Endowment - selling advice

Peeweeontour

Hello

I am wanting to complain about my endowment, as although I have received green letters to say that it should meet the projected amount I am still not happy that i was advised correctly. I don't really want to continue paying into the endowment - am I able to sell or surrender the endowment and complain or do I need to still be paying into it?

Many thanks
Leigh

EdInvestor

Even if you were missold there would be no point in complaining as you wouldn't receive compensation as you haven't made a loss.

You can surrender the endowment and complain later.

Peeweeontour

Although I've had a green letter I've checked the surrender value and its less than what I have paid in. I pay £95 a month and have had the endowment for 9 years. there is 11 years left to pay. I'm concerned that I will get a red letter in the future and also think that i would have been better off on a repayment mortgage. Especially as I was single when I first purchased the endowment (and was for 7 years) and so wouldn't have needed the life assurance part of it - effectively paying for a product I didn't require.

Do you think I have a case for complaint?

Trying_to_be_good

Not at this stage - in the first half of the endowment term it's always going to be worth less than you paid in as the majority of charges occur on the first half. You've opted for a 20-year product, it's forecasting OK, so why not keep on with it? You say you were single for the first 7 years, so presumably now you're not and the life assurance is useful? It would have paid out if you'd died (and your estate would have benefitted) in those first seven years, too.

dunstonh

If you make a complaint and its upheld, they will see how much you are worse off by. The endowment is in a surplus position now thats very good as most endowments that are likely to hit target would be expected by default to go into amber due to the workings of the projections. So, green suggests well above).

So, the calculation would find that you are better off because of the advice given. If you were in your 20s or early 30s when you took the endowment out then the cost of life assurance would probably only be a few pounds per month and as most endowment mortgages were £10-£20pm cheaper than repayment mortgages, its hard to see where you would have suffered a loss.

I've checked the surrender value and its less than what I have paid in.

It would be as you have only had it 9 years. They grow on a curve and suffer surrender penalties.

I'm concerned that I will get a red letter in the future and also think that i would have been better off on a repayment mortgage.

That may happen in the future. However, as it stands the decision at this point to go with endowment was a good one.

Do you think I have a case for complaint?

No. A complaint will be pointless given you are better off at this point.

Peeweeontour

Thanks for your replies - from reading around I thought the break even point was usually at around 7 years so was getting a bit worried that it wasn't at that point. The payout to cover my mortgage was calculated with a projected growth of 4%. So hopefully it will at least meet that.