Can I claim Britannia have mis-sold to my Father in Law?

threaderswithit

My 72 yr old FIL paid a lump sum into a Britannia 5yr inflation linked Guaranteed capital Bond in Oct 08. He now wants to move to a new house and wants to release some money....obviously he cannot release it form this account until Oct 2013 :eek:

He is in his 70's....but was advised by the Britannia to take out this 5yr bond linked ti FTSE/inflation performance over the next 5 yrs - I'm no financial demon, but that seems like pants advice to me?!

Do we have any recourse to go to the Britannia and say they mis-sold the product...if so how do we go about this?

He has a worrying trust in the company and holds an ISA and mortgage with them.... we wish he'd paid off some mortgage rather than investing in a 5yr tie in.... but he never spoke to us about the product until a month or so ago.

Any advice would be very much appreciated as we're frustrated by Britannia for him!

dunstonh

He is in his 70's....but was advised by the Britannia to take out this 5yr bond linked ti FTSE/inflation performance over the next 5 yrs - I'm no financial demon, but that seems like pants advice to me?!

Nothing you have said seems like bad advice.

Just because you are in your 70s, doesnt mean you are senile and going to die. You tend to find that its when you get into 80s that its time to start to think more short term.

Do we have any recourse to go to the Britannia and say they mis-sold the product.

Not on the grounds you have mentioned.

He has a worrying trust in the company and holds an ISA and mortgage with them.... we wish he'd paid off some mortgage rather than investing in a 5yr tie in.... but he never spoke to us about the product until a month or so ago

What he has is a fairly poor quality product but that is what you expect when you buy from a bank or building society. However, unless he is incapacble of managing his own affairs and has been taken advantage of then there is nothing you can do about it.

veryunsure

I'd say that if he is in good health then a 5 year bond isn't a bad choice - the returns are better usuaslly than other savings accounts, and you say he has an ISA already.

I am surprised he has a mortgage at his age but without knowing nhis means to pay and the amount it is difficult to comment. It does give him his membership rights and additional loyalty reward but I would have thought no mortgage is better than any mortgage!

How this may change if the co-op merger goes ahead is unknown.

I doubt you could claim mis-selling but if you contact customer services they will help you. Having worked there for a time I know they are audited to ensure best advice was given ... I'm not saying you are wrong as I don't know details or circumstances.

threaderswithit

Thanks guys, I will probably ring their customer services and see what they say...but I guess he was probably bamboozled into a pants deal..oh well!

veryunsure

It's tough to find any good deals right now isn't it?

Flying my Britannia flag ... if he trusts the local branch and finds them polite and helpful, that could mean a lot of peace of mind to him rather than a faceless call centre!