help on serps or claiming mis sell???

stuey123

hi guys not sure if i,m in the right thread but , i opt out serps when i was 23 with my company some guy come to work could been ifa not sure and 3 of us sign up to private pension . now i have been opt back in ,some 13 years later . Been seeing about poss compension against a mis selling and i would be in that age bracket now 39 . Could anyone direct me as seen this site serpsreviews.co.uk anyone used then many thanks

dunstonh

i opt out serps when i was 23

So, long before the age 45 that the FSA use on their flowchart for decided mis-sale cases.

Been seeing about poss compension against a mis selling and i would be in that age bracket now 39 .

You mean you are in the age bracket for not being mis-sold.

Could anyone direct me as seen this site serpsreviews.co.uk anyone used then many thanks

Keeping it generic... You need to be very wary of some of the small number of SERPS reclaiming companies that are out there Most claims companies dont bother with SERPS reclaiming as the FSA found only 1.5% of contracted out cases were possibly mis-sold. The odds are too low for them. Some of the companies use the mis-sale excuse as an attempt to find out your pension details and then transfer your pension to another provider using a sister company (same directors for example) to generate a nice commission for them. They generate a one-size-fits-all template letter containing a number of fake reasons (such as you wouldnt have wanted investment risk) whilst at the same time, they transfer your pension and recommend higher risk investment funds. A complete double standard.

In a small number of cases, the complaint will end up being successful (missing paperwork or outside of the age range recommended by the FSA). However, the vast majority are done purely to get you to do a pension transfer to pay them a commission.

If you really feel you were mis-sold contracting out then complain yourself. However, if you do use company and that company says they want their advice company to look at the pension to transfer it elsewhere then walk away. What they are doing is unethical and for their benefit and not yours.

honizz

I suppose if you are one of those who win then it could be a good thing, you get your pension sorted and get compensation. I definitely didn't want risk when I opted (coerced) out of Serps. I was told I would definitely be better off. Well it seems not.

I used a serps claims company that didn't ask for an upfront fee, don't think I would pay a fee upfront. Everything got sorted out for me and someone I know but like all things in this environment you win or lose, I suppose thats where the no win no fee comes from.

I did see another company on here being talked about that asked for fees upfront, there seems to be a big issue with that. Maybe if its refunded if a claim is unsuccessful?

Good luck

dunstonh

I used a serps claims company that didn't ask for an upfront fee, don't think I would pay a fee upfront. Everything got sorted out for me and someone I know but like all things in this environment you win or lose, I suppose thats where the no win no fee comes from.

The fee comes from the high commission they charge on the replacement pension they put in place.

Also, if you read the complaint reasons they put in and then look at the pension they then arrange for you, you will probably be able to complain against that new company for mis-selling as they do the things they are complaining about. They make accusations in the complaint but then go do the very things they are complaining about with the old firm.

honizz

I don't know what you are saying, I have just calculated the commission they received for my stakeholder pension, its just shy of 2%

As far as the reasons are concerned, I think there were 2 things I remember

1. My complaint letter which I have a copy says at the time I didn't want risk and didn't understand risk. - That was true the adviser didn't explain it.
2. The new plan was explained in full, I was left alone to make informed choices and then using a lot of reference material including MSE I made choices.

On top of that as you know I was awarded compensation, because of the risk at the timenot being explained. I couldn't complain again because I made decisions myself with advice to help.

What amazes me is you could have put off the Stuey chap like you could have put me off. I told you at the time you almost cost me the 9k I was awarded yet you still rant. It really doesn't make a great deal of sense.

I was always told some will win and some will lose.