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christian w

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Review of the Aviva, Pension:

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Do not save with "Aviva Pension"!

As a former "city boy" you may think that I know my way around financial institutions. Think again! I saved for almost 20 years with Aviva and in November-25 decided to get the monies to buy a little flat in Bundapest, where I live now. All was smooth sailing until I wanted my money back. First they sent me the wrong form. Obviously thought its the Budapest in the UK. Before you get your money they practically force you to talk to a pension adviser. I explained to them that I know what I am doing but they keep asking you: Are you sure you know the risks of taking your money out? Are you really, really, really sure? Dont you rather want to leave it with us?? This is the most painful part!! They believe you are a moron and they are the almighty financial institution who knows so much better what to do with your money. Yet, they are unable or unwilling to handle a payment procedure. But wait, I am getting ahead of myself... Then they wanted the usual "ID" with electricity bills, as is standard for the UK. Well, does not work like that when you live in Hungary. You think they would find a way around that? It took me two months of explaining until somebody took pity. Then the bank account: I sent them tons of bank statements. Not good enough for them. I needed to have it notarised that its my accounts. Even the signed statement from the bank itself could not convince them. I had it notarised and sent it to them. What do you think happened? The notarised document was bound by a notary thread and sealed at the last page. It included the "minutes" on the front page stating that the annexes (explicitly enumerated on the front page) are valid and the accounts belong to me. What comes next is so incredible that it pushed me over the threshold and write to you. They actually claim that because the front page, the minutes, does not include the IBAN number of the bank accounts in the annexes they cannot pay the money to the account. I have spent 500 Euros for notarisation they demanded and then that. I prepared a log of all interactions with Aviva over this trivial matter: * 47 emails I sent to them * I spent over ten hours on the phone with them, half of the time listening to 30 seconds of Vivaldi's "four seasons" which they have not changed for the last 20 years! * I talked to over 20 different people, in sum more than 10 hours * I invested more than 50 hours to accommodate their requirements and trying to find a solution Ten months later I still do not have my money! Why is this important? Well, my experience most certainly is not an outlier. This company * is poorly organised, * culturally lacks any interest in helping customers, * broadly proves to have no sense of accountability, * it is so rigidly adhering to procedures that may work for 80% of customer standards but utterly failes to handle the other 20%, * shares an attitude of total disdain for customers wanting their money back * employs and incentivises staff incapable and unwilling to read, understand customer interests In other words, my experience, which got me in touch with a large number of people, different departments and only one and the same result, is engineered, it is the top echelon that wants it to be like that. They seem to actively dishearten you to take your money back. I mean, financially this makes sense. They earn fees passively, have nothing to do with the customer, windfall profits. Problem is: They advertise to be a company we should trust with our money, they want to be our friends, ideally be in our community, be all touchy-feely yet they are deal with their customers in a fashion that makes the GDR-authorities feel ashamed. I can provide you with all details, logs, complaints letters, anything you want. Somebody has to warn the public of these people. They are not our friend or community member, as they claim on social media and advertising. They are a cold, heartless but most importantly, incompetent financial organisation! I do not want a hug from Aviva, I just want a competent service provider! Cheers! Christian Reviewed on: 13th August 2026

Review of the Aviva, Pension:

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They dont want to give you your money!

I used to live in London and worked in the city. Usual pension accumulation. Things worked fine but I did not have to have an interaction with the back-office. That changed once I wanted my money to be transferred to my bank account outside the UK but within the EU. You will not believe me when I tell you that more than six months have passed and I still do not have my money! They hide behind "regulation" and "procedures" for "my" protection. Factually, they have humanoid robots in their back-office who do not even read when you explain to them that things are a tad different in Germany. They let me NOTARIZE my bank statement, passport, and my great grandmother's birth cirtificate! I did! Then, six months later, they send me the same forms as before, asking for the same documentation as from the outset! When you explain to them that this was all sent months ago, they tell you that you have to get a fresh set of docs. The "old" ones are void because they wasted all the time. I have experienced a lot of disorganised, unaccountable, unfriendly, unhelpful companies but AVIVA pension leads the pack. I am shocked and disgusted by the lack of interest, the unfathomable incompetence of "staff", the unwillingness to solve a non-standard procedure and the utter lack of organisational accountability. I have the suspicion that this is methodical!!! They either dont have the money anymore or just want to keep it ad infinitum! I can only recommend not to save your monies with this bad excuse of a financial insititution! NEVER AGAIN! Reviewed on: 20th July 2026

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