring products to them.
However, not even any of the above would have mattered had this not given me the feeling that I might not be able to trust FreeTrade anymore. As others have mentioned, they have implemented this without explanation and so soon after the last increase. Whatās more, they are selling it as an option to pay annually, when actually it is to bounce you into a different course of action by worsening the conditions of the monthly payment and Standard accounts. As well as it being what I find a dishonest sales pitch, I now have serious doubts about their solvency going forward, which obviously makes paying the annual fee a risk.
While I still think the FreeTrade product is great and I wish things were different, I feel it is time to go but struggle to think of any alternatives. Lightyear would have been my first choice but sadly no ISA and not enough of a stock universe. I am not at all keen on T212 but they looking like my best option both from an equivalence, price and solvency point of view. What I might do is open a GIA and test buy and sell small value shares, test money deposit, withdrawal, etc and see if they would be worth switching the ISA to in the new ISA year. While I know the solvency question may arise in the future, I think thatās potentially further off than it will be for FreeTrade.
If anyone wishes to respond to me here by suggesting that FreeTrade are better off without me and not to let the door hit my backside on the way out, you are of course entitled to your opinion, but youād be very wrong to suppose that Iāve not been a supportive and fully paying customer of FreeTrade. I have happily paid the fees and supported them on this forum the last time they raised them. I have been very patient with their short-comings and have always made sure to be painfully aware that they are a start-up and that leniency is necessary. But there comes a point at which you have to consider whether a product and company is still the right one for you and, although Iām going to consider very carefully over the weekend, I sadly think Iāve had to face the conclusion that they arenāt.
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