opting out of serps

jet_the_poodle

some advice.
I was cold called by a company called ;
Park Lane Services International regarding Serps contributions.

I informed them that I had contracted out of Serps many years ago.
I was again contacted by this company who advised that they had investigated my case and that I could be owed approximately £15,000.

In order for them to pursue this claim they require me to make an up front payment of £540.00.

anyone done this

would this be a wise thing to do as I am wary of companies cold calling and asking for upfront payments.

McKneff

dont touch them with a barge pole,
Offer to pay them when you get your 15K back and you wont see them for dust.

Youre right to be wary

glitterkitty

call the HMRC contracted out pensions helpline:

0845 915 0150

dunstonh

Its a scam.

The FSA did a review of contracting out and found that the failure rate was about 1.5% (which is very low). That means about 1 in 100 people were incorrectly advised. The FSA have also published a help guide on this with a flow chart to see if you were incorrectly advised or not. Basically, if you were under the age of 43 when you contracted out then there is no complaint.

There are a few cowboy claims companies that operate in this area and they are making a mint out of it. I have had a few clients who have had phone calls who have come to ask me and in one case they tried to get someone in a contracted out money purchase occupational scheme to pay the money as they were mis-sold (despite no advice and no choice as that was the employer scheme rules). Another was contracted out from 88 to 94 when he was in his 20s (in 1996 the SIB did some research and found everyone contracted out to that point was financially better off).

These scam claims companies are in it for the £500. Think about it. Someone does 250 calls a week. Tells a load of lies, doesnt mention the FSA review or the FSA flowchart or help guide and makes it sound like like an easy claim with high success chance and gets say 1 in 10 people to sign up. Thats £2500 a week for that person and all they do is send a standard MS word template to the advising firm. The advising firm uses the FSA flowchart as a guide and refuses the complaint.

London05

You will know if you contracted out of Serps as you would get a letter every year telling you how much has been transferred to your Pension Company.

You should also have had a letter from them when you originally contracted out if in deed you did.

If you do not have a private pension the chances are you did not opt out.

If you are employed in the public sector it is different, in any case as suggested go to the website and call the approp dept give them your NI number and they will reveal all.

jet_the_poodle

Thanks for feedback
Confirms my thoughts.
Did say take your commision from the 15k but they said couldnt be done as they were not a no win no fee company... says different on their website

dunstonh

They cannot take their fee from the redress with most pension payments. Typically with pensions, redress is paid into the pension to bring the value up. You cannot access that so you have to pay the percentage out of your own pocket.