Unison Unibonds Advice

brett316

Hi all,

Was hoping someone may be able to help me? Made the foolish mistake of investing in these about 2 years ago now so I should have about £600 saved so far. Decided though I could invest the money in a better way and not have to wait 15 years to see any return.

Do you think there is any get out clause for these bonds where I can get all the money I have put in this far back? Says there is penalties for early reclaim and I did check a few months back and the penalty was a ridiculous amount, would hardly get any of my money back.

Help!

Thanks

Brett

jimjames

Unlikely to be a get out clause or everyone would do it.

Might be worth considering if it is worth stopping payments so at least you are not compounding the problem by putting more money into it but check all the terms first.

A share/fund based ISA is a far more flexible way to invest long term as you have no minimum period and can access money whenever you want albeit with the risk of value dropping.

Found this thread with some more comments on it

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/29550323#Comment_29550323

http://www.unison-unibond.co.uk/

Curiously it appears that no-one ever wants to stop paying into them - "What happens if I stop payments" and "What are the penalty charges" are not one of their FAQs!! Links to the documents are also broken.

Loughton_Monkey

I'm not sure this is a 'bond'.

It very much looks to me like a 15 year with-profits endowment policy with a 'Friendly Society' called Coventry Assurance Society.

As such, like any endowment assurance, you can always 'surrender' it, at least after two years, but surrender values are usually very low. But the value for the remaining 13 years is likely to be extremely modest in any case.

So you are in a position like having a mouthful of hot food. Whatever you do next is wrong!

Either you continue to throw £25 a month into it for the next 13 years, and get a miserable 'return', or cut your losses, stop paying, and accept whatever derisory surrender value they offer, and put it down to experience.

larajohnson

I have been paying into it for years, I was informed last year that I could surrender the two policies this year, but I am unable to contact them, both the website address and email address keep being returned to sender.
Anyone got any helpful suggestions

dunstonh

What an awful product and nearly 20 years obsolete. Still, what do you expect from a Union. They just sit back and take the commission without having any of the liability.

longleggedhair

@larajonson Coventry Assurance have been taken over by a terrible society called Healthy Investments. Coventry Assurance failed to pay any bonuses at all for the last three years and transferred their business to Healthy Investment before Christmas with the 'promise' of better returns for members. Healthy investment do not reply to letters, return phone calls, their staff are rude at best and treat customers with contempt. Feels like we have gone from the frying pan to the fire. @dunstonh I quite agree,a dreadful product designed to fill the pockets of the union and the top brass of the society I noted in the transfer docuent the old cheif exec of Coventry received two years severance pay, while the members have had no bonuses paid on their policys for years, appaling, do these people have no pride or sense of responcibility.