Act now on mis-sold endowments: new article

rebecca1

Thanks for your comments DunstonH and Maybe.
I have written a letter to my soliicitor and asked Phoenix for proof of 1 signature only on the life policy The FSO have said that they have not heard of another case as this and they would take up the complaint but in view of the long delays they have I am not keen to go own that road.
Will post and let you know what happens. I have 2 policies running with Phoenix life I have also asked them tocheck that the bigger policy is valid after their blunder!!

Rebecca

mayb_2

I would be tempted to lodge a complaint with the FSO at some point if they are willing to take this up - although the timescales may be long it may be all you have if the company wont play ball. I will watch for your posts on how this turned out.

Snikdho

During her marriage, her now ex-husband looked after all the financial affairs - paperwork etc - until they separated in mid-2003 when she suddenly had to look after everything for herself (as well as four children, the youngest aged almost 3). She received a letter in about August 2003 saying there was a projected shortfall in the endowment policy - but as she didn't really understand it, and was overwhelmed with everything else she was coping with at the time, she just left it.

At some point during their marriage, her ex-husband had a 'clear out' and threw away all paperwork which he deemed unnecessary. We suspect this included anything to do with the endowment as we can't find the policy document (or indeed a whole stack of other important documents which would be useful to have!).

sully147

Hi I have recentlely complained about a misold endowment. I took the policy in 1992, I was only 21yrs and a bit naive. I was told it would pay off the mortgage in full and give me a lump sum, although it looks set to have a shortfall of at least 15k. In 2002 the bank in question contacted me and said through their fault my payment was too small (£33) per month, they agreed o add £10 per month to my plan to make up the shortfall. Even with this extra i have been getting added for free, the endowment won't make the amount I was promised. As I have agreed to the extra £10 per month, will this stop me claiming compensation?
All help gratefully recieved
Thanks

GooWorld

Clithes if the NU or AVIVA are 'pants' it is because they are not making good returns on the investment - if any. So whilst one might hope they are making a good return, if there is any doubt, it is about as valuable to you as puting your money in the dustbin. Cashing in at the wrong time can also be a bad move. Perhaps there is an argument for leaving it where it is, but personally I think I would have salvaged what I could before now.

That is one of the problems when the product fails to do what was promised for it. Not only may you not have understood what you bought, you probably wont have any idea why it has failed or what your best move ought to be, or who if anyone to trust to tell you.

mayb_2

GooWorld have you any idea why an exact copy of my post to Clithes of 24th February has appeared under your name today???

I quote
Clithes if the NU or AVIVA are 'pants' it is because they are not making good returns on the investment - if any. So whilst one might hope they are making a good return, if there is any doubt, it is about as valuable to you as puting your money in the dustbin. Cashing in at the wrong time can also be a bad move. Perhaps there is an argument for leaving it where it is, but personally I think I would have salvaged what I could before now.

That is one of the problems when the product fails to do what was promised for it. Not only may you not have understood what you bought, you probably wont have any idea why it has failed or what your best move ought to be, or who if anyone to trust to tell you.

roors

Hi new here so bear with me - my husband & I have 3 endownments - 2 taken out 85 & 89 when we were both very young and the thought of getting mortgage paid off and having cash to spare was tempting - the 3rd was taken out 10 years ago and again the promise of spare cash.

Our problem is we didn't fully understand the implications of the warning letters because as previously intimated above we assumed they didn't relate to us as we had been promised cash - how silly are we - anyway wrote to the 1st seller in December 2008 and received a letter advising that we are too late to complain. The 2nd policy was sold to us via a solicitor and we never even met the financial advisor - Norwich Union contacted the company who took over the business from the broker and todate they haven't even bothered to get in touch. The 3rd policy - the broker is no longer trading and we are taking this up with the FSO.

Sorry its so long winded - but can anyone advise on what, if any course of action we can take.

Thanks in anticipation - roors.

TheMoonlitKnight

I will precis a long sage. I was sold an 80K NU endowment in 1991 by a broker called Mandrake. It now underperforms and I wrote to Mandrake in 2004 to complain. Despite continuous pressure, Mandrake failed to complete its investigation and I referred the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service in early 2008; a lack of response led to the FOS investigating the case later in the Year. Sadly, for me, due to a lack of evidence about the over-emphasis on the final bonus during the selling, the FOS was unable to recommend compensation. I beleive I was missold this Policy, it continues to underperform substantially and yet it would seem that my quest for compensation is over. Is there anything else I can do?

For completeness, I asked the FOS to clarify its inability to assist further, its response follows:

1) Very few cases are 'black and white' and it is not unknown for complaints to be partly upheld and partly rejected. On this occasion that was of course not the case but your complaint was in no way 'spurious'. Consumers have serious concerns about their financial dealings and hopefully you feel, as I do, that an organisation that enables these concerns to be considered on an impartial basis is worthwhile
2) As neither I or any one else was present at the meetings you had with the firm's representative, I clearly cannot know what was actually said 17 tears ago. We certainly take into account what either party say was said but we do have to rely on the written evidence available to us
3) Every complaint that reaches this office is considered totally on its own individual merits and, as you can imagine, no two case are the same - there are always differences, even if they are sometimes quite subtle.
4) I note your comments about Mandrake and all I can really suggest I am afraid is that you contact the regulator, the Financial Services Authority, if you wish to take your concerns further
I will now close our file but I thank you for your patience and understanding whilst your complaint has been 'in the system.'.

dunstonh

Is there anything else I can do?

You could consider legal action but the problem with that is that you are required to present more proof of mis-sale whereas the FOS tends to be slightly more consumer biased by ignoring certain documents issued at the time whereas the court wouldnt. In particular the key features illustration (which has risk warnings on page one normally) and key feature document (which also has risk warnings on page 1 typically).

The response from the FOS is fairly standard. And to be fair they are right about things not being black and white. A large number of complaints are fraudulent and try it on so they cannot just accept what the consumer says. Equally that works the other way as well with advising firms. You end up with the four truths scenario. What you said happened. What they said happened. What actually happened and How what happened is interpreted. This is why documentation is so important.

Remember you are effectively accusing the company of fraud. So, you would be expected to back this up in some way in the same way the company itself would be expected to give evidence it didnt. For the FOS to reject your complaint, it suggests documentary evidence exists which supports the company more than it supports you. Where documentation doesnt exist, you tend to find an upheld decision is more likely.

Crazy_Saver

TheMoonlitKnight wrote: »

I will precis a long sage. I was sold an 80K NU endowment in 1991 by a broker called Mandrake. It now underperforms and I wrote to Mandrake in 2004 to complain. Despite continuous pressure, Mandrake failed to complete its investigation and I referred the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service in early 2008; a lack of response led to the FOS investigating the case later in the Year. Sadly, for me, due to a lack of evidence about the over-emphasis on the final bonus during the selling, the FOS was unable to recommend compensation. I beleive I was missold this Policy, it continues to underperform substantially and yet it would seem that my quest for compensation is over. Is there anything else I can do?

For completeness, I asked the FOS to clarify its inability to assist further, its response follows:

1) Very few cases are 'black and white' and it is not unknown for complaints to be partly upheld and partly rejected. On this occasion that was of course not the case but your complaint was in no way 'spurious'. Consumers have serious concerns about their financial dealings and hopefully you feel, as I do, that an organisation that enables these concerns to be considered on an impartial basis is worthwhile
2) As neither I or any one else was present at the meetings you had with the firm's representative, I clearly cannot know what was actually said 17 tears ago. We certainly take into account what either party say was said but we do have to rely on the written evidence available to us
3) Every complaint that reaches this office is considered totally on its own individual merits and, as you can imagine, no two case are the same - there are always differences, even if they are sometimes quite subtle.
4) I note your comments about Mandrake and all I can really suggest I am afraid is that you contact the regulator, the Financial Services Authority, if you wish to take your concerns further
I will now close our file but I thank you for your patience and understanding whilst your complaint has been 'in the system.'.

Hi TheMoonlitKnight.

Were these comments written by an Ombudsman or an adjudicator?

If it was an adjudicator, you still have the right to have your case referred to an ombudsman who is supposed to re-consider all the facts again.

I'm not implying that the outcome will be any different, but it is worth a try.