Endowment Question

Nelski

hi experts!
I have had an unsolicited call this week from a company offering to go for compensation for me.
They say that they are much more likely to gain compensation than if i went for it myself and they also say that I have a good case. However they charge 15% of the compensation and a deposit which they say is refunded if you lose. My gut instinct is saying run a mile but on the other hand maybe my own attempts to claim would fail meaning loss anyway. Dont know if I am allowed to post the companies name so I will leave it off for now.
Please help!!!

philuws

Your gut reaction is correct. Run a mile for sure.

If they take 15% and are asking for money up front then should any form of compensation be offered (depending on your circumstances and the sale of the policy etc) its unlikely that after they have taken their 15% you will be in any better position than you were before you complained.

I would strongly advise you to complain yourself. I believe there is a letter on the 'which' consumer website which you can use to complain.

As I have said on previous post before, the points you need to get across (providing there are true) are that the adviser never discussed your attitude to investment risk (ATR) and also failed to establish with you what other options were available to you at the time of the sale.

Depending on when your policy was sold and providing you confirm you had a secure ATR (1 on a scale of 1-5 if they send you a mortgage questionnaire to complete) they should make you an offer in line with RU89.

No 'compo' company will be able to any better than that for you. They have no special way of getting compensation for you. They may have some 'inside' knowledge for you but I have just given you that above for free.

Phil

Nelski

Thanks a lot for that Phil and my running shoes are on!!

scottishlizzie

I work in the complaints department of a large insurer and I also do a bit of freelance work submitting complaints for clients who think they have been missold but who don't want to make the complaint themselves, therefore I have a foot on both sides of the line.

I used to think that all of these complaint handling companies were a waste of space but came to the conclusion that there will always be people who will not have the time/inclination to do the legwork themselves therefore there is role for these companies in these circumstances.

In my experience - on the receiving end of complaints in my day job with the insurer - complaints from "third Party" companies are not treated any more or less favourably than complaints from the policyholders. Generally insurers do not like them because they generate additional complaints but at the end of the day if a client would not have complained save for using a third party then the client is no worse off.

What hacks me off personally is that many of these companies just use standard letters and do not personalise the complaint to individual clients' circumstances. Some of them are incredibly sloppy and lazy. They do not provide a true service in my view.

So, in a nutshell - if you don't want to do anything other than receive the cheque, by all means use a third party (they charge between 15% and 35% with and average of 25% but I have never heard of an up-front deposit). However, if you can string a sentence together and don't mind spending a little bit of time on it, you are unlikely to be disadvantaged by doing it yourself and will not have to forego any compensation which is offered.

Someone above mentioned the main issues to raise and at the risk of repeating they are (only if actually true of course):

The risks associated with the plan - i.e. of a potential shortfall - were not fully explained
Attitude to risk was cautious/not established at the point of sale
Alternative repayment methods were not discussed.

Good luck!

philuws

Lizzie I could tell by your posts that you had some inside knowledge, which firm do you work for? I used to work as a complaint handler for an insurance company but now work in another department for the same company.

You are spot on about some of these compensation firms - did you see the one with a little bomb in there logo? Most of them are just after a quick buck and the letters are very poorly written.

I'm thinking about leaving my current company and going contracting on a day rate, do you know anyone who has done this?

Phil

Nelski

Thanks both for your help. just to update you I went to the which consumer site and printed off the standard letter including all the points you suggested.
Fingers crossed now I guess.
Seems there would be a market for some 'consultancy' phil even if it was just on referral.

robnye

Nelski wrote:

Thanks both for your help. just to update you I went to the which consumer site and printed off the standard letter including all the points you suggested.
Fingers crossed now I guess.
Seems there would be a market for some 'consultancy' phil even if it was just on referral.

good luck, i have my fingers crossed for you

i went trough this process myself last year, whilst it did take 8 months from start to finish, i was successful and received some compensation...... and felt hugely proud of myself for carrying the process through....

scottishlizzie

Philuws,

Don't want to say who I work for on a public board but I can say that quite a lot of staff have left our place over the last year or so to do complaint handling contracts. I myself did 8 weeks the year before last. The day rates are good but obviously there is the risk of the contract ending prematurely - which has happened to some people I know who went on a 6 month contract and got the shove after 3. There's also the fact that this will be a shrinking market as more insurers look to exclude complaints on the basis of time limits. It's a hard decision and will depend on how much you like your current job, how much you care about job security and whether you can live away from home if necessary.