National Sterling

Scammed me into purchasing off the plan property I couldn’t afford – Back in 2006, i was new into the property game and wanted to increase my property portfolio. They talked me into buying 2 properties. I could only afford one. My accountant had to assist me with finding a property lawyer so I could legally get out of the second sale. I spent thousands on legal fees. Thank goodness they were selling legally flawed… Read more

properties as we won on the basis of an illegal build. Sad but true. The property I did keep, I still have, however there have been endless issues with that build.

Bunch of Scammers! – A couple of years back, my wife and I were given a supposedly ‘free’ consultation with NSG as a promo with our tax returns. I was reluctant to attend - as I knew we weren’t really in a position to join the share market/climb the property ladder – but the missus insisted they could at least consolidate my super (something I’d been meaning to do for… Read more

years); so I figured I’d grit my teeth and tag along.

Much of the hour was spent listening to some clown, who continually tried hard-selling us apartments we couldn’t afford. After finally taking no for an answer, he turned his attention to my superannuation.

He claimed that – due to the risky nature of my work – there were only a limited number of ‘product providers’ who would be willing to offer insurance in conjunction with my super. Apparently, I would be required obtain insurance through a third party provider (one with highly exorbitant premiums). This was an outright lie. Now, unbeknownst to me at the time, the ‘adviser’s’ commissions were/are paid in direct correlation to the amount of the fees, premiums, etc. Despite being repeatedly told their services were free of charge. Of course this information is not provided at the time of the actual consultation..

I’ve since discovered that he cancelled the already inclusive (and cheap) insurance plan which came standard with the allocated super fund, before signing me up for insurance through - not one but two - third party providers (presumably his mates?) who charge roughly 5 times the norm.

To make matters worse, this con artist subsequently attached a 48 ‘statement of advice’ to a copy of the single page authorisation letter - the one I’d signed permitting him to act on my behalf. This authorisation letter was not numbered and had obviously been attached to the other paperwork (which conveniently outlined his commissions, etc) at a later date.

Anyway, all this came to my attention when the super company recently contacted me to advise there would be a 'rollover' of funds (that amounted to approximately 1/3 of my contributions for the past 2 years) to the new insurance provider and that, due to previous authorisation, there was nothing I could do to stop this. These funds have now vanished, largely due to ridiculously high insurance premiums and the so-called ‘referral source’s’ commission, as well as the plethora of commissions charged by NSG Pty Ltd.

So far they just keep claiming it’s my fault, as they’d expected me to read over the massive legal document – sent after the fact - and contact them if I had any problems.

What can I say..? I knew they’d take their pound of flesh one way or another. I just assumed the commissions would be paid by the companies receiving new business... Not by the clients they’re purporting to assist!!

Disgraceful customer service. Allowed life insurance policy to lapse. No response to email – National Sterling allowed my husband’s life insurance policy and TPD insurance to lapse and we found out by accident when the insurer contacted us to check my address for my policy, as the one they had been provided with was returned to sender. It turns out NS had not bothered to update our address or my husband’s phone number with the insurer and… Read more

then ignored letters and emails sent advising the policy was due for renewal and in danger of lapsing (which it did eventually).

Thank goodness we discovered the issue by accident rather than in a case of something having happened to my husband leaving our family with no protection.

To make matters worse, due to a recent medical query he was then unable to get full insurance for a period and once we did the premium had doubled. Had we had the continued cover that National Stering were being paid to provide that would not have been the case.

To add insult to injury, they did not even bother to respond or follow up once they were aware of the issue. Absolutely disgusting. Stay far, far away!!

Apartsments - Not a good retirment investment – Hindsight is wonderful as we all know!! Unhappily we were introduced to NS to assist with our financial future, which now turns out to be a disaster. We invested our hard earned super into an apartment in Brunswick 7 years ago which is still worth about $150k less that what we paid for it. They also managed to talk us in to another one in Altona… Read more

with an interest only loan, this one is also worth over $100k less than what we paid for it 5 years ago. We did all this on the promise from the advisor that as real estate had doubled in the 10 years prior to us signing up, we could expect that to happen again. So instead of having a healthy and growing super fund, we now have a reducing fund.

NS talked us into a self managed fund and set that up at a cost of $20k which we now know was an absolute rip off, they also charged us $5k for a loan repayment calculator which we were told by Tom Maloney that we had to have.

Instead of being able to retire at 60, we will have to work another 15 years past that to recoup our losses and pay off the debt which National Sterling got us in to.

We are sure that other people will be in the same boat. Perhaps a class action looms.....

my rock when i was in a tough place – Recently I was let go of my job at one of the major supermarket chains (I wont name them here). I was there for a over 16 years full time and they restructured my job out of the store I was at. I was at a loss as to what to do but I had been a client of National Sterling's for a long time and call on a whim to see what I should do now with my… Read more

Mortgages and investments now that I had no job. I knew they couldn't offer me much assistance finding a new job but was pleasantly surprised to receive so much assistance. They helped me locate some employment legal advice, sent me the links to fair work so I could get some free advice and even helped me find a way to update my resume. We then restructured my finances as best as we could to make sure I kept making the repayments while looking for a new full time job. My daughter ended up updating her resume at the same time using sites they had found for me and it was all for free. They really went above and beyond for us even though really there was nothing new in it for them. I will continue to support this business for a very long time as they have supported me in this really tough time. I

"Financial Rock" – National Sterling are my financial rock. After trying a few other ‘brokers’ with little satisfaction, National Sterling I plan to keep. A friend recommended their services so I took up the 'free review' offer. The service was far superior to any other competitor vying for my opportunity. As part of the re-finance I took up health & income… Read more ·  1

insurance & a nifty 'mortgage budget' tool to help 'visualise' (& more importantly 'quantify') where my loan & financial habits would lead me. Ouch - what an eye opener! Based on your current expenditure & expected income, the tool calculates the rest of the mortgage life & you see very clearly how that compares to the default, what you thought you were doing & how you can make real changes. During my 1st year every thing went very smoothly & I could see clear direction with my comparatively tiny mortgage. Then everything changed as I up-sized to a bigger house / bigger mortgage (again via National Sterling and with the person) & I am now re-settling into a new 'budget journey' with my partner. Life changes like that & we need to cope. Having a 'constant' can give you grounding when everything else moves around & with you. Without the tool it would be much harder to see our direction & could easily get (more) lost in short term goals & treats. But for many of us nothing is bigger than our household mortgage & this must be managed well. National Sterling can help you do this, & I recommend their services without any hesitation. Special thank you to Stan Vyce, Mortgage Administrator for his endless attention to detail on both re-finance occasions, and to the small team who do house visits to tutor use of & assess progress with the budget tool . Yours sincerely Janine.

Horrid customer service – Never experienced a more horrible lack of service than from here. Was promised return calls & never received a single one. Always chasing. Business going elsewhere.

Customer Service = Customer Satisfaction! – During the course of this month I have on a number of occasions, emailed your office and in particular, one of your service representatives in relation to an incorrectly paid Insurance Premium to AMP dating back to December 2015. Your representative continually kept me informed via email of her outgoing instructions, questions and on my behalf,… Read more ·  1

suggested enforcement actions to ensure prompt remedial action - needless to say the matter has been resolved favourably.

Such high calibre service deserves equal recognition. Therefore, abiding to your request not to provide personal details is reluctantly accepted!

Life Savers – Absolute life savers - saved me so much time organising my super & insurances through Macquarie. I was paying so much for my insurances, National Sterling showed me how much money I could save moving my insurances,  Show reply

thanks guys, saved me so much money – what a great help these guys have been, saved me so much money on me super and insurances. other companies were ripping me off for years and I had no idea - thanks guys  Show reply

Excellent service – Since using National Sterling I have found that they always keep me the member in the know with how things are going and about any changes. I have nothing but praise for the way this company operates for their members.  Show reply

set for the rest of my retired life – I was contacted by Ferris from national sterling, he came to my house and he explained everything to me about my super and retirement. I am very happy .  Show reply

excellent customer service – thank you for such excellent customer service and explaining what it all means. The Rep from National Sterling made it very easy to understand and the process was smooth and not forced. Thank you  Show reply

Appreciate the professional service! – Very happy to be dealing with a Melbourne based company that I could physically visit and speak to without making an appointment - rare these days. They ask questions and listen as opposed to the other selling machines out there. My last minute requests was handled professionally. I have referred NS to my family and friends as promised!  Show reply

Really valuable help and advice – Really happy with the service provided by National Sterling. Helped set up income and life insurances that correspond to my families financial position and goals.  Show reply

Great advice and future planning – National Sterling have been great! Helping me to piece together a plan to get my super to where it needs to be so that I can retire happy- have recommended to all my friends! Have consolidated all my super funds into the one and organised insurance cover so that if anything happens to me, it doesn't effect my family.  Show reply

Great bloke – Glad I took up offer of appointment. First time ever I thought about super and income protection and life insurance and what it means. Vince is a great bloke who explained it all and I'm really happy with the work he's done for me. Look forward to working with him again.

Thanks guys!!! – I first saw a National Sterling advisor 6 years ago and they sorted out my super and insurance - which at the time wasn't doing well. I have received regular reviews and updates from them over the years and their advice has always been relevant to my situation and goals - from single and carefree to married with a mortgage. Their customer service has always been fantastic.

Very Disappointed At The Lack Of Communication – We have had 2 consultants come out and promise that our refinance would be quick and easy. 1st consultant left the company which delayed the refinancing, people when on holidays and then on long service leave and no one though to let us know what was happening. 3 months later, I still have to make a phone call to ask what's happening and still no… Read more

answer as to when settlement will be finalized. How hard is it to let your customers know. Very disappointing!!

Amazing Service – The service provided so far is good. The two consultants I have worked with since I signed up are professional and have provided me sufficient information on my super.  Show reply

Leech your money if you are not aware, blood sucker – Recently got contact by them, sounds like a good plan to consolidate my debt and have a financial plan to start saving for a better life. [Name Removed] signed us up with Macquarie, luck enough he could not transfer my partner's super. But on my account I notice that there is an adviser fee, which I got told at beginning there is no fee at all.… Read more

Contact Macquarie, they told me different story, not only the fee, and there is an on going fee to be paid from my account every month to nation sterling. How do I find out? They contact my payroll ask to transfer fund because they never get the money for like 3 months, which got me thinking wasn't super got transfer into super account directly, why they need to ask? Until Macquarie told me they did get the fund directly, and on time, and to discover that I sign a paper with NS says they have right to access my superfund.

At beginning, he promise that my situation is looking good, and he can get me approved from A bank for refinance. Let me tell you, I never heard from this person at all after the super got transfer on the date of signing all paper, this is near 5 months ago. I lose about 1500 in 5month time, by walking into National sterling. My wife maybe lucky did not transfer her super, but she got sign up with insurance, and which now is in process of refunding with Macquarie, it is about 2200, again, all this happened in mid May this year. Which I do not have any comment about Macquarie yet, but with NS, there is not enough word to express my disappointment. For those who just been with them or long, do check your account often. I wish I could rate them none star!

Fantastic service-Highly recommend – I was very impressed by the service I received from National Sterling and in particular. The consultant I worked with was Vince and he very quickly interpreted my financial circumstances prior to introducing an ideal product which has provided me with significant security.  Show reply

The service was amazing – The accountant that helped me " Bevin " was very professional and informative about my options and ways to help improve my superannuation.  Show reply

Thanks – Used National Sterling since 2009. At first I just wanted to consolidate my supers into one, which they did. I am still with amp with a protectiob guarantee on. It's costing me more but without it I wouldn't have been comfortable taking risks and investing my super. My super had crashed when I initially put it in there and now it has grown by 16%… Read more

in the last 12 months. I am just wrapt with it and my insurances. I took out trauma insurances this year and wouldn't have had one clue they existed before hand. My dad just recently underwent a heart procedure and it scared the life out of me. I'm glad I got cover before something happened to me and wish my dad had of been with national sterling before now. Thanks guys you are doing and awesome job

Reliable and knowledgeable – At first, my husband and I were a little anxious to enter the world of property investment, but the team at National Sterling made it so easy. Firstly, our Advisor was incredibly knowledgeable about all the aspects involved. No problem was too big, no question was left unanswered. It's rare to find a company these days that really cares about the… Read more

well-being of their customers, but National Sterling were professional, reliable, and delivered on each and every promise. The staff really know their stuff, and we're so glad we decided to go with them. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

Poor management of property and finances – Purchased a national sterling investment property, which three years on is still grossly undervalued from estimate. Wasn't informed of body corporate fees etc. Was promised to be $100 out of pocket a week, $500 a week is a more accurate estimate. The offset account they set up had the mortgage repayments coming out of it instead of our income… Read more

account resulting in the $80,000 limit account to be maxed and an additional $410 a month worth of interest. We cannot sell the property due to the under evaluation and stand to lose out $90,000+ if we do. They setup my wife's super which due to exorbitant fees has reduced her super from $13,300 to zero. Not to mention our financial advisor wants nothing to do with the mess he has left us in. And we have found, we are not alone. At a cost of $4500 for a lifetime of financial advice, it has resulted in nothing but a lifetime of financial burden. Thanks national sterling.

Beware! Bad advice, poor customer service, poor returns – I also had a dodgy Adviser come to my home around 18 months ago. He told me that my current industry super fund was not preforming well at 9% and recommended I transfer my funds to Macquarie and boost my super to around 20% (after fees that is). He also signed me up to a life insurance fund that deducts directly form my super fund. This all… Read more

sounded great so my partner also signed up. 18 months later we received an annual statement from Macquarie and realised that the return was around 2%, I was shocked so I called my adviser who said Macquarie may have invested my money into the wrong funds. So I called Macquarie who directed me back to National Sterling as my Adviser had full control over where my money gets invested.

I am now dealing with some internal customer service team at National Sterling who are looking to see if any compliance breaches have occurred. Feed back so far is that they are more concerned about reviewing my super options for the future and not compensating me for all the money I have lost. I will be escalating this matter further to the ombudsman as I feel that I have been given misleading advice form my adviser, which I have in writing from him. We are Both bitterly disappointed with National Sterling and recommend people do not invest with this company as they risk losing substantial amounts of money. I should have just stayed with my industry super fund who returned 13-14% this year. I have also read in the media that there is a class action looming over Macquarie and much discussion around these dodgy, poorly trained advisers who are more focused on their commissions and not delivering on what they say.

P.S I would be happy to hear from the Compliance Manager above regarding the status of my ongoing complaint.

Great attention to customer needs! – T recently organized life insurance for my wife and myself through Vince. I was pleased with the ease of the process. They understood what we needed, offered us 3 alternatives and we were appreciative if thorough research to find a product that suited out needs. We were pleased at the cost and now wouldn't go anywhere else for future financial advice.

Simply the Best – Great service in my home. I can contact my financial adviser for any questions and updates thanks [name removed]. National Sterling staff are great all the follow up phone calls mean't to me this organisation is seroious.,.,,,I am happy with my cover and looking forward to my results for super annuation in the next year. I want to see how this… Read more

service improves compared to my last. I'm greatful for the service to date. Thank you The cover and super I have receive and staff mannerisms

Fantastic – From the professional prompt friendly service, to the expert advice I received, National sterling has been a huge help with the set up of my property portfolio. The great team have shown me my money is being wasted and how to make my money work for me. I would definitely recommend National Sterling to anybody seeking financial advice!!

Excellent service and professional advice – I have found all staff at National Sterling to be highly efficient, professional and approachable. The helped me setup my self managed super fund and property and investment portfolio and explained the advantages and drawbacks of each option clearly. I am very happy with all aspects of this company, particularly the fact that they have an integrated range of service to offer. Friendly, professional advice.

Great Company to deal with – What a great team of people I have been in contact with. They have found me a better super fund and changed the way I budget my money while keeping me informed all the time. I have always been interested in investing in property and thanks to National Sterling I have a investment property. It seems that nothing is to small or big for this company… Read more

and always keeping you informed. I have referred a couple of my friends to this company and they are quite surprised how easy things are when dealing with National Sterling easy to deal with

Reliable and friendly service – An Australian company - rare these days. They are genuinely interested in their clients. I like that they have a broad range of services and hence options. They have an office in St Kilda Rd, Melbourne, but advisors will come to you at a time that suits. Very convenient when working full time.

excellent Service – National Sterling helped us refinance to a rocket repay loan, The process was easy. Very happy with the outcome. Thanks  Show reply

Top advice! – Excellent Service and help- Vince was a gent! Highly recommend! Feel like everything is sorted out for the future! Feel looked after!  Show reply