Anyone experienced pension miss selling?

okehwhitedemo

hi, first post please go easy!
In 2005 I was invited by my local Halifax branch for a "financial review", i expected to be shown how to save money and tidy up my finances which basically were in a mess, it was the begining of the slow spiral down many of us have experienced.
Anyways at this review I was basically bombarded with products that I was expected to purchase, savings plans peps and that type of thing, I made it clear that I could not afford them, the lady then got round to retirement I explained I couldnt afford private pension payments, but to cut a long story short I ended up signing up for a Halifax pension, it was explained to me that although the payments would go up, inflation would mean that I wouldnt notice the increase.
I struggled to pay the premiums for a year, the yearly increase came, my finances by this time are probably nearly at rock bottom, I had to cancel the direct debit and stop paying.
my question is this at the time of this "review" it must have been plainly obvious that I was financially stretched have I a case for miss selling? has anyone experienced similar? how do I begin?
Over the years I have claimed bank charges etc. very sucsessfully si i'm not afraid of these people!
thanks in advance

dunstonh

Anyways at this review I was basically bombarded with products that I was expected to purchase

As you would expect when you see a tied sales rep whose job it is to sell.

I explained I couldnt afford private pension payments, but to cut a long story short I ended up signing up for a Halifax pension

Right, so you signed up for something you didnt want but still agreed to buy it. You were then sent cancellation rights in the post to allow you to cancel it without any pressure put on you but you still chose not to cancel it.

it was explained to me that although the payments would go up, inflation would mean that I wouldnt notice the increase.

Nothing wrong with that. Even if they do go up more than you want you can always cancel the increase or lower the monthly payment. Nothing is cast in stone with stakeholder pensions.

my question is this at the time of this "review" it must have been plainly obvious that I was financially stretched have I a case for miss selling?

How obviously are you financially stretched? Affordability needs to be considered by sales reps as much as financial advisers but not many complaints are upheld on that basis as its very vague as to what could be good or bad advice. You dont say what the monthly premium is either so we dont know if was a small amount or large amount and how that compares say to your skytv costs, mobile phone costs, eating out costs etc.

it also sounds like your finances got worse, not better. Was that forseeable or not?

has anyone experienced similar? how do I begin?
<snip?
i'm not afraid of these people!

One has to ask that if you are not afraid of "these people" then why did you agree to purchase and why did you not cancel when you had the chance or at any other time in between.

The product itself wont be a mis-sale. So, the only thing is affordability. What do you have in your favour as evidence that you gave to the tied agent at the time to show you couldnt afford it?

purch

at the time of this "review" it must have been plainly obvious that I was financially stretched have I a case for miss selling?

Unless the Sales Rep forged your signature on the DD mandate, and on the Pension Application Forms (or put a gun to your head forcing you to sign) I would think this is far more likely to be considered a case of Mis-BUYING.

Of course in the world of MSE, where everything is someone else's fault.........