St James Place has lost my original certificates, what can I do?

The_Book-keeper · 16 March 2017 at 12:28PM

Hi
My husband recently did a drawdown on a small pension pot that he had with St James Place. As part of the procedure he had to send his original birth certificate and our marriage certificate. This he did and in due course received his due payment and a P45. What he didn't get back was the original certificates. Over the past few weeks he has repeatedly rung them & emailed them but has not been able to get anywhere. This morning he managed to speak to someone in the complaints department who is now saying the certificates were never received in the first place. He has argued that the payment could not have been made without the certificates but St James are adamant that they have not had them. Just wondered if anyone had had any similar problems with St James & what can I do about it?

dunstonh · 16 March 2017 at 12:53PM

As part of the procedure he had to send his original birth certificate and our marriage certificate.

That is old fashioned. You would think that with all the large charges SJP take that they could afford to update their systems better than that.

This morning he managed to speak to someone in the complaints department who is now saying the certificates were never received in the first place. He has argued that the payment could not have been made without the certificates but St James are adamant that they have not had them.

Your husbands argument with them is quite valid and common sense.

Just wondered if anyone had had any similar problems with St James & what can I do about it?

You would expect SJP to pay the cost of getting replacement certificates if they uphold your complaint. If they have rejected the complaint then you should refer it to the FOS. They will be hit with a £500 charge for it going to the FOS which seems a bit daft given the low cost of getting a replacement certificate.

Linton · 16 March 2017 at 1:07PM

There is no problem getting new BMD certificates - £9.25 each from GRO. Is it worth making a fuss?

p00hsticks · 16 March 2017 at 1:16PM

Linton wrote: »

There is no problem getting new BMD certificates - £9.25 each from GRO. Is it worth making a fuss?

There's a difference between an 'original' birth certificate (actually, the initial copy issued at the time the birth was registered) and a copy you could get today from the GRO though. Because anyone can order a copy of anyones birth certificate, many organisations will only accept a birth certificate issued within 12 months of the date of birth as proof of identity.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proof-of-identity-checklist/proof-of-identity-checklist

PeacefulWaters · 16 March 2017 at 1:17PM

Linton wrote: »

There is no problem getting new BMD certificates - £9.25 each from GRO. Is it worth making a fuss?

Definitely.

The_Book-keeper · 16 March 2017 at 1:24PM

True - and our marriage certificate was actually a hand-written one, which, besides anything else, had sentimental value.
It's not only the fact that they are missing but also the way it is being dealt with. I'll keep you posted

dunstonh · 16 March 2017 at 1:25PM

I have a lovely old fashioned hand written certificate written in fountain pen which is from the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. I would hate to see that replaced with a laser printed modern alternative with no character. Technically, it is little different but there is a bit of sentimental attachment to it. So, I would think it is worth it if you have the old style certificates.

Silvertabby · 16 March 2017 at 1:51PM

There is no problem getting new BMD certificates - £9.25 each from GRO. Is it worth making a fuss?

We got married when we were both serving in Germany, and so the ledger containing our original marriage registration (along with all other military/RAF weddings, births, deaths etc) is now probably tucked away in some MOD archive never to see light of day again. We are working on the assumption that our marriage certificate is irreplaceable - so, when one of Mr S's pension providers asked for our original certificate, there was no way we'd trust it to the post/pension company. Luckily, the original is portrait, rather than long landscape, so we scanned/printed it onto good quality paper, which we then folded this way and that and gave it a good rub. They accepted the 'copy'.

The_Book-keeper · 16 March 2017 at 1:55PM

They are saying that they didn't receive the certificates in the 1st place, but the "complaints" department have said they will investigate it stage by stage & that it could take up to 8 weeks. With this in mind, is there any time limit on reporting it to the Financial Ombusdman?
Thanks

westv · 16 March 2017 at 2:04PM

I would never send original documents by post to anybody.

OneInTheHat · 16 March 2017 at 2:33PM

I think the business normally has 8 weeks to resolve before the ombudsman gets involved which I bet is why they are saying 8 weeks

Please don't give it up - I suspect they quote an extremely long time to try and put people off!

I would be quite open from the outset and say that you intend to complain to the financial ombudsman should they not investigate this properly and come back to you with a sensible suggestion (like paying for replacements plus postage etc. etc.)

St James Place has lost my original certificates, what can I do?

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