Hargreaves Lansdown services resume after technical glitch
The UK’s largest DIY investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown has confirmed clients can once more access their accounts after a technical problem on Friday brought operations to a standstill.
The platform reported that it was “no longer seeing” the earlier technical issues in a statement on Friday evening, with customers once more able to make transactions.
The statement said: “We’re pleased to share that we are no longer seeing the technical issues which were affecting some parts of our website and app. Clients can now transact on their accounts as normal.
“All clients’ assets and data have remained secure throughout and there has been no evidence of any cyber incident, data breach or system compromise.
“We’re sorry for the inconvenience we know this will have caused and thank you for your patience.”
Despite finding and solving the problem, which prevented investors from logging on to both the website and mobile app, customers were displeased with Hargreave Lansdown’s response to the issue.
Severe market volatility
Services, including pensions, savings and investments, went down on Thursday evening, leaving people unable to access their funds during a period of severe market volatility, caused by the Middle East conflict.
It left them unable to trade amid soaring oil prices and wider volatility, with markets reacting to the bombing of energy infrastructures across Iran, Qatar and the UAE earlier in the week.
The Bank of England also chose to hold interest rates at 3.75 per cent in a rare unanimous decision on Thursday, raising concerns of the likelihood of rises later this year, with the FTSE tumbling to its lowest point this month.
Others are in the process of getting financial affairs in order as the end of the tax year creeps closer.
Hargreaves Lansdown customers expressed anger at the situation, replying to posts on X from the firm.
It is the latest technical problem for financial firms and providers, with Lloyds experiencing a significant technical glitch earlier this month, which caused customers to see other users’ transactions.
Earlier this week, MPs on the Treasury Select Committee wrote to the chief executive officer of Lloyds, Charlie Nunn, asking about how much compensation would be paid to those affected.
Changing providers
Some customers accused the company of a lack of diligence, while others threatened to move providers as soon as the problem was solved.
One called for the financial watchdog to investigate the incident, hailing it unacceptable, questioning if they will be compensated.
Others confirmed they had lost money by being unable to trade during the volatile session.
Last September, a glitch on the Hargreaves Lansdown website also caused panic for thousands of investors after it briefly showed incorrect account balances.
The latest glitch is a further blow to the firm which is working to see off wider competitors who are luring customers with lower fees and digital offerings.
This led Hargreaves Lansdown, which holds more than £170bn, to overhaul fees.
It said it will cut its annual account and share dealing fees, but add a charge for fund trading in its first overhaul of pricing in more than a decade.
The move will cost the company, which was bought by a number of private equity firms including CVC Capital Partners, Nordic Capital and Abu Dhabi’s Platinum Ivy in a deal that was completed in March 2025, tens of millions of pounds.
The changes took effect from this month, meaning eight in ten customers pay either lower fees or the same amount according to the firm.