Missold ISA??

MinMoz

We have been paying the maximum amount into a Stocks and Shares Bank Of Scotland ISA for a few years - it is currently £900 down in relation to what has been put in (understandable given the current climate).

When opening the account we requested a low risk place for our money and they opened a cautiously mgd ISA. My concern is that they did not recommend the cash ISA and also ignored the fact that we had over £1k in a deposit account that paid under 2% interest.

The advisor appears to have been working with more regard to commission than what the customer requested but is it worth taking further and sending a letter of complaint to the bank/ombudsman?

dunstonh

A few things you need to be aware of.

1 - you saw a bank tied agent who is an investments adviser authorised to flog the investment products of that bank. Savings accounts are not really an issue for investment advisers and planners.

2 - Had the investment risk profile been cautious or medium risk then if the tied agent had recommended a cash ISA then they would be investing under your risk profile. That is as bad as investing above your risk profile as neither match you.

3 - you saw a tied sales rep. They are going to recommend their investment products over a bank product. This is one of the reasons the FSA has proposed that tied agents have the "adviser" tag taken away from them and not allow them to use any reference to advice in their process. They will be called sales reps as that is what they really are.

Based on the little you have said, there is no mis-sale here. Your investment is down and you are aware why. You obviously seemed happy with it when you purchased the investment (remember that tied reps have a different remit to IFAs in that you choose with tied reps whereas IFAs recommend). If you wanted your savings account reviewed at the time I am sure the tied agent would have got one of the bank clerks to look at it for you. All you needed to do was mention it.

IFAs are authorised to portfolio plan and will consider cash holdings as part of a wider portfolio. However, tied agents are not so have no reason to.

Whilst I am not a fan of bank tied advisers and I have put in complaints against them a number of times (and won most of them) there is nothing here to suggest a mis-sale.