Act now on mis-sold endowments: new article

dunstonh

mr_green wrote: »

My brother has just discovered that he may have been mis-sold an endowment policy. He has had it for about ten years but on reading this forum I have come accross the fact that you can only claim if it was bought within the last six years or 3 years from when you realised it was mis-sold, whichever is the longer. But if it is over 6years since it was sold surely it does not matter when he discovered it as the crucial time is whichever is the longer i.e. six years. OR am I mis-reading this somehow. Can someone enlighten me. I hope this is posted in the right place

If he bought it after 29th April 1988 then he can complain when he likes normally. However, the 3 year time bar does matter with endowments. I wouldnt concern yourself with any 6 year rule as it doesnt apply here.

Crazy_Saver

treliac wrote: »

I'm sitting here at the computer with a sea of papers round me, trying to make sense of them all and kicking myself again for being so naive and just taking what we were told for granted all those years ago. There was so much we should have understood at the time but didn't and we didn't realise there was a need to scrutinise or question things. I've learnt some overdue lessons already with this. One thing at least, I don't give up without fighting to the end.

treliac x

Treliac, you are not alone in your thoughts about being naive. Things were so very different back in the 80s and early 90s. The financialy aware society didn't evolve until the late 90s early 00s. Our culture was different, our lifestyles were different and we were also very young. We were part of the generation of Yuppies created by Margaret Thatcher (no I'm not blaming her!) we all bought our own property and were guided by financial wizkids. They were the days of "everything is blooming and we're all going to be rich" We trusted other people with our money and they told us we would be rolling in it by the time our mortgage was paid off.

Yes some say that we were greedy, but can anyone honestly say that if they were offered the same deal today on their mortgage that they wouldn't take it? We didn't walk into the FAs office and demand a money making scheme, we just wanted a mortgage. I can honestly say that I had no idea that endowments even existed until we were sold our first mortgage back in 1987 and the advisor told us we would probably have about £50k in our hand at the end of the term.

People today have or at least should have, much more control of their finances. We now ask a lot more questions and demand honest answers. We do our homework and are not afraid of changing our mind. If it's necessary we will seek a second opinion and we have learnt that our trust needs to be earned and not taken for granted.

Hopefully, our children's generation will never make the same mistakes as we have.

Good Luck

Crazy Saver

dunstonh

Treliac, you are not alone in your thoughts about being naive. Things were so very different back in the 80s and early 90s. The financialy aware society didn't evolve until the late 90s early 00s. Our culture was different, our lifestyles were different and we were also very young.

That goes for advisers as well. We didnt get research software in the same way we have it now. We have to remember that time has passed and lots of things have improved in all areas.

People today have or at least should have, much more control of their finances. We now ask a lot more questions and demand honest answers. We do our homework and are not afraid of changing our mind. If it's necessary we will seek a second opinion and we have learnt that our trust needs to be earned and not taken for granted.

Spot on.

Hopefully, our children's generation will never make the same mistakes as we have.

They wont make the same but they will have their own versions.

If you limit yourself to financial services, the current areas of concern for the FSA are internet portals for DIY purchasing (those that focus purely on price and not quality) and SIPPs (advice and DIY).

Crazy_Saver

Wow dunston.
You work fast, you replied quicker than I could edit that last post;)

gardening_diva

dreamylittledream wrote: »

If you post some details of what the current methodology is I might be able to give you an idea over whether pusuing the matter is worthwhile. Do you have a copy of the MF calculation currently performed by the firm?

Thanks Dreamy.

I'll dig out the correspondence & get the relevant details as soon as poss.

mayb_2

I have now teliac - I hope my reply might show you where I am coming from. The sea of papers brings back memories. We were all naieve so don't beat yourself up on that score.

I am sure there are a lot of people who got rich on the back of people like us - I don't mean the sales person but further up the chain in these large financial companies - that is one reason I do get very agitated when some posters would like to make us sound like we were just stupid or unlucky.

We found out before out policy matured because we were actually told to look into it by a salesman, who had joined the company and quickly exited when he saw what was happening. He always said he wouldn't stand up and be counted because he needed a reference. We were so shocked when we finally understood that we would get nothing back on our premium payments. We had struggled so hard to pay them because we wanted to ensure our financial security in later years. We and our kids actually went without other things in the early years so we would have something when we retired. With this and the mortgage endowment we do have something - a load of debt. Not quite what we bargained for.

mayb_2

Well said Crazy Saver.

mayb_2

mr green I think the 6 year rule is a court/legal thing and does not apply to the misselling of mortgages - just as well as few of us would have complained in the first 6 years.

Crazy_Saver

mayb wrote: »

Well said Crazy Saver.

hi mayb

I wondered where you were!

I thought it wasn't like you to let a conversation like that one go without you saying anything!

How is your back?:undecided

mayb_2

Not so good Crazy Saver, thanks for asking - that is why I am a bit erratic and tend to post late - I am to have some injections into the spine on 13th (not a Friday or I would have cancelled). I have a nerve trapped in a slipped disc - great fun. So I am either in pain and can't sit for too long - or totally ga ga on pain killers. Still it beats going to work - almost.

I have plenty of time to contemplate my finances!