Mis sold endowment - should I claim?

klover

I have been approached by EMCAS who tell me I am probably eligible to put in a claim for being mis sold my endowment policy in 1993. Surely I am past the time that I can make a claim, which I thought was 6 years from taking out the policy? Although the policy has been taken over by Royal London. Also, the company that sold me the policy no longer exists...

They are also telling me that their 'cut' from any compensation paid to me is 35% + VAT which I think is a bit high.

If a claim was agreed and compensation paid, does that mean the policy is finished or does it carry on to maturity date?

Can anyone give me advice? :undecided

dunstonh

I have been approached by EMCAS who tell me I am probably eligible to put in a claim for being mis sold my endowment policy in 1993.

Did they tell you that before they found out your personal details and read your documentation or did they check the documentation first and then tell you?

Surely I am past the time that I can make a claim, which I thought was 6 years from taking out the policy?

The majority of endowments are time barred from complaint. Most hit the time bar around 2006/7. There are still some yet to be timebarred but generally the endowments issue has mostly drawn to a close now.

Although the policy has been taken over by Royal London. Also, the company that sold me the policy no longer exists...

Was it sold by an agent of the insurance company or an IFA, solicitor or accountant?

They are also telling me that their 'cut' from any compensation paid to me is 35% + VAT which I think is a bit high.

The cut is high as there are not many endowment successes nowadays. Those that are not timebarred are typically not because they are the better ones that are either on track or not far enough off. So redress payments are likely to be zero or very low. Obviously some exceptions will apply to that such as company that was late to timebar.

If a claim was agreed and compensation paid, does that mean the policy is finished or does it carry on to maturity date?

You get the choice.

Can anyone give me advice? :undecided

Any local IFA.

andydadswell

What happened with this case, I have just been approached by EMCAS and they said that Time Barring wasn't necessarily a problem now.

Annisele

Well, timebarring isn't necessarily a problem in that there are still some endowments that aren't timebarred from complaint.

If you want to make a complaint about your endowment, make it yourself - with help from this site if you need it - and then you won't have to pay more than a third of your compensation to somebody else.

dunstonh

What happened with this case, I have just been approached by EMCAS and they said that Time Barring wasn't necessarily a problem now.

If you are timebarred then its a problem. If you are not timebarred then it is not a problem.

andydadswell

I am Time Barred, however EMCAS say that they have had some success with Time Barred cases. If I wasn't time barred I would probably pursue this myself but I haven't really got the time to invest if it gets complicated, so maybe I might see what EMCAS have to say, after all it is no win, no fee (as long as there aren't any hidden costs).
It's better than doing nothing.

dunstonh

I am Time Barred, however EMCAS say that they have had some success with Time Barred cases.

The FOS themselves rarely overturn a timebar. So, what makes you think a claims company with no FSA authorisation or required qualifications could overturn it? The only times the FOS have overturned time bars are where the timebar was not put in place correctly (quite common back in 4-5 years ago) or where medical issues have caused 3 years of poor health. However, those bad time bars have since corrected the issues and revised their dates. Most of which saw them timebarred correctly by 2007.

I might see what EMCAS have to say, after all it is no win, no fee (as long as there aren't any hidden costs).

be wary, many do contain hidden costs.

What is more likely is that you have had a sales rep tell you that they have done it so they can get paid for another person signed up even where there is no chance of success.

Knowing how time bars are treated, what reason would you give to persuade the company or the FOS (which is where it goes afterwards) that you have a case for time bar to be ignored?

Annisele

The rules on timebars are here (scroll down to see the special rules on mortgage endowments - but remember that all the other rules still apply).

As dunstonh says, timebars aren't overturned all that often. If the selling agent says your complaint is timebarred, then the only way you'd get that overturned is:

• The timebar wasn't applied correctly in the first place (unlikely, but if you're unsure about that you can post here with dates and the reason the selling agent has given)
• The firm doesn't object to FOS dealing with the case (also unlikely, unless there is something particular about you that means the firm particularly doesn't want your case to appear in the Daily Mail)
• There were exceptional circumstances that prevented you from complaining earlier ("exceptional" truly does mean exceptional; I've seen people say that they were busy bringing up children - that doesn't count!)
• The firm has made some idiot procedural error (also very unlikely).

Arutha

Dont touch £mcas or Emcas with a barge pole. They contacted me just over two weeks ago claiming I had been mis-sold ppi on loans and credit cards. I told them I had declared myself bankrupt over 2 years ago and they said it doesnt matter they could still make a claim on my behalf. I stupidly went ahead and gave them my details. I then started to think about what I had done, being bankrupt I am sure if they did win any money on my behalf the company would surely just knock it of my debt? and after the company losing their money after my bankruptcy it didnt seem fair to try and gain more from them. Anyway to cut a long story short they have now been calling me at least 4 times a day every day. Is this the behaviour of a professional company? They must be a fairly new company as I did a quick bit of reaserch on the net after their first call but didnt find much on them.

Dick_here

dunstonh wrote: »

If you are timebarred then its a problem. If you are not timebarred then it is not a problem.

Do we have a Post of the Month competition ?

McKneff

!!!!!!_here wrote: »

Do we have a Post of the Month competition ?

Bit of a time bar here too

The Original post is nearly a year old.

Dunstonh's post is 6 months old.:cool: