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cold called by Avacade offering free pension review

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  • bigfreddiel
    bigfreddiel Posts: 4,263 Forumite
    Had a call from a company called Avacade offering free pension advice
    if i called you ad said i would review your savings and investments for free - all i needed were your account details, numbers, sort codess, dob and so on ould you go for it?

    well anyone saying they will review your pension are doing just that

    don't do it - hang up - if they call again report it to the poiice

    cheer

    fj
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 119,640 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 11 June 2013 at 9:48PM
    Avacade seem to think I may still be paying in via my NI contributions.

    This is why you shouldnt deal with unregulated and unqualified companies.
    Seems suspect to me but I have little understanding of these things. Can anyone explain?

    Its difficult to explain as we have no facts on your pension. Plus, you cannot be contracted out on personal schemes any more. (hence my comment above - either they are wrong or you are in an occupational pension that you wouldnt move)
    I have not signed for them to access details yet although they say they are, at this stage, just going to use my details to send me a free report .

    Cancel it now. They are fishing for details to sell to you.

    Look at this warning against using such companies which include unregulated introducers: http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/media/826600/members_leaflet.pdf
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • jem16
    jem16 Posts: 19,584 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Ailiecat wrote: »
    Avacade seem to think I may still be paying in via my NI contributions. Seems suspect to me but I have little understanding of these things. Can anyone explain?

    If you are still paying into the contracted out scheme via your NI contributions, then you are a member of a defined benefit pension scheme and most probably final salary. If this is the case you most definitely do not want to transfer out of it.

    If your pension scheme is a defined contribution scheme ( ie it has a pot of money which is invested), then you are not still contracted out as it was abolished in April 2012 for all defined contribution schemes.

    Either way would you trust a company that is either lying to you or hasn't a clue what they're on about?

    I have not signed for them to access details yet although they say they are, at this stage, just going to use my details to send me a free report . I would have no intention of using them to invest.

    You should not use them for anything at all.
  • Many thanks dunstonh and jem16. Another naive newbie saved!
  • tattycath
    tattycath Posts: 7,175 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    I've just had a call from avacade too. He said they can't and don't offer financial advice and the only way they get any money is if I decide (after receiving a free pension report) to go into a SIPP and even then, they claim they only get a referrers fee from the company I use to do the SIPP ad nothing from me or my pension/pensions.
    Obviously after reading this I think I will just contact the pension companies and find out myself about my pensions-hopefully-as a couple of them have since been bought out/rebranded.
    I did not give him any personal details-he said he would phone back Monday and when he does I'll politely decline.
    Thank you so much for this thread.
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  • So I too have just had a call from Avacade.....the courier is on its way on Monday. Somehow i have a feeling that I now wont be excepting the courier or signing and returning the letter to them. I must admit after 15mins of the phone I was starting to get quite bored of Tom going on.....
    They mentions SERPS which I know I opted out of and you do think its genuine. Another gullible person saved
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 119,640 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    do think its genuine.

    No. They are unregulated and not authorised to give advice. That is all you need to know. If you want advice in those areas use a regulated company of your choosing. None of which will cold call you as it is against FCA rules to cold call on investments and investment products. So, the minute you get cold calls on investments and pensions you know you are either dealing with a dodgy company or an unregulated company offering high risk unregulated investments unsuitable to the average UK consumer.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • Regarding the above, I have gone further and signed paperwork with this company. What horrors can I now expect?
  • jamesd
    jamesd Posts: 26,103 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 12 July 2013 at 4:10PM
    Depends on just what the paperwork said. What I'd be inclined to do is contact each pension provider and tell them that you have mistakenly signed that paperwork and that to reduce the chance of fraud they should not accept any request for information or transfer without contacting you directly. Then tell this company that you have withdrawn your consent and that neither they nor any other firm should use the paperwork.

    Only one likely reason for a financial firm to use a courier after a cold call: to get you to act in haste before you've found out all you need to know. And perhaps also to immediately take away the only copy of whatever it is that you signed.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 119,640 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    philrev wrote: »
    Regarding the above, I have gone further and signed paperwork with this company. What horrors can I now expect?

    What papers have you signed? Is it early stages where they write off to get pension details or is it late in the process where they transfer the pension to some hair brained unregulated scheme that pays them big commissions?
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
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