Foresters Friendly Society Reviews 18

Reply from Foresters Friendly Society

Aug 14, 2025

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and we are sorry to hear that you are dissatisfied with your Investment and experience with Foresters Friendly Society.

The plan you have taken out with the Society is a long-term savings plan backed by investments and is not a cash product. As stated at the point of purchase in our important information documentation, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than you have paid in to your plan during periods of negative investment performance.

In periods of market volatility a Market Value Reduction (MVR) may be applied to ensure exiting policyholders receive a fair share of the OIF and to protect the policyholders that remain invested in the OIF. An MVR was applied for policies within the Order Insurance Fund for the first time in November 2022. Although a Market Value Reduction is not desired, the existence of an MVR is necessary as it protects members who do not take their money out of the OIF during poor market conditions.

It is important to understand that the MVR will only apply to the policy should you wish to close your policy, withdraw, or transfer your monies at the time there is an MVR in place. We understand how concerning the MVR is for you and for the impact this has on your investment, and we, at Foresters, are keen to remove this as soon as possible. This is why we are reviewing the implementation of the MVR at least quarterly by the investment committee, which is made up of our most senior management team. The MVR will be removed as soon as investment returns allow so as not to cause detriment to all policyholders within the with-profits fund. The investment shocks that all investment markets have experienced may mean that the fund could take some time to recover.

We are very sorry for the mistake made on the calculation of your final value, and have confirmed that the difference has been paid out to you, if you would like to discuss this matter further please contact the member sales and service team on 0800 783 4162.

Reply from Foresters Friendly Society

Jul 28, 2025

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. Were genuinely sorry to hear that your investment experience has not met your expectations.

We understand how important it is to feel confident about your financial decisions and the outcomes they produce. Please know that adverse market conditions can sometimes lead to periods of lower or unexpected returns and a Market Value Reduction can be applied, these results can vary based on many factors beyond anyone’s control.

That said, your concerns are valid, we know that you have been in contact with our complaints department. If there is anything else we can help or assist with, please contact our Customer Service Manager on 0800 783 4162 and she will be happy to assist with any queries.

Reply from Foresters Friendly Society

Dec 9, 2024

Thank you for leaving a review and we are sorry to hear that you are unhappy with your investment and the service that you have received so far. I understand that you had spoken with our Customer Service Manager Laura this afternoon who apologised and explained about the phone system issues we had encountered earlier today. She has emailed you direct so if you need anything else at all she can be your first point of contact going forward. Kindest Regards.

Reply from Foresters Friendly Society

Oct 23, 2024

Good Afternoon, Thank you for leaving this feedback for us and I am so very sorry to hear that this has happened. if you could contact our Customer Service Manager on 0800 783 4162 she would like to speak with you about your experience and what we can do to rectify this.
Unfortunately we are experiencing a large volume of calls at this current time so apologise for any wait times, there is the option to leave a message and one of the customer representatives will contact our customers within 24 hours.

Reply from Foresters Friendly Society

Sep 18, 2024

Thank you for taking the time to leave this feedback, we are so very sorry to hear of your experience during such a difficult time for you.
We take full responsibility for the mistake and understand the frustration and inconvenience it may have caused you.
Your feedback is invaluable to us, and we are grateful that you brought this matter to our attention, we would like the opportunity to discuss this with you, if you could contact our Customer Service Manager on 0800 783 4162 she would like to discuss this with you and apologise on behalf of the Society.

Reply from Foresters Friendly Society

May 30, 2024

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and we are really sorry to hear that you are unhappy about the service you have received from Foresters Friendly Society.

We’ve recently invited all members that took out new plans between the beginning of last year, and the portal’s launch, and we’ll shortly be inviting those that took out plans in 2022 and 2021.

Whilst I can’t confirm when you’ll be able to register for the portal, please rest assured that we’re working hard to allow you to do so.

you will soon receive your annual bonus statement for 2023 which will show your annual bonus for 2023 and an interim bonus for this year.

if you would like to discuss this with our friendly Member Services Team on 0800 783 4162 and press option 1.

Reply from Foresters Friendly Society

Updated May 30, 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Investment volatility is not unique to Foresters and is being experienced by all investment providers and their customers. So, while short-term investment value changes can be unsettling, it’s important to maintain a longer-term view as well.

As a result of investment volatility, a small proportion of plans that have invested in our Order Insurance with profits Fund in previous years have a Market Value Reduction (MVR) applied to them.

This is the first time in our history that we have had to apply an MVR. As an adjustment that can be applied to the value of your investment, if you choose to cash-in or withdraw from your plan during volatile investment conditions, which reduces how much you get back, it ensures that everybody gets their fair share of the returns from a with profits fund and is designed to protect members who do not take their money out of the fund during poor market conditions.

You will only see the effect of an MVR should you wish to withdraw your money at the time there is an MVR in place. An MVR can be added, removed, increased or decreased at any time and, as we are unable to predict future investment market performance, we are unable to advise how long the MVR for previous year’s investments will be in place for. Our investment team are continually looking for additional opportunities to improve returns whilst remaining within risk tolerance levels.

We are very sorry to hear that you have experienced difficulty in getting through on our phones and we’ve recently invited all members that took out new plans between the beginning of last year, and the portal’s launch, and we’ll shortly be inviting those that took out plans in 2022 and 2021.

Whilst I can’t confirm when you’ll be able to register for the portal, please rest assured that we’re working hard to allow you to do so.

If you have any further questions, please do let us know. We are available Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm on 0800 988 2418 or by email membersalesandservice@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk.

Kind regards, Foresters Friendly

Reply from Foresters Friendly Society

May 30, 2024

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, we are sorry to hear that you are unhappy about the return on your investment and the Market Value Reduction that is currently in place.

The Annual Bonus Rate for the ISA is currently 1.25%

During periods of extreme investment market volatility, we might need to apply a Market Value Reduction (MVR) when you withdraw some or all of the money in your plan in order to protect remaining members within our Order Insurance with profits Fund.

An MVR is an adjustment that can be applied to the value of your investment if you choose to cash-in or withdraw from your plan during volatile investment conditions, reducing how much you get back.

It ensures that everybody gets their fair share of the returns from a with profits fund and is designed to protect members who do not take their money out of the fund during poor market conditions, this has been in force from November 2022 and is regularly reviewed by the Board. Unfortunately I am unable to confirm when this will be removed at this current time.

If there is anything else we can do please contact our member sales and service team on 0800 783 4162.

Reply from Foresters Friendly Society

Jan 24, 2024

Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate your frustration and are able to advise that we launched our member portal in July last year which provides our members with plan information such as plan value. Initially, the portal was only available to members who took out a plan after the launch date, so that we could evaluate real world performance of the portal and seek member feedback, making adjustments where needed.

This work is currently ongoing, and we are initiating the onboarding process for members who took out plans before July of last year. This will be done in a phased manner, starting with the most recent plans and progressively working backward. This approach allows us to effectively manage the volume of invitations and subsequent sign-ups.

We will be in touch to notify you as soon as it becomes available for you to register. In the meantime, we are able to provide plan values over the phone and we also send out annual statements regarding the plan’s value. Information about our fund is available on our website in the About Us/About Our Funds section.

We appreciate your patience regarding the delay in inviting you and other members who took out plans before the portal's launch. As a member-focused business, we want to make sure that we’re offering the best possible portal experience when the time comes.

If you would like any further details, our Member Services team are available Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm, on 0800 988 2418 or by email membersalesandservice@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk . Kind regards, Foresters

Reply from Foresters Friendly Society

Nov 20, 2023

Thank so much for taking the time to share your experience with us. We appreciate your kind words, and we are delighted to hear that you have been a member of the Forester family for the most of your life. We are genuinely honoured to have been with you during the various stages of your journey.

Thank you again for your trust and loyalty. Wishing you a fulfilling and joyful retirement, Foresters.

Reply from Foresters Friendly Society

Nov 20, 2023

Hi Alex,

We appreciate your frustration regarding your current inability to register for and make use of our member portal. We launched the member portal in July of this year, and it is currently accessible only by members taking out plans after the launch date so that we could evaluate real world performance of the portal and seek member feedback, making adjustments where needed.

Additionally, as a multi-brand business a significant amount of work has taken place so that members who hold plans from across our various brands are able to see and manage them all in one place.
We hope that you'll appreciate that delay in inviting you, and other members who have taken out plans before the portal launched in July of this year is because as a member-focused business, we want to make sure that we’re offering the best possible portal experience when the time comes, and that a significant amount of technical work needs be done in order to do so.

The work mentioned above is ongoing, but we are now beginning to onboard members who took out plans prior to July of this year, and will do so in a phased manner, starting with the most recent plans, and working our way back so as to be able to manage the volume of invitations and subsequent sign-ups.

For plans that were taken out in July of this year, as yours was, we hope to be able to have invited you to register before the end of the year. Kind regards, Foresters.

Reply from Foresters Friendly Society

Oct 23, 2023

Hi, thank you for your feedback. We understand that you have been in touch with our member services team who have explained the following: As advertised, the terms of our cashback offers are for a minimum of 3 monthly direct debit payments to be made or, in the case of a lump sum investment, for your investment to remain with us for a minimum of 3 months, before you are eligible for the cashback to be paid. As our plans are designed for the medium to long term, our terms also stipulate that if, having received a cashback payment, you are to close your investment within 12 months of the commencement date we reserve the right to deduct the value of the cashback from any surrender value or refund of premiums.

With regard to account access, we recognise that we must keep enhancing our service offering to members. As such, we recently launched our member portal. New members have access to their investments through our online portal where any payments made into the plan can be seen, and we will be rolling this out to existing members. Kind regards, Foresters Friendly

Reply from Foresters Friendly Society

Updated Aug 17, 2023

Hi Daniel, thank you for your feedback. We understand that our Member Services team have been in touch and have clarified the cashback offer terms and conditions with you.

It’s important to remember that the savings plan you have opened with us is a longer-term investment which is designed to be held over many years. Investment volatility is not unique to Foresters and is being experienced by all investment providers and their customers. So, while short-term investment value changes can be unsettling, it’s important to maintain a longer-term view as well.

If you do need any further assistance in future please contact us by email memberservices@forestersfriendlysociety.co.uk or call 0800 988 2418. Kind regards, Foresters.

Reply from Foresters Friendly Society

Aug 17, 2023

Hi Dean, thank you for sharing your feedback with us.

We have just launched the initial phase of our member portal in July this year and, as you state, this initial phase is accessible for new plan holders only, with existing plan holders being issued invitations during a phased introduction throughout the rest of 2023. We appreciate that you are eager to sign-up for the portal and we will be in touch to advise when you are able to register for your account.

It’s important to remember that the savings plan you have opened with us is a longer-term investment which is designed to be held over many years. Investment volatility is not unique to Foresters and is being experienced by all investment providers and their customers. So, while short-term investment value changes can be unsettling, it’s important to maintain a longer-term view as well.

As a result of investment volatility, a small proportion of plans that have invested in our Order Insurance with profits Fund in previous years have a Market Value Reduction (MVR) applied to them but no MVR is currently in place for plans taken out in 2023.

This is the first time in our history that we have had to apply an MVR. As an adjustment that can be applied to the value of your investment, if you choose to cash-in or withdraw from your plan during volatile investment conditions, which reduces how much you get back, it ensures that everybody gets their fair share of the returns from a with profits fund and is designed to protect members who do not take their money out of the fund during poor market conditions.

You will only see the effect of an MVR should you wish to withdraw your money at the time there is an MVR in place. An MVR can be added, removed, increased or decreased at any time and, as we are unable to predict future investment market performance, we are unable to advise how long the MVR for previous year’s investments will be in place for. Our investment team are continually looking for additional opportunities to improve returns whilst remaining within risk tolerance levels.

Best wishes, Foresters.