NI Presbyterian mutual society, Short of funds for withdrawal?

crazymess

Mark789 wrote: »

#2125
This is very odd.


I strongly advise people not to contact either the landline or mobile number on the letter, but to go through your own solicitors and get them to make contact based on confirmed information.
This WILL cost you money, as solicitors charge for most things, but will be a lot safer.

If this insurance exists and isn't renewed by the administrator, surely that would be negligence on his part and any loss would be recoverable from his PI insurance.

Mark789 and Amontylado




But what you are saying about each person contacting their Solicitor directly is very good advice and however we need to think this all out first as we don't want all the Solicitors in NI benefitting from our plight.

Nomad25

It will not cost you anything to register and you are merely protecting your rights. You must do it!

Oh my! This is very concerning. How many of the 10,000 have been advised of this and what happens if they do not know about this? Does it mean each individual saver must do it? in which case some are going to be well stuffed. Can't someone take out a blanket registration to cover all be made?

sickasaparrot

Newsletter - morning view (the important bits)

Many PMS savers have put their life savings in the bank, believing they were investing in the corporate Presbyterian Church. It will be a long time before we know the truth about what happened, but it is unlikely that the society or the Church will come out of the scandal without their reputations being tarnished.
Many people who sit in the pews every feel very sore about the way they have been treated.
(repeats Jeffrey Donaldson + 12 savers bit re banks cold calling)
Jeffrey Donaldson states " it is our view that the Government therefore precipitated the run because it significantly increased its deposit guarantee for banks right before the PMS run began.
The Government therefore has a duty to intervene and we are asking that one of the banks it now has majority ownership of takes a shareholding in the PMS.
There can be no hiding place for the banks, which must be asked to account for their actions.
There is now some movement on the issue and hopefully the pressure from our politicians will ensure that the banks and the Govt. fix the mess they helped to create.

sickasaparrot

Sorry for duplication - didn't see Toastandbutter's post earlier!!

Dr._Who_2

Somehow this mess has to be sorted - it gets more complex every day!!
We all need to get all our money - but when that, hopefully, is done we still need to get the TRUTH!!
Who knew what and when? Were the Directors of PMS aware that they were operating outside the guidelines set down in law? It's true that you could ask about the activities of PMS but for some of this you needed to know the right questions to ask!!
What was the Auditor doing? Would it have been the Auditor's responsibility to notice that all was not well in regard to the business practices of PMS and inform the Directors?
Although PMS may have been a "seperate entity" PCI backed it too the hilt - does PCI now not have both the right and the responsibility to discover the TRUTH if its integrity is ever to be restored. After all the Board of Directors is packed with Ruling Elders and Ministers of PCI - were they unaware of what was taking place? Did Colin Ferguson handle it all himself - I understand that for small loans he could make decisions himself but for larger amounts the Directors had to be consulted. Even when the money end is sorted I don't think this can just be left as the conclusion would be unsatisfactory and allegations of one kind or anoterh would hang over PCI for many years - people in NI have long memories, as we know. Perhaps not a good thing but it's the reality of it. Let's get the money sorted - but can't we have someone tell us the TRUTH!! Unless, that is, they fear legal action. I understand that some Directors are receiving mail already about this!!

Dr._Who_2

I can think of someone else who had a problem with this thing they call "truth" Read John 18 verse 38!!

Seem to remember that the same person had a problem with "hand washing" also. See Matthew 27:24!!

goodbyepci

There are a couple of good articles in the News Letter today.

They don't seem to be online yet, so worth buying the paper.

Ms Foster says it's not her fault.................again!

Dr._Who_2

I think that people have been concerned about the legal side of all this for a long time - hence they have been afraid to come down on one side or the other. I am in touch with many Ministers who are deeply concerned about the whole thing - others have barely spoken about it at all!!
There is something deeply disturbing about this whole mess especially about the legal cloud now surrounding PMS: it's hard to face a Congregation every Sunday morning feeling that PMS has broken the law and that the General Assembly gave it's support year on year without really trying to find out what was happening.
This is something which must be investigated - but we need to remember that other factors caused the run on PMS. The way in which PMS was managed needs to be looked at - if it was doing something illegal then why FSA ambivalent statement? Also probably Arlene Foster is right - it was up to PMS Directors to ensure that investment policy was within the law. Can't understand that as the Board has solicitors and accountants on it who, surely, should have known their own business!! Something a bit fishy here!! Please remember that many of our Ministers invested with PMS - they feel they can't say anything but I know of some situations of very real difficulty esp. in relation to retirement properties. However, I do agree that Ministers, Ruling Elders and Congregations need to get behind the current lobbying campaign. The present disclourses about PMS do nothing to help encourage those on the fringes to give support - all we can do is ensure that Congregations set that aspect to one side for now and concentrate on getting the money situation resolved. We do, by the way, have a body capable of conducting an investigation - the Judicial Commission of the General Assembly!!

D.A.

Here's one of them:

DETI not to blame for PMS crisis

Wouldn't be like the Civil Service to avoid taking blame for anything of course...

Whatnow?_3

Dr._Who wrote: »

I can think of someone else who had a problem with this thing they call "truth" Read John 18 verse 38!!

Seem to remember that the same person had a problem with "hand washing" also. See Matthew 27:24!!

The story of the Good Samaritan springs to mind.

PMS savers are the victim. PCI is the priest and DETI is the Levite walking by on the other side. Perhaps Gordon Brown and the UK government will be The Good Samaritan and recompense us fully for our losses. Months of anguish and distress can never be compensated but if we can get our money back then we can start to seek the truth later as Dr. Who suggests.

It's very sad that PCI have ministers who are not prepared to acknowledge that there is a problem within their own congregations because of PMS. I know of some churches where PMS has neither been mentioned nor prayed for since the whole episode broke out. I know that there are families within these congregations who do not know who else in their congregation has money in PMS because no mention has been made of it by ministers to give these people an opportunity to draw together.
If nothing else, I am sure you would all agree, it is good to be able to support each other, even through this site. So basically how can a minister pastor people (as Donald Watts stated at the beginning) when they will not acknowledge the existence of a problem?!!! Isn't that a tragic state of affairs?

Haven't seen Newsletter yet - looking forward to it.