Britannic Capital Builder - Deal or No Deal?

dunstonh

How is the financial services industry going to regain confidence when it keeps essential information from investors?

The person on the phone is probably on a rolling 3 month contract with no benefits and crap pay. Their phone calls are recorded and they dont know if they have a supervisor listening or not. Much of what they do is scripted and although many of them would love to go off script, they know they would have problems if they did. Others are just repeating what they have been told to say without understanding what they are saying.

There is little motivation for them to bend the rules and the companies are running scared that if they are seen to give advice, they will be stamped on with a nice big fine from the regulator.

Getting things cheap, results in cost cutting measures. Gone are the experienced insurance centre staff, gone is the common sense, gone is the buy in to the service that long term staff would have. Pass the liability and cost to the IFA and if someone chooses not to use an IFA, that is their choice. Keep the experienced staff dealing with the IFAs as it is them who provide the majority of the business coming in.

Its pretty easy to see how this happened. However, its not so easy to see how it would change.

missile

Sounds like you are running with an £800 credit card debt? I would suggest your priority ought to be pay that off asap. Unless you have an introductory offer the interest charge will be far higher than any return you may get from Britannic. Your choice would seem to be whether to cash in ISA or Britanic Policy.

You might want to read the advice on 0% credit card balance transfers and stoozing.

Mean_Scot

missile wrote:

Sounds like you are running with an £800 credit card debt? I would suggest your priority ought to be pay that off asap. Unless you have an introductory offer the interest charge will be far higher than any return you may get from Britannic. Your choice would seem to be whether to cash in ISA or Britanic Policy.

You might want to read the advice on 0% credit card balance transfers and stoozing.

For information and just so people are aware, I asked Britannic to send me the form in case I decide to surrender the policy. They now require you to send the policy document and have two pieces of ID photocopied and countersigned and witnessed by someone like a lawyer, banker, broker, accountant, teacher, doctor, minister or sub post master before you can get access to the money.

I have no particular problem with doing that - they say it is for increased security but i know they didn't do that 2/3 years ago.

missile

I think this has been fairly common for a few years now? I had to supply similar when an endowment matured. It was a real pain as I was in Spain at the time. Worth preparing this in advance, or you may have a delay in getting money.