New to the Forum - Need some advice

ideoplastic

Back in 1990 even before I bought a property I was convinced
by a Legal & General employee to take out an endownment policy.
The usual speech.....great investment, will pay your mortgage
early and you will have extra cash, etc.

Sixteen years on, being told it's going to be short, etc.

Thinking of either seeking compensation via No-win-no-fee firm
(they take 20%), alternatively getting rid of it using a firm that
claims they will give me over 30% more than anybody else.

With nine years to go to maturity, not sure what I ought to do.

Any advice very much appreciated.

Thanks

Joakim

homer_j_3

If you are going to claim, do not go with the ambulance chasers that offer no win/no fee in exchange for 1/5th of whatever you get. There is no exact science, you just need to write a letter to state that you feel it was mis-sold and why. If you just explain that you are not exactly sure what information you need to provide them and if they could confirm this to you then you will do your best to supply and then you will hopefully get the decision you want.

If you are unsure ofanything they ask you then there are plenty of people to assist on here

Compensationitis

Go tell L&G you are unhappy, they will sort you out, if they don't you then go to the FOS who WILL sort you out.

Don't worry, be happy.

Ian_W

Hi plastic,
I think if you were sold this policy w/o a mortgage you probably have very good grounds for a complaint and if it was sold by an L&G employee they are the people to complain to. As homer says, don't use a complaints firm, you don't need to and you'll only reduce your compo. Have a look at the endowmentaction website HERE and the reasons listed for complaint. You can generate a complaint letter from the site but the word on thse forums is it's better to write it yourself in your own words as the companies are less likely to take what really is a pro-forma as seriously. Do be aware there are time limits so complain asap.

Don't sell it if you're gonna complain, or at least not until you have. If it's a real bummer you should ask yourself why someone is willing to pay you more than the surrender value? Chances are it may be worth keeping if you can sell it but these firms advertise these figures for general consumption and it's really an individual valuation on your particular policy that counts.

HTH.

ideoplastic

Much obliged for all your replies. I think I will deal with this myself by
writing to L&G like you all suggested.

warmest regards

Joakim

defender_of_the_weak

A little balance and correct information

Fees for complaint handlers range from 10-50% there is a table on the guardian website

You have a 70% chance of winning with L&G almost regardless of the quality of your case. The which site is okay in part, but fails to address all the background compliance issues and details that should have been covered in the sale of this policy. No surprise there, this is the same which that heavily promoted them as best buys and are now completely unaccountable to all those people who followed their guidance and bought policies direct with no advice.

Do not sell your policy until your case is finished, any increase in payment above the surrender value, will be used to reduce the compensation amount so you will be doing L&G a favour. Also if you win your case and decide to use the surrender value to reduce the mortgage balance they will pay the admin and redemption fees.

Homer, there is an exact science to complaining and just writing I was mis-sold is going to be shot down in flames by some L&G reviewers. Please note, this is the same review team that rejected a case where it was proven the adviser acted fraudulently, turned down a claim where the client had specifically said 'I want no risk whatsoever' and routinely tells me they have a fact find that meets the requirements of best advice that contains nothing more than the clients address. However, I do still hold a 100% record against L&G with the Ombudsman, which I think speaks volumes for the quality of their review processes