Pursue endowment complaint?

brendangallagher

Hi,

Using the letter from the which web site we wrote on 22nd September 2005 to the Brokers who sold us an endowment policy. No reply. I wrote again on the 15th November and still no reply. So I called today and he tells me he has a letter to us on the word processor from our initial meeting but no file and is trying to get our file back from whereever it is they keep these things. Meantime he apologised for not writing back but then insists his company always recommend repayment mortgages and didn't like to sell endowments although that doesn't ring true as he happily sold us a low cost start one in 1995. I'm not sure if he's playing for time or if indeed he's telling the truth.

I have a few questions now. Firstly he says he has no records of mortgage information so we must have come to him purely for the endowment policy. Is that way most people got their endowment by going to a third party?

We took out our mortgage with Nationwide at the end of 1995 and we must have looked up these brokers for an endowment policy around the same time. We were first time buyers and what seemed a much better option for us was a "low start cost" endowment together with the prospect of making some money at the end of the term made it seemed the right option for us. Is it against Nationwide or the broker I should be making the complaint to?

Also with deadlines looming is the fact we have written twice and he has spoken to us over the phone and acknowledges he has received the letters enough? Should we be writing to Nationwide?

If he doesn't bother to contact me again or cannot find our file where should we take this?

I have kept all paperwork from 1995 and subsequent correspondance from General Accident / Norwhich Union. The only letter I have from the brokers is details of offering the low cost endowment policy from General Accident and we had correspondance a few months ago reminding us of the shortfall.

We switched to repayment a couple years ago when the shortfall problem became more apparent. We have maintained the endowment though.

Any help or pointers would be gratefully received. I will of course post up progress for others to look at if that will help them.

Thanks in advance,
Brendan

Froggitt

It sounds like its the broker you should be pursuing. Tell them if they dont complete your investigation by XXX (is it 3 months???) you will refer it directly to the FOS.

The onus is on the broker to show he did advise you correctly....not on you to show he advised you incorrectly. If he's lost your peperwork, its unlikely he can show he gave you best advice.

dunstonh

Based on what you have said so far, you don't really have grounds for a complaint.

You may get lucky though if the firm cannot obtain their documentation to back up the sale of the endowment.

brendangallagher

Thanks for feedback. I'll see what he comes back with and post it up.

Regards
Brendan