Misselling of Endowments

Wpetsa_2

I am currently at loggerheads with the FSO regards complaint of misselling of endowments.I get the feeling they are far from impartial and indeed tend to lean in favour of the firm. I wish to complain about the conduct of the FSO advisor and their less than impartial investgation involving my case. It is not quite concluded yet but if I let them get their way I dont think I will get a satifactory outcome. Is there any redress action I may take before they get a chance to conclude the case,as their decision is final?.Example,I had been arguing over question 14 of (Endowment Questionaire )besides a few other points, then they decide to bring a time bar into play on behalf of the Firm.
However according to their own rules they cannot do that arbritarily,only on the firms insistance.However Standard Life have intimated to me that my broker has opted out of time barring complaints. Where do I stand on that point?. I have made a verbal complaint to FSO advisors service manager about their conduct of the investgation with little joy. Has anyone else out there suffered similar fate as myself? What action if any, should I take against the FSO other than legal,prior to conclusion of case.

dunstonh

I am currently at loggerheads with the FSO regards complaint of misselling of endowments.I get the feeling they are far from impartial and indeed tend to lean in favour of the firm.

Its FOS. Most firms would feel the opposite to you.

It is not quite concluded yet but if I let them get their way I dont think I will get a satifactory outcome. Is there any redress action I may take before they get a chance to conclude the case,as their decision is final?

You can have it referred to an ombudsman. However, in most cases they do tend to stick with the initial decision. After that you have the courts. However, unlike the complaints process which is biased to the consumer as the advisor has to prove it wasnt mis-sold, the legal system would require you to prove it was mis-sold. Thats a lot harder to do in law.

However Standard Life have intimated to me that my broker has opted out of time barring complaints. Where do I stand on that point?.

Standard Life wouldnt get involved with the complaints of advising companies unless it was sold by a standard life rep. So the actions of your "broker" as you call him/her are not a concern of standard life.

Who actually sold the policy?

defender_of_the_weak

Dunston a correction with regard to the legal system. Under section 2(1) of the misrepresentation act 1967 the onus is shifted from the consumer to the adviser to prove that they did not make negligent or misleading statements.

The common perception, put out by the big and not so big financial institutions is 'he who asserts must prove' and it ain't so. this has been tested in the courts and with 200 years of investment track records demonstrating highs and lows it is a bit tricky for any financial institution to say, we did'n't see this coming.

Wpetsa

Check the dates of any high risk letters and note them here

dunstonh

DOFW, the simple phrase was told to me be a solicitor whom I have a business relationship with. Although the phrasing you have to prove instead of the other way round may over simplify it, he did say that it would be harder for a mis-sale case to be proven in court then it would be through the complaints proceedure (assuming complaint handled correctly).

defender_of_the_weak

Yes it would almost certainly be more difficult in court, not least because of the judicial system.

The key to turning the statement around is 'negligent statements' because nearly all advisers, particularly tied, were encouraged by their line managers and the marketing departments to sell these things without actually understanding how they work or any possible downside.

It may be before your time but in the late 80's you could do your day job and flog insurance on the side in the evenings, hence the negligence on the part of the advising company.