Going round in circles!

divekick100

With regards to making a claim against the mis-selling of an endowment policy, in line with FSA guidelines I contacted the company who originally sold me an Standard Life Endowment Policy in 1993 to request details of their complaints procedure etc. as I wanted to make a claim against them. They responded claiming that as the mortgage was arranged prior to the policy then it wasn't their fault.

So I wrote to contact the IFA who arranged the mortgage (who occupy the same business address) to take the matter up with them and they then replied saying it wasn't them who actully sold the policy so contact the company that sold it or the FSO.

So I completed the relevant forms for the FSO and sent them off, the FSO sent the complaint on to the company who sold the policy (the original company I had contacted) who say they have responded to me already stating their case, but their original letter didn't resolve the problem or answer any questions, nor did it state that this was their "final decision" - infact they marked at as "without prejudice" so that it is not legally submissable.

Am I missing something here? Am becoming increasingly confused and frustrated. Who do I contact now and what do I do?

dunstonh

You say you wrote to the company that sold you the policy but an IFA sold you the mortgage.

The IFA has no responsibility for the endowment if he didnt sell it (that's like complaining to Tesco for something Morrison's did).

If you contact the FOS directly they will forward the complaint to who they believe is the closest match. They will not review your complaint as they only get involved when the advising company has given it's final decision. The company you are complaining to is not the advising company so doesnt have to state it is their final decision.

Questions:
1 - Who recommended the Standard Life endowment (the IFA you have been complaining to or someone else)?
2 - Was the endowment policy recommended after the mortgage had been arranged?
3 - How long was the time difference between getting the endowment and mortgage arranged?

divekick100

Thank you very much for responding to my dilemma.

In answer to your questions:

1. One company a Mortgage Services company sold me the mortgage and another company who I was put in touch with by the Mortgage Services rep, an IFA sold me the Endowment Policy.

2. Yes the Endowment Policy was set up after the mortgage gad been arranged.

3. The mortgage was completed on 16 July 1993 and the Endowment policy commenced on 1 Sept 1993 following an initial meeting with the IFA on 6 August 1993.

Your comments & advice would be very much appreciated.

dunstonh

Because you did an interest only mortgage and that mortgage was already running at point of first contact with the IFA, the IFA was giving reactive advice to your current situation. i.e. you have the mortgage already, this is the product that suits your mortgage. Had you seen the IFA before completion or during the mortgage application process, the advice would have been pro-active. i.e. these are the mortgage types available, these are the pros and cons of both, which is the best for you?

The typical complaint is that "I would have gone repayment mortgage had I known the risk". In your case, the IFA wasn't involved in the choice of mortgage.

It's still possible that with insufficient documentation that the complaint could get upheld by the ombudsman but the timescale of events makes it harder for you to prove any potential mis-sale.

If you really wish to pursue it, you need to go to the FOS now and include a copy of the letter rejecting the complaint. Without seeing case files, none of us here can tell you if its likely you would succeed. However, I wouldn't go into it with strong hope.

divekick100

Thank you very much for your advice I will contact the FOS and let you know the outcome.