Act now on mis-sold endowments: new article

Mr_helpful

mayb wrote: »

I will leave you to ohm Mrhelpful as I know it will benefit the world.
Neat trick though - we have stopped talking about the fraudulent claims now. If you get a minute though do read Vinnos link.

WooHoo You should try it MAYB I have just been down Sainsburys. There was a man collecting for the NSPCC I gave him a fiver and he said "we dont get many of them" I joked that I hadnt got any coins (which was true) and went and did a bit of shopping. when I came out there was a screwed up £20 note in the gutter next to my car. Proof the universe rewards those who give freely.

mayb_2

Shouldn't you have given that to charity?

Crazy_Saver

Hello everyone. I know I've probably posted this on the wrong board, but I posted on the ISA's board and the response wasn't really what I needed.
I was hoping maybe dunstonh or Edinvestor or Mr helpful were out there somewhere!

As some of you already know, I have a bad performing endowment and need to surrender it and re-invest/save in the hope of recouping some of the loss.

Target amount £60k
Projected final amount @ 3.75% £28,300
Matures Sept 2016
Surrender value £15,020

Looking at gradually paying the surrendered amount into 2 ISA's, one for me and one for my husband.

I'm trying to understand the difference between mini and maxi. If we go for the maxi, does the fact that it is partly stocks and shares mean that it carries a lot of risk. We have been caught out already and lost out "Big Time" so really cannot afford to take risks with the little that we have left.

Thanks
Crazy Saver

orientmad

I have just received a letter from Nationwide B.S accepting that they missold me an endowment policy.Their customer satisfaction dept will be in touch shortly with an offer. They say they want to put me in the same position I would have been in had I taken out a repayment mortgage in 1984 instead of an endowment mortgage. The calculations are beyond me. Anyone Know how to do it? Once again THANKS MARTIN I was not going to bother claiming until reading your article.

mayb_2

https://www.exasoft.biz/mfwebuser/default.asp

The above is a link to a compensation calculator as linked from the Which site - there is a charge - just under £53.00 I believe.

It may be that someone here will post a format for you free - but just in case.

mayb_2

Target amount £60k
Projected final amount @ 3.75% £28,300
Matures Sept 2016
Surrender value £15,020

CrazySaver - what can I say?

I may be speaking out of turn or missing the point but have you thought of paying it off your mortgage - I assume you are remortgaging to a repayment - or are you going interest only and looking to save the £60,000 over what - 10 years, If you pay the £15,000 off you will be starting with £45000 which sounds a lot better than £60000.

If you are looking for £60,000 over 10 years if you both had a cash ISA for the maximum each of £3000 per year that = £6000 pr year x 10 = £60000 plus interest tax free. Will cost you £500 per month though and I suppose you would need an interest only mortgage fixed for the full term if you are not going the repayment route - for £45000 that would be about £200 - £225 per month at todays rates. The maxi ISA is part stocks and shares and I am sure you have had enough of those and the risks involved.

I am sure others could tell you about high interest savings accounts that you could take out with the £15000 and then feed the ISAs from this for the first few years - but these are not tax free obviously and ubless they are paying more than the interest on your mortgage it would not pay you to do this.

Ignore this if I started from the wrong premis of course it is just the ramblings of a crazed endowment victim - owing funnily enough the same as you. You do realise you are better off like this though don't you?????

dunstonh

If, as dunstonh says you have not actually lost out at this point in time there is no guarantee this will continue to be the case, so you may want to cash in your endowment and take out a repayment mortgage.

I did not say that. The poster said he was told by FP that was the case. Indeed, I questioned why they would say that. It isnt normal for that to happen unless a complaint has been made and the calculation shows no financial loss.

wjpb

mayb wrote: »

wjpb have you had a warning letter stating that it is likely that your endowment will not pay - if not you have not been time barred, so you can still complain that the policy was missold if you feel that was the case whatever the company say. If, as dunstonh says you have not actually lost out at this point in time there is no guarantee this will continue to be the case, so you may want to cash in your endowment and take out a repayment mortgage. Or take out a repayment mortgage and keep your endowment - if you can afford that. There are many options - you should kiss goodbye to any extra money being left over though.

Yes, I had the warning letter some time back. Unfortunately I'm laid up right now with a broken leg (which is why I've had the time to find lots of new forums like this one!) and the original documents are all in my attic that I can't get to right now. But from memory the endownment has got 8 or 9 years to run and they're projecting a shortfall of around £30K on a £110K loan. But the warning letter came with an attachment that showed calculations that presented the case that if I'd paid the same into a repayment loan then I'd still have more or less the same shortfall. And on this basis the 'advice' was not to bother claiming. Assuming they are correct and I am financially no worse off, my gripe is that had I known (repayment or endownment) that it was going to come up short I would have been paying more each month for the last 16 years or so, and would not be facing having to find £30K plus.

gloucesteroldspot

I'd be interested to know if anybody has had any success in complaining for mis-selling against Countrywide Assured. I was sold an endowment by them back in 1988 (provider Guardian Royal Exchange) which has been under-performing since at least 2000. I'm currently looking at around a £15,000 shortfall by 2012 on a target figure of £56,000.

Countrywide told me to b****r of when I complained to them, and the ombudsman couldn't consider it as the sale pre-dated the the legislation. Later on I heard that Countrywide had agreed to 'voluntary jurisdiction' so I got back to the FSA, who said ah yes, they had indeed agreed to this - but not for their financial advice activities. This is called having their cake and eating it.

I would have been far better off if Countrywide had gone bust, unfortunately they proved too good at making money out of mugs like me and I hear are now a private equity target. Meanwhile Guardian proudly defends it's appalling handling of the fund in question, although my granny could have done better sticking pins in the footsie 100 over 20 years, and says that it doesn't have to tell me how my money has been invested or how the fund has been handled. Them that hath shall get....

Crazy_Saver

Originally posted by mayb
I am sure others could tell you about high interest savings accounts that you could take out with the £15000 and then feed the ISAs from this for the first few years - but these are not tax free obviously and ubless they are paying more than the interest on your mortgage it would not pay you to do this.

Hi mayb.
This was my intention. We already transfered £20k to repayment when we received our first letter saying there was a "possibility" of a slight shortfall. (Not RED I hasten to add!!)

I thought that if the ISA's were paying a slightly better rate than the rate on my mortgage, then this would be a slightly wiser move than paying off the £15k.........Oops, mustn't forget the extra £20.00!!

Then I intend to put whatever we have made into the repayment in around 10 years and see where we are then! Hopefully, we might be in a better financial situation by then (kids would have left scool by then)and we may be able to raise the extra funds ourself or maybe re-mortgage for a few more years........At least the lower amount will make the payments a lot easier to bear!

Cheers

Crazy Saver