IFA asking for letter of authority

clairehi

Hi all

I spoke to an IFA today regarding pensions advice. This was the first time I had spoken to this guy.

Straightaway he wanted us to sign a letter of authority for him to contact all
our pension schemes and ask for information from them. I said no. We have not even met this bloke let alone decided we want him to act for us. Was I right?

dunstonh

If you want the IFA to give advice, then he needs to know about your policies. To obtain that information he was to write to the companies enclosing a letter of authority. Without that, they will not provide the information.

So, you need to decide if you want advice or not. If you do, then let him do his job. If not, then find someone else but expect them to want the same.

clairehi

As I have said before here, I do want advice, but TBH I think Im going to get it from my dad in future.

dunstonh

Speaking with parents is often a good idea but you have to consider the ability of the parent. My father was a highly successful business man but wouldnt have a clue about tax wrappers or investing. I spoke with someone not long back whose father used to be a tied adviser and the advice he was giving to the son was out of date.

I dont understand what they problem is for you though. If you want someone to give advice, they do need to know the facts and it should be commended that the adviser prefers to get the actual policy information in full before giving advice rather than rely on what you tell them verbally or what you dont tell them. It is better to get full and proper advice based on fact than advice that may not be correct because not all information is known.

Getting the letter of authority for information is the first thing you do. It can take 4-5 weeks for some companies to respond and most of the advice cant be given until that information is in. So you do that ASAP to keep the timescales reasonable. Especially if you get a slow company, like Scot Equitable who can take months instead of weeks.

Tiggs_2

You have done the same as taking your car to a garage for a service but refused to open the bonnet.

As an aside, if your Dad is an expert in finacial advice then you are right to use his services. Although what will you do when he retires and is no longer keeping up to date on current matters?

clairehi

Thanks both. To clarify, this was an initial first contact phone call. Immediately after taking my name and address he mentioned the letter of authority. He hadnt asked any questions about the pensions at all at that point or offered an initial intro meeting or anything.

I wasnt being entirely flippant in mentioning my dad as he actually got his g60 a couple of years ago - he did it for his own benefit and for fun (?) however as he pointed out being qualified is not the same as being authorised.

I am afraid that this IFA just seemed a bit slimy and got my hackles up. I saw another one last night who seemed like a lovely guy, visited us for 90 mins but basically said that we would probably be best just putting everything into DHs new company stakeholder. We are only talking about £25K in total transfer value here, so perhaps he was just trying to save us his fees or just doesnt want the business? (He is going to do us some life assurance quotes , so I didnt send him away empty handed - I know people have to make a living).

wotsthat

Straightaway he wanted us to sign a letter of authority for him to contact all
our pension schemes and ask for information from them. I said no. We have not even met this bloke let alone decided we want him to act for us. Was I right?

Of course you did the right thing. If it's the first time you even spoken to him and didn't really like him then maybe you will find it difficult to build a relationship. I'd want to find an IFA that was good AND I liked.

You have done the same as taking your car to a garage for a service but refused to open the bonnet.

Except in this case the mechanic is opening the bonnet before a service has been agreed.

Debt_Free_Chick

clairehi wrote:

As I have said before here, I do want advice

OP

clairehi wrote:

I spoke to an IFA today regarding pensions advice

Anyway .... you will get no "advice" unless the IFA can take account of the precise arrangements you already have. Some include guarantees; some don't. Some have penalties if you transfer; some don't. Generic advice is not worth paying for, as you can find that for free off the net, for example - even here

Too many IFAs have too many "speculative" meetings with prospective clients, give free generic advice and then find that the client goes off and does their own thing anyway.

I don't think you need be concerned - the guy you saw simply wants to use his time efficiently by giving you specific - and not generic - advice.

Of course, if you had no rapport with him, you are not likely to value his advice. So cut your losses and move on

clairehi

Sorry but despite what you have all said I am not going to give someone I have spoken to on the phone for 5 mins a signed letter of authority when I do not know exactly what that signature would give them the right to do.

dunstonh

An agency transfer letter is a simple request to allow the new IFA to access the information that the original IFA/adviser/broker had access to. Currently the original adviser has those access rights. It is not a power of attorney or anything sinister like that.

I think this is more about you not liking the person you saw and not letting them have access to your information. That is perfectly fine as you need to understand and have a good relationship with the adviser. However, it is a simple request and refusal would see some advisers walk away (probably the better ones as well as the bad ones wouldnt care if they had the info or not).

clairehi

Thanks Dunston

I didnt see the guy - I spoke to him on the phone. literally within one minute or so he was asking for this.

To be honest it freaked me out. The way he put it made it sound like I was formally committing to him acting as our adviser, by signing the letter. He didnt explain what the scope of it would be.

He also issued a few doom and gloom type warnings which came across as pretty crass - so maybe a bit of a personality clash eh.'

Edited to add. He did not at any time refer to it as an "agency transfer letter". Is this synonomous with a "letter of authority".

In any case its not that we had an IFA before as there was no original IFA in the case of the 2 occupational schemes, and the person who sold my OH his protected rights scheme in 1991 is lost in the mists of time.