Using this broker I cannot buy any shares in Experian (EXPN) online and find this utterly remarkable as Experian is a FTE100 company worth over 5 billion!!!
For this reason I nominate HoodlessBrennan as the worst stockbroker of 2007.


Anyone wishing to complain against Hoodless Brennan should contact the financial-ombudsman: here

but then again they know full well what they are doing while they short it on the other phone

you know ..i could destroy them...but i won't just yet

Harry, If they denied that they had taken the stamp duty (although its on the contract note) I don't think it would be too difficult to prove otherwise with your bank statement. Regardless of what they tell you??

How about this from SELFTRADE:letter received out of the blue saying"we are unable to confirm your details against an electronic database......... send copy driving licence/passport/Tax Notification.........we require a reply within 14 days."
Then some blurb abt products followed by "we look forward to receiving the documentation from you.In the event you do not send us the required documentation WE Will LOCK YOUR ACCOUNT BY FEB 2008"
Now I dont expect to see the words "we regret/please accept our apologies" and some explanation why they were checking my account (which they gained thro takeover of Comdirect),.No, my main concern is that they have mislaid my records and now want another go,this is the age of the cyber crook and Identity Theft !! Anyone else had this experience?

The "electronic database" would be the voters roll, for money laundering purposes they are required to check your identity and address.

I bought some iShares from Hoodless Brennan today and was charged stamp duty when they should have been exempt. Rang them to query it, they said they couldn't see my trade because of computer problems caused by too much activity on Northern Rock and said they would call me back (they never did) and also tried to sell me the advisory service - declined of course and will avoid using this broker again.

Thanks for that Kayak,Im sure you are right but Im looking around. Ive been where I live for many years, also first paper letter out of comdirect file is a confirmation of some of the mentioned details now required. If they were on file in may 2005 where are my details now and how many others have Selftrade lost.?? Feeling uneasy on that account and wishing my account was large enough to justify the fuss! Mainly in cash as I have this Henny Penny thing abt the sky is abt to fall in(pre dates Rock) so this may be why they are boverred, thanks again.Pericles

oh and dont forget medsea estates down from 12p to 6p...broker said it would rise 70% from 12p

and raven properties down from 7p to 4p

i guess i'm not de-hooded

I withdrew a small amount of money from my account over a week ago and while it shows that in my dealing history it shows that it is still in there in another list.
I phoned them up and they confirmed that the money was still in my account and that they would activate my request on Monday, no one could say why there was a difference!

Can't be trusted to do a simple task let alone anything else.

On my experience HoodlessBrennan are definitely the worst broker on the market. Service is attrocious too - I'm still waiting for replies to emails sent a month ago.

Anyone able to buy Experian (EXPN) online with HB?

I don't think any of the shares they have tipped me have done anything but bomb.
The last one was Jarlway and that has lost over 50%.
They have cost me thousands.
The get out is of course " shares can go up as well as down ".

Not wishing to suggest some PI's are naive but it is possible share recommendations can be made when the brokers and investment houses have shares to sell.I am not suggesting for a moment that this type of activity is dishonest as for every buyer there has to be a seller.

cavman2, sorry to hear about your bad experiance. Seems the best tip is to ignore the tips!

Halifax, you are right and I personally wouldn't take tips from anyone.

As far as HB go, they are making a right cock-up of accounts with the new site they have just put in place. Stay well clear!!

my broker pissed off to germany...evidently he had a few after him

Another vote from me for the worst broker - Hoodless Brennan
If you have an account with them, switch out of it. I DID!


Stockbroker fined for pressure selling
Michael Clarke, This is Money
17 August 2006, 11:59am

STOCKBROKER Hoodless Brennan have been hit with a 90,000 fine for pressurising customers into buying shares.

The Financial Services Authority ruled that the company fell below regulatory standards when it sold shares in software Knowledge Technology Solutions in 2003.

It said the broker persuaded customers to buy the stock when they were not ready to do so and also persuaded them to buy more than they appeared to want.

Hoodless brokers also used information about a contract for KTS to supply the stockbroker with pricing technology software to persuade customers to buy the shares. The brokers suggested that the shares would rise if the contract deal was announced.

One broker persuaded a customer to buy 100,000 shares rather than the 50,000 that the customer had requested.

The customer's wishes were overridden by the broker, who said: 'They've already gone. I've taken them off the board.' The FSA said this implied that the deal had already gone through and it was too late for him to change his mind.

Margaret Cole, director of enforcement at the FSA said: 'Brokers at Hoodless Brennan used unacceptable selling practices and did not pay enough attention to the interests or the information needs of their customers.

'Nor did they take time to communicate with their customers in a way which was clear, fair and not misleading. The FSA will not tolerate this method of selling shares to private customers.'

The sales occurred in June and July in 2003 when the shares were priced at between 5p and 6p. Investors would have seen an initial surge in the value of their shares as they rocketed to a high of 16p in September of the same year, but they have since drifted down to their current level of 0.88p.

Hoodless Brennan hit back at the fine by claiming that only 13 customers were involved and none of them suffered a finance loss. It added that it independently investigated the case and worked closely with the FSA on the case.

Hoodless Brennan not only fined once but TWICE. Don't fall for their cheap 7 share trade. It's not worthwhile in the long run.



Hoodless fined 150k
Source: The Guardian, December 18, 2003, an Article by Jill Treanor

Stockbroker Hoodless Brennan has been fined 150,000 by the Financial Services Authority after the City watchdog found the firm issued a "false and misleading" statement to the market concerning one of its corporate clients, AIM-listed media group PrimeEnt.

Sean Blackwell, the broker's former chief executive, has been declared to be "not a fit and proper person" to work as an investment adviser - effectively a lifetime ban from the City - after a bungled attempt to support PrimeEnt's share price in March 2000, following a 2.5m share placing.

The FSA issued final notices on the matter yesterday after Mr Blackwell's appeal against disciplinary action failed.

Geoffrey Hoodless, the broker's former chairman, succeeded in his appeal and therefore may continue as an investment adviser.

The FSA said Hoodless Brennan had failed to provide regulators with "full and accurate" information following the share placing. It also "failed at the time to keep proper records, failed to supervise corporate broking staff and failed to follow proper compliance procedures," the FSA said.

The regulator said that the size of the fine reflected the fact that Hoodless Brennan was now under new management and had improved its internal controls.