Act now on mis-sold endowments: new article

paulus6

arlington wrote:

Hello!

We believed that we were missold 2 endowment policies. We complained on both but were told one was time-barred. This was before all the new gov. regulations about time barring. We received compensation on the other claim but the ombudsman upheld Friends Provident's assertion that we were too late on the larger claim. This was all despite the fact that each time we received a letter saying our endowment might not be performing to our expectations, we phoned and were told that actually our fund was performing well. It was only after the time bar period that we discovered it was not!
We worked out that our claim would have been worth about £15,000. If Friends Prov hadn't given us misleading information we would have complained earlier. Funnily enough, the ombudsman said they couldn't take this into account because we were just too late!

Hi Arlington,
If it's any consolation your'e story is almost exactly the same as mine.
I used, rightly or wrongly, a missold endownment firm, who were very professional and gave us good feedback on the progress of our claim.
Unfortunatley Friends Provident (spits!) told us that our two claims for roughly £3000 each were timebarred. The ombudsmen agreed with them, and so the case has been closed.
I feel particulary bitter because I had a visit from a representative of FP, advising me to 'stick with it' and in 'the long term'..........blah blah blah.
I get fed up looking at all these adverts for missold endownments, feeling I have been conned twice !!

avarcher

Hi

I took out an endowment 20 years ago, it will undershoot the amount it was intended for, I was never advised that this would be the case, it was described as 'low start'.

However, I have since paid of the mortgage, is it still worth tacking the mis-selling aspect?

Thanks.

avarcher

Hi

I took out an endowment 20 years ago, it will undershoot the amount it was intended for, I was never advised that this would be the case, it was described as 'low start'.

However, I have since paid of the mortgage, is it still worth tacking the mis-selling aspect?

Thanks.

soozig

3 years ago i remortgaged and financial adviser told me to take out another endownment to cover the extra £4000 borrowed. I disputed this at the time saying i'd be better off paying that small amount on repayment. He strongly disagreed and took out an endownment which would pay out approx £15,000 (as it was the lowest the company - clerical medical- did at 4% performance) . I pay £43 per month for this. I feel i have been totally misold this policy and am seriously considering stopping the payments and cashing it in. The endownment is apparently on track ,but i don't need £15,000 cover! I can't get my head around the why's and wherefores of this endownment. Should i keep paying? Can i claim mis selling on an endownment that is, so far, on track but not representing my needs?

If anyone can shed some light on this for me i'd be most greatful

Hunter_2

Hi Bob
I'm in exactly the same position though with Norwich Union, endowment taken out in 1987 through local IFA now no longer trading. If you have any joy please contact me. Does anyone know if Norwich Union's deadline has passed or not?
Thanks
Hunter

Mr_Brillo

Hi.

Sure this will be along the lines of many others (and I have read the main site and I'm still not sure) but....

I took out an endowment mortgage in 1986 for 18k due to mature in 2010. The original advisor told me that this was cheaper than a straightforward repayment mortgage and I would get some surplus on top of repaying the mortgage - though no supporting evidence - all lost in house moves. I complained to Standard Life, who told me to contact the original IFA. The IFA had sold his business and the new owners (still getting payments - for the policy) told me that "whilst previous policies written by this company were allocated to ourselves, obviously no liability fro previous sales was accepted". I the passed this to the ombudsman who told me they (can only look at complaints - after 29 April 1988", so no go there. The IFA, did suggest the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, but with various "issues" going on in our lives we went no further - should we now or is this a dead duck?


On 22/08/1989, we (now married) took out another endowment plan Norwich Union bought through natwest for £27k due to mature in 2014
Made a complaint to Nat West (RBS), who did lots of calculations, investigations and said that the "outgoings" to date was actually £716.25 less for the endowment than a Capital and Interest Mortgage. Despite this NU say that there is now going to be a shortfall. We (stupidly) accepted a gesture of "Goodwill" of £50 from Natwest which means we cannot pursue this any further. At the time (see above) we were going through all sorts of hell and just accepted the £50 - Is it too late?

In both cases, when looking back through the file of paperwork from the Endowment companies, a "Promise" is mentioned, (which should make up some or part of the shortfall) has anyone any experience of what this actually means and whether it has been fulfilled. Correspondence from both companies is very confusing and there are so many ifs, buts and maybes, and hoops to jump through, that we really havn't got a clue what might happen.

Is this just a case of a lost cause - forget it and move on?

MrsWife

Need a bit of advice on this one. I was sold an endowment mortgage in '94 by a Lawyer in Scotland who was also acting as the estate agent. Have very little paperwork if any so no idea how to prove the miss sale.At the time I had been turned down for a mortgage by the co-op as I had no credit rating but got a mortgage through the Abbey through the solicitors contacts and the endowment from him. He no longer works for the Solicitors and I can't remember his name, I no longer own the property or have a mortgage. Should I still have a go as I have no details or will I be wasting my time. The estimated shortfall could be up to a 3rd of the original mortgage. I am using it as a savings but could be lucky to get back what I paid in.
Thanks
Sharon

copey_2

I am in exactly the same situation as Mr Brillo above,because my endowment was taken out just before the cut off date was decided on.
It`s so frustrating when you know you have a justifiable claim for..
a underperforming policy,mine will be approx £4000,on a £1600 endowment also for the fact that this endowment will still run for 5 years after I retire,
2 good claims reasons but no one will entertain helping me claim because it was sold to me a matter of a few weeks before the cut off date..I think its a pretty diabolical scam..

dunstonh

The IFA, did suggest the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, but with various "issues" going on in our lives we went no further - should we now or is this a dead duck?

FSCS wont apply. Its before the qualifying date.

The original advisor told me that this was cheaper than a straightforward repayment mortgage and I would get some surplus on top of repaying the mortgage - though no supporting evidence

Endowments are typically cheaper than repayment mortgages. It was very often the case for people choosing endowment over repayment. Although short memories seem to forget that.

Made a complaint to Nat West (RBS), who did lots of calculations, investigations and said that the "outgoings" to date was actually £716.25 less for the endowment than a Capital and Interest Mortgage. Despite this NU say that there is now going to be a shortfall. We (stupidly) accepted a gesture of "Goodwill" of £50 from Natwest which means we cannot pursue this any further. At the time (see above) we were going through all sorts of hell and just accepted the £50 - Is it too late?

You werent financially worse off. In fact you were better off than a repayment mortgage so no reason to get a penny. The fact you accepted their offer closes the case and you cant go back for a second bit. Also, with the NU endowment, if with profits, dont look at the projections as an accurate reading to what you are going to be get back. They do not include any terminal bonus accrued to date and do not include the endowment promise figure. They tend to understate the real position.

In both cases, when looking back through the file of paperwork from the Endowment companies, a "Promise" is mentioned, (which should make up some or part of the shortfall) has anyone any experience of what this actually means and whether it has been fulfilled. Correspondence from both companies is very confusing and there are so many ifs, buts and maybes, and hoops to jump through, that we really havn't got a clue what might happen.

Norwich Union still have their running and it could result in a big chunk of any shortfall being covered (along with terminal bonus). NU can afford this and have already put funds aside for it. Standard Life withdrew their promise as they couldnt afford it and it no longer exists.

Is this just a case of a lost cause - forget it and move on?

One you cant claim on and the other has no loss and you attempted and failed in a complaint before so its end of the road.

Need a bit of advice on this one. I was sold an endowment mortgage in '94 by a Lawyer in Scotland who was also acting as the estate agent. Have very little paperwork if any so no idea how to prove the miss sale.At the time I had been turned down for a mortgage by the co-op as I had no credit rating but got a mortgage through the Abbey through the solicitors contacts and the endowment from him. He no longer works for the Solicitors and I can't remember his name, I no longer own the property or have a mortgage. Should I still have a go as I have no details or will I be wasting my time. The estimated shortfall could be up to a 3rd of the original mortgage. I am using it as a savings but could be lucky to get back what I paid in.
Thanks
Sharon

Scottish Solicitors didnt have the protection of the FSA and even where they have agreed mis-sales (which isnt often) the amount paid out was tiny due to limits covering solicitors in Scotland. I dont know the specifics but if you search on google for Scottish Solicitors endowments then you should find some info.

2 good claims reasons but no one will entertain helping me claim because it was sold to me a matter of a few weeks before the cut off date..I think its a pretty diabolical scam..

Whilst I sympathise with your situation, its not a scam and you are correctly being refused. To judge a case the was done whilst no rules are regulations were in place using rules that were to come in later would not be fair on the person selling the policy. Drink driving never used to be illegal. Do we go back to all those that did it in the 50s and 60s and prosecute them retrospectively?

The positive side of it is that the circumstances that have lead to some endowments failing have made us all richer so we cant have too many complaints. You are better than you would have been had the situation remained that allowed the endowment to pay a surplus.

A solution for you is to get your endowment reviewed. Not all endowments are bad and some have given shortfall warnings right upto 3 months before maturity and then paid a surplus. A shortfall projection is no guarantee of shortfall. It could be understating the real position of the endowment. In worst cases, it can also be overstating the real position as well.

copey_2

quote..The positive side of it is that the circumstances that have lead to some endowments failing have made us all richer so we cant have too many complaints. You are better than you would have been had the situation remained that allowed the endowment to pay a surplus.
.
Not quite with you on that .. ..