abbey life

Bossyboots

In 2002 I started a stakeholder pension with abbey. I spent two hours with their financial adviser and all my paperwork working out how much I could put in for the previous years where I had not made any contribution but had been working counting back the requisite six years. As I recall I could only use five years because I had not earned enough in the year before that. It was a large sum but as I had just had the proceeds of an insurance policy it was not a problem and seemed the most sensible use of the lump sum. I also make a monthly payment into the plan.

Today, out of the blue I have been sent back two thirds of my initial contribution with a letter saying I overpaid in that year! I have spoken to them but the help desk on the number given just said that they had been trying to get the forms and details from the branch (for three years?!) and they were now having an audit so were sending people's money back.

I am totally gobsmacked. The amount sent back represents half my pension fund's current value. I now have no idea what to do. I had all the figures worked out and even if the fund underperformed it would have been enough to top up my other retire incomes.

I cannot believe that they can simply remove money from people's pension plans in this manner. I asked why they had not alerted me to the fact that there was a problem. They had no answer to that. I have to admit that as I am typing this I have come to the conclusion that they have lied about contacting the branch and have made a mistake somewhere along the line.

Is there anyone out there who can offer me some advice on what to do next?

dunstonh

So, you allocated a basis year and gave proof of income for that basis year? I assume that they are saying that they had no proof of income for that basis year which is why they returned premiums?

Or was it done under carry forward rules, which was abolished in April 2001 and used by Abbey Life in error?

You need to check what they have returned as well. There is often a penalty applied to over funding.

You have a few options but it would help us know in a bit more detail what exactly has happened and the reasons given for the return of premiums.

Bossyboots

thank you for replying.

Actually you have confirmed something I thought at the time but was assured I was wrong. I do believe that in fact they used the carry forward incorrectly. I told the FA I thought they had abolished it and that I had missed the boat but she told me as long as we had it set up by April 5th that year we were okay. Up to that point I couldn't have afforded to use up the allowances from previous years so I would have accepted just using the current year.

I actually went in with all my P60s and she sat and went through every year, making a little table and working out for each year what I could put in. I am not sure which non-proof of income they do not have. They also say that they needed a form confirming I was using my carrying allowance and did I remember signing it? It is these documents they claim they have been asking the branch for since I took out the pension but I now believe I have been lied to.

I did think abbey were cagey when I phoned them and felt that the customer service agent was flustered by the questions I was asking. I wondered if she had spotted an error and did not want to say. Needless to say they have not called back. I was going to ask them to send me a breakdown of their calculations. Thanks for the warning about the penalty. I did not know that and will now make sure they are not going to penalise me for their mistake. I also intend to ask them for interest for them holding my money all this time.

The letter I have states

"We refer to contributions made to the above numbered pension plan in tax year 2001/2002.

We can confirm that an overcontribution was made in this tax year. Therefore, please find enclosed a cheque for ****** which represents the net refund of the gross over contribution made.

We hope that this is satisfactory. However, please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Helpdesk at the above number should have any further queries regarding this letter".

The calculations were made on the 3rd January 2002.

This is about as much I know at the moment. I will send them a fax on Monday asking them for the figures and a proper explanation and see what happens.

If you think I should have any more information at the moment for you to assist further I would be glad to hear back from you and see if I can find it. Otherwise I suspect I will have to wait for the non-existent response from abbey.

I am all ready to make a complaint to the financial ombudsman as if this is not resolved, at the very least I have lost interest on the capital I could have invested elsewhere if I had not been misled.

Bossyboots

Update on the situation.

So incensed was I this morning that I decided to go to the abbey branch where I had arranged the pension and demand of the manager why they had not responded to the request for information.

I will admit that she was quite helpful (once I got through reception who initially tried to fob me off). The manager went to check our file and came back said she couldn't find it but there are a lot of people with my surname and she didn't want to keep me waiting. She took all the details and promised to look into it. On returning from photocopying another some of the paperwork, she bumped into the new financial advisor who we had seen in December. We sat with her and went through everything and she said that she too was horrified and that they cannot just send money back in this way. She has accepted that someone is wrong somewhere, either in the original calculation or in their actions now. She said that any requests for information would be received in branch every March and should have been dealt with then. She has only been there since August so they will be looking into the records of whoever was there in March. She said however that the application for the pension would have gone through two checks before being accepted so she simply cannot understand what they are doing, they simply cannot be missing the information I have been told because the pension could not have started without it. She is also going to calculate the interest I would have received had I invested the money in an account I started at the same time and ensure that I receive that payment.

I feel a bit more relieved now I know she is looking into it. There is a meeting on Tuesday for FAs and she will be seeing our original one there and will discuss it with her and their manager. Either she or the manager will contact me next week, hopefully with some constructive solution to the problem.

Pal

Bossyboots wrote:

She is also going to calculate the interest I would have received had I invested the money in an account I started at the same time and ensure that I receive that payment.

Assuming that it turns out to be Abbey's fault, the amount of compensation you want is the greater of the amount you would have got had the money been in the savings account, or the amount you would now have if the money had remained invested in the pension account for the correct amount of time.

Bossyboots

Pal wrote:

Assuming that it turns out to be Abbey's fault, the amount of compensation you want is the greater of the amount you would have got had the money been in the savings account, or the amount you would now have if the money had remained invested in the pension account for the correct amount of time.

Thats a good point, thanks.

The situation now is that abbey have admitted someone has made a mistake. Abbey life are claiming to have no paperwork relating to my income. This is odd because the branch say they could not have set up the pension without it. The branch still cannot find my file. Abbey life have now said that if I produce my P60s again they will send me a back dated carry back form to sign and reinstate the pension to what it was the day they drew the cheque at no loss to me. That at least is a relief, because it is clear it is their error.

Abbey Life said they wrote to me in December to ask for the proof of income but I did not receive that letter (this is a new line they have dropped in today and actually I don't believe them). She said they had been 'phoning the branch but the branch manager was not aware of that. She could not explain why they had not contacted me direct when the branch did not respond.She is going to contact the branch again tomorrow to see what is going on.