Act now on mis-sold endowments: new article

beach_hut

Thank you so much for your reply. In actual fact I was suffering from a frozen shoulder during this period of time. The adjudicator stated in her letter - I DO NOT REGARD MRS

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HAVING A FROZEN SHOULDER AND BEING UNABLE TO WRITE AS AN EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCE BECAUSE YOU WERE FREE TO CONTACT US BY TELEPHONE, ALTERNATIVELY MR

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COULD HAVE WRITTEN TO US. When speaking to the adjudicator yesterday she is no longer in this department, but said that they couldn't say how I contacted them. What I dis-agree with is the fact that she is going to re-visit our case, even though she informs me that she is not up to date with the current advice. I asked that when she gets the paper file that she then passes it on to the new adjudicators to re-assess, she declined my request. What is the difference between an adjudicator and one of the 41 Ombudsment, who I understand that I have re-dress to. Many thanks

cipcapcrp

Just looking for a bit of advise about an endowment I originally bought with Colonial Mutual. I was sold this in 1992 and it was an endowment meant to generate some money for my children when they reached adulthood. I was only 22 at the time, was the single mother of a 2 year old and a newborn and was looking for a way to give them a bit of financial security in the future, the advisor told me that it would be a great way to save for Uni fees, or pay towards a wedding or a deposit for a house.
I was told that I would get back between £3252 and £4283, which at the time seemed like a lot of money to me.
Anyway, the company sold out to Winterthur and I carried on paying my monthly fees and wasn't too concerned. Then as the years ticked on I began to wonder when the policies were going to mature, I found my original illustration and it said 15 years. So in 2008 I contacted Winterthur and asked if I was due to get the money. They said that I wasn't and that the policies didn't have a maturity date. They sent me letters out to this effect, but it didn't make sense. I emailed them and asked them to clarify this as how can a with profits endowment not have a maturity date? They never got back to me and then I forgot about it for a while.

Then the other day I got a letter from them stating that the life insurance I had with them was expiring in November (I thought that this policy was the one without an expiry date) So I rang them again, and asked about my endowments, I was told that it had in fact matured and that I should have been sent a pack months ago, I explained that I hadn't received one and she said that I would have to write to them requesting the money. I asked how much I would get and she said £2500. This is much less than the amount that I was originally told by the advisor.

So all in all nothing seems to make sense to me. As far as I'm concered the endowments were supposed to mature in 2008, then was told they didn't have a date to mature, now I'm told that they have matured but no one was going to bother telling me that, and at the end of all this I'm only going to get back the amount of money that I paid in.

Is there anything that I can do about this mess?

TIA

dunstonh

Just looking for a bit of advise about an endowment I originally bought with Colonial Mutual. I was sold this in 1992 and it was an endowment meant to generate some money for my children when they reached adulthood. I was only 22 at the time, was the single mother of a 2 year old and a newborn and was looking for a way to give them a bit of financial security in the future, the advisor told me that it would be a great way to save for Uni fees, or pay towards a wedding or a deposit for a house.

Just for clarification, this thread is about mortgage endowments. Not savings endowments which work differently. So, its a bit off topic for your post. If it starts getting requiring multiple posts, it may be better to start your own thread so this one stays on topic.

Is there anything that I can do about this mess?

Yes and no.

You can make a complaint about the date of maturity and provide your evidence that shows an earlier maturity date. That obviously conflicts with the documentation they have. So, you will need your documentation to back up your complaint there. An illustration is just an example. Often advisers issue multiple examples. For example, an old sales rep trick from that era was to issue three examples and ask which you want. Most people would go for the middle one. So, it is not uncommon to have illustrations which differ from terms. So, I suggest you look at the policy document and illustration that was sent with the cancellation rights. They would be the key documents in any complaint.

As for maturity amount, you again make a complaint and supply your evidence which shows you would get a higher amount.

Without any evidence, it is unlikely a complaint would be successful unless they have a failing in the paperwork at their end.

You may also want to complain about the poor service. However, typically, that sort of complaint just ends up with some goodwill payment of £10-25 if its the only complaint reason but more if there are a catalogue of errors.

cipcapcrp

thanks so much for your advise, I didn't realise that it was mortgage specific on this thread, I just thought it was for all endowment queries.
I don't recall getting any other illustrations or a cancellation document, I have all of my documents kept in one place and don't have anything else except my unit certificates. I'll have to go and have another look.

thanks again

pict99

After taking out an endowment to cover my mortgage in May 1988, I have been recieving warning letters over the last few years warning of a high risk of shortfall.

The mortgage matures May 2013.
Can I still instigate a claim ?

dunstonh

pict99 wrote: »

After taking out an endowment to cover my mortgage in May 1988, I have been recieving warning letters over the last few years warning of a high risk of shortfall.

The mortgage matures May 2013.
Can I still instigate a claim ?

A claim is what you do if you suffer a claimable event. Do you mean claim or complaint?

Assuming complaint, possible you still can but highly unlikely.

1 - a shortfall is not grounds for complaint. You need a valid reason
2 - over 3/4s of endowments are timebarred from complaint now
3 - You say you have been receiving warning letters. You get 3 years from first being notified of a high risk of a shortfall or 6 years from first being aware that you had a complaint (whichever occurs first). After that you are timebarred
4 - Your endowment started in May 1988. However, it is the date you signed the application that matters. Regulation didnt start until 29th April 1988. If you signed the application before then and used a solicitor, accountant or an IFA, then they will not have to consider your complaint.

The endowment issue is largely over now. You are a bit late to the party. It's possible you fall within the narrow window of those that can still complain but the above should give you some guide.

pict99

Thank you for your quick reply.

I am sure I signed the application in May 1988 as my endowment runs from 28 May 1988.

I have had three red alert letters in last three years but was not sure what constituted a mis-sold repayment document as my building society advised me to take the endowment out at the time and as I was much younger then I asumed they were correct in so doing.

How do I tell if I was mis-sold this endowment?

dunstonh

I am sure I signed the application in May 1988 as my endowment runs from 28 May 1988.

In that era it used to take a few weeks to go through underwriting and typically you applied when you did the mortgage and the endowment would start until you exchanged contracts. So, you are affectively saying that you applied for your morgtage, got it through underwriting and your solicitor did all the legal work etc in the same of just a few weeks. That doesnt happen often now, let alone back then.

I have had three red alert letters in last three years but was not sure what constituted a mis-sold repayment document as my building society advised me to take the endowment out at the time and as I was much younger then I asumed they were correct in so doing.

That would suggest you are now time barred.

How do I tell if I was mis-sold this endowment?

You would know if you were mis-sold. Its not something you need to wonder with endowments. Most commonly it is whether you knew if was investment linked and subject to investment returns.

magpiecottage

dunstonh wrote: »

Anything applied prior to that date will not be considered for complaint by IFAs, solicitors or accounts.

Even then, complaints regarding solicitors prior about advice prior to 1 December 2001 is likely to fall under the jurisdiction of the Legal Ombudsman, not FOS.

The rules of the Legal Ombudsman mean that it would probably dismiss a complaint without considering its merits if it thought the events giving rise to it to have happened so long ago that it would not be able address the complaint fairly.

There is no specific time limit. However, a solicitor is likely to argue that Section 14B of the Limitation Act 1980 stipulates a limit of 15 years as fair and, although FOS ignores this, I suspect the Legal Ombudsman would find it persuasive.

magpiecottage

cipcapcrp wrote: »

So in 2008 I contacted Winterthur and asked if I was due to get the money. They said that I wasn't and that the policies didn't have a maturity date. They sent me letters out to this effect, but it didn't make sense. I emailed them and asked them to clarify this as how can a with profits endowment not have a maturity date? They never got back to me and then I forgot about it for a while.

Then the other day I got a letter from them stating that the life insurance I had with them was expiring in November (I thought that this policy was the one without an expiry date) So I rang them again, and asked about my endowments, I was told that it had in fact matured and that I should have been sent a pack months ago, I explained that I hadn't received one and she said that I would have to write to them requesting the money. I asked how much I would get and she said £2500. This is much less than the amount that I was originally told by the advisor.

I think you may not have not been sold a savings endowment at all but a unit linked whole of life policy. That would explain the lack of a maturity date.

These policies are also subject to periodic review, which would explain the latest letter.

Is there anything that I can do about this mess?

You can complain to the insurer that the policy was not what you had been led to believe it was at the time it was taken out.

If the complaint was upheld I would expect you to get your premiums back plus interest at 1% above Bank Base Rate, compounded annually (although the interest is taxable).