Sesame rejected my claim (eventually) - is the ombudsman next?

DCLane

Morning everyone,

I put a claim into Sesame nearly a year ago. Eventually, after multiple letters and information provision, letters from Sesame going to a very old address and me chasing them a lot, I've received their response. They've rejected the claim on the grounds that they were not present when the advisor gave the advice.

Basically I was classified as a cautious investor, my wife as very cautious. We took out a £40k with profits endowment in June 1992 based on the advisors recommendation from DBS and used it for a £35k mortgage in the November (we found we didn't need £40k). We were quoted rates of 7.5%, 10.5% and 12.5% in the forecast.

The endowment now faces a shortfall of about £8k and I can't get the advisor to comment as he's got Alzheimer's.

Would it be worth my while taking this further to the Ombudsman - I've read a bit about Sesame on here and it appears they reject almost every claim.

Thanks for any advice.

David

dunstonh

You have complained to the wrong place. You are incorrectly blaming Sesame when it has nothing to do with them. That is like buying something at Tesco, finding it faulty and trying to return it to ASDA. Do you really think the ombudsman would consider a case against them?

A little bit of information may help you here.

Sesame are the UK's largest IFA network. It was formed a few years ago by combining the smaller networks of DBS, Countrywide, IFA Network, Kestral and Financial Options. Each had different locations, different standards and a whole different way of doing things. As it happens DBS do appear to have had the poorest standards of the lot and seem to crop up more than the others.

Now, a network is just a supplier of services to IFAs. The IFA is not employed by them. They do not buy IFA firms. When you join the network, they take over the compliance responsibilities for all business transacted after the date of joining. Anything transacted prior to that date is not their responsibility. A member can leave at any time or join at any time. They only cover the dates for their responsibility.

So, looking at your situation, it appears that the advice was given prior to the advisor joining DBS.

Your options are:
Clarify the dates. When did he join DBS? If he was a member at that time, point out the error to Sesame, if not refer your complaint to the FSCS.

Remember you have to put the complaint to the right company.

DCLane

dunstonh wrote:

So, looking at your situation, it appears that the advice was given prior to the advisor joining DBS.

Your options are:
Clarify the dates. When did he join DBS? If he was a member at that time, point out the error to Sesame, if not refer your complaint to the FSCS.

Remember you have to put the complaint to the right company.

Thanks. The advisor was part of DBS at the time and the documentation I received came from them. They state that our attidude was 'balanced' at the time, when in reality all documentation we have states that it was 'cautious'.

Since I don't seem to get anywhere with Sesame, except letters sent to the wrong address, I'm under the impression that it'll have to be the Ombudsman.

Regards,

David

EdInvestor

the Ombudsman

This is the Ombudsman you want:

www.fscs.org.uk

dunstonh

I really think then that you need to clarify the dates with Sesame. If he was a DBS member at the time of application, then Sesame are responsible for the complaint and you should pursue them. If they reject it, you take it to the ombudsman. If he was not a member of DBS at the time of application, then you take it to the FSCS.

I do know of a case where someone was in the joining process of a network and the network refused it as they didn't accept their membership until 2 weeks later. They will be fussy on points like this (I suppose correctly too as it is the other Sesame members who will be paying out, not necessarily the IFA in question).

I can imagine your fustration at this but I think the best option is to get specific dates of when he became authorised by DBS. Then you have a clear view as to the best course of action to take.

DCLane

I've checked it with Sesame and he joined 9 months before he advised us.

They've rejected the claim and I've been in touch with the Ombudsman who are sending out details.

From what I've found out it appears that Sesame reject most of the claims and leave it to the Ombudsman to sort out.

Thanks again.

David

dunstonh

From what I've found out it appears that Sesame reject most of the claims and leave it to the Ombudsman to sort out.

I cannot see how Sesame can reject it for not being a member at the time when they then confirm he joined 9 months earlier. Ombudsman is certainly the next step.

I saw some figures recently from Sesame regarding endowment complaints and they do show a very low complaint upheld ratio. Even the ombudsman referred cases have a very low overturn rate. So don't get your hopes up.

DCLane

dunstonh wrote:

I saw some figures recently from Sesame regarding endowment complaints and they do show a very low complaint upheld ratio. Even the ombudsman referred cases have a very low overturn rate. So don't get your hopes up.

It's certainly made me more wary of who I seek advice from before investing my money.

Your help's appreciated though - it's good to see there are some decent financial advisers out there.

David

dunstonh

It's certainly made me more wary of who I seek advice from before investing my money.

Your help's appreciated though - it's good to see there are some decent financial advisers out there.

Don't read too much into who is good or bad from the network they belong to. For example, I am a Sesame network member! However, how I transact my business and give my advice does not reflect on other Sesame members and equally theirs does not reflect on me. Think of Sesame and other networks like the wholesaler which supplies the cornershop. The ownership and running of the business is with the IFA firm themselves and not Sesame.

Sesame have massive problems which they have inherited from some of the other networks they have bought. DBS has really turned into a mess with files going missing and the quality of the files being lower than they really should be. I sometimes wonder if they ever regret buying DBS as it is always that legacy network that has the problems.