Morgage Endowment miss selling

Charlie_Kapur

Hi
I have a endowment policy with scottish amicable (Prudential)
It was taken out in 1990 and sold to us by what we thought was a IFA. When we claimed for miss selling some years ago we were shown by Pru after some 12 months or more of to and throw that we were not sold it by a IFA at all that his registration had expired only weeks before we signed and we had signed a Exacution Only! and basically had no claim.
My understanding of this exacution only is that as first time buyers we apparently went in to his office and asked him to set up the endowment and didn't want any advise! Basically we were stitched up, two excited people being 20yrs old signing what we were told by someone we trusted to sort out for morgage etc for our first home.

Have you heard of this method of miss selling before and is there any thing i can do ?

EdInvestor

Execution-only is not a "method of misselling". It simply means you purchased a product (the endowment) without receiving any advice.Getting advice is quite a long process in which the advisor sits you down, asks you (and your spouse) many questions about your financial circumstances, judges your attitude to risk and then selects products suitable for you to invest in.

I guess you didn't read the paperwork? It would have said that the advisor took no responsibility for the suitability of the product, as the sale was on an E/O basis.If you didn't understand this you could have asked for an explanation.

dunstonh

If you went to his office and asked him for an endowment policy and it was processed under execution only then you have no complaint.

Execution only means no advice given. So, if no advice was given, you cannot complain about advice. Usually execution only cases come with a reduction in commission being taken giving you better terms. Its the trade off between having consumer protection and not.

On the upside, Scot Am plans are quite good with 95% hitting target in 2005 and 96% in 2006.

Charlie_Kapur

Thanks for your replys but i don't think you understand. We were first time buyers we went in and he advised us on different options ie. at the time endowments, repayments and pension as i had just gone self employed. the later was to expensive so we looked at the others.
He talk to us about repayment saying this was for people who weren't likely to move like his words" people buying council houses"
saying if we did this and moved in the future we would have to start over again.
He talked about endowment like it was a saving policy as well saying "at the end of 25yrs you pay off your morgage and should have a lump sum to do what you want with as well. He recommended a low start endowment with scot amicable to help with our outgoings.
At no point can we every remember him telling us that it could possible not pay off our morgage, only of its gains. He never informed us he wasn't a IFA and as having no previous investment policys we signed what we were told. He certainly did not say heres a exacution only for you to sign to say i haven't advised you!

As far as i concerned he sold, it he advised us and then did the dirty on us!

Is there any body else who has been sold an endowment in a similar way?

dunstonh

Thanks for your replys but i don't think you understand. We were first time buyers we went in and he advised us on different options ie. at the time endowments, repayments and pension as i had just gone self employed. the later was to expensive so we looked at the others.
He talk to us about repayment saying this was for people who weren't likely to move like his words" people buying council houses"
saying if we did this and moved in the future we would have to start over again.
He talked about endowment like it was a saving policy as well saying "at the end of 25yrs you pay off your morgage and should have a lump sum to do what you want with as well. He recommended a low start endowment with scot amicable to help with our outgoings.

All of that is compliant with the rules and suggests that the job was done correctly on advice basis.

At no point can we every remember him telling us that it could possible not pay off our morgage, only of its gains.

Seems strange to go through all the options as thoroughly as he did and not mention that.

He never informed us he wasn't a IFA

There is no requirement for tied agents to say they are not IFAs. They are required to say that they are tied though. However, this often gets glossed over quickly.

He certainly did not say heres a exacution only for you to sign to say i haven't advised you!

Pru seem to believe it was execution only and that you signed a form. Have they supplied a copy of this to you? If it doesnt exist, then it works in your favour.

Charlie_Kapur

Yes after a year or so of giving more information they pulled the plug and set us a copy of the exacution only. Even though we can't remember every seeing it.

I can understand that if some wanted an adviser to sort some thing out and did want there advise and to pay for it the a exacution i can now understand. But not when we were 20yrs old, first time buyers not having a clue!
With respect.

dunstonh

Do you have any evidence that advice was given?

The FOS have stated (mainly aimed at direct/internet companies but the same applies to us all) that something even as simple as a nod towards a fund or contract in favour of another is as good as giving advice. Wherever advice is given, no matter how small, it ceases to be an execution only case.

You could go back and ask how could it be execution only when the adviser discussed the different options, chose the contract, level of cover and options on the plan.

EdInvestor

Where did this "IFA" appear to work? Did he have his own office? Was he at (or possibly connected with) a building society or estate agent's office?

Which lender provided your original mortgage?

Charlie_Kapur

He had his own office in west strret. Bridport.Dorset. The company called "Standard provincial" I remember him having a white board with the top proforming companies on the wall. Our original morgage company was Halifax.
I can asure you at no way did we apoint him in the way the exacution only says.
He did advise us and we believed him.