standard life mis-sold my annuity

babyj3

Standard Life paid me £1200.36p instead of the agreed amount of £1236.00 and then said I had misunderstood the offer which is nonsense as I added £1236.00 to my lump sum and quoted the total amount to them more than once and each time they agreed with my figure
I telephoned Standard Life to inform them that I wanted to opt for the Open Market Option and take a tax free lump sum and was going to another provider for a yearly annuity payment as their offer was not enough.I was told that they have discretion to offer a higher amount and asked how much I had been offered elsewhere and told them £1278.00 they came back with an offer of £1236.00 and said they would sort it out there and then if I accepted the offer and for the sake of £42 a year I took what I thought was the easy option
I thought they had made a genuine mistake but when I phoned to complain the first person I got made the excuse that the figures show up as separate amounts on the computer and his colleague would not have bothered to add them up and just agreed with me - I was supposed to accept this flimsy excuse but said I wanted them to honour my offer of £1236.00
Then the person who had made the offer phoned and told me that he had listened to the tape recording and he had made it plain that the offer was £1200.36p- I told him he was wrong and I do not accept that,I also asked him why he agreed with my total figure and he said he had not and that he had corrected me - which he did not.I had the conversation on speakerphone and a family member was involved in the call and totally agrees that there was no room for misunderstanding
I am now in dispute with Standard Life but want to warn people to be very careful when discussing figures over the telephone as they can sound very similar and unless I had quoted the total amount and confirmed it several times I may not have such a strong case as/when/if I have to go to the Ombudsman which I will do if I do not get proper redress.I will take this matter as far as I have to in order to get satisfaction
I expected better from a company such as Standard Life

jamesd

Good luck with getting them to sort it out!

Do you have any health conditions that might affect your life expectancy? Say being overweight, smoking, diabetes, circulation trouble, heart trouble or anything else? All of those can result in a higher payout than a standard annuity and Standard Life or another provider wouldn't tell you about enhanced options for such conditions unless you asked specifically. The normal offers all assume good health and normal life expectancy.

dunstonh

I am now in dispute with Standard Life but want to warn people to be very careful when discussing figures over the telephone as they can sound very similar and unless I had quoted the total amount and confirmed it several times I may not have such a strong case as/when/if I have to go to the Ombudsman which I will do if I do not get proper redress.I will take this matter as far as I have to in order to get satisfaction

Seems a fairly straight forward case to resolve. One listen to the phone call and it should be resolved.

For others, do not use Standard Life. They have a limited panel of a handful of providers and take commission to the same level or more than an IFA would despite not offering the same level of service or providers. Dont fall for their waffle about how they are better than getting an IFA to do it. They are not.

mania112

Slightly on a tangent, but i really hate the way providers 'have discretion to better the quote'. Bloody well offer the best quote on day 1....

bilbo51

mania112 wrote: »

Slightly on a tangent, but i really hate the way providers 'have discretion to better the quote'. Bloody well offer the best quote on day 1....

The way of the world is that very few - people or institutions - will make their first offer their best and final offer.

babyj3

dunstonh wrote: »

Seems a fairly straight forward case to resolve. One listen to the phone call and it should be resolved.

For others, do not use Standard Life. They have a limited panel of a handful of providers and take commission to the same level or more than an IFA would despite not offering the same level of service or providers. Dont fall for their waffle about how they are better than getting an IFA to do it. They are not.

Thank You and yes, I thought that but the person who mis-sold rang me back after I complained to his colleague claiming to have listened to the call and assuring me I had misunderstood and claiming to have said things that he did not and quoting figures that he did not quote so customer relations are now going to listen to the call and hopefully resolve the matter.
As for commission I have not been charged any as I did not ask for advice, I knew what I wanted which was originally the Open Market option plus a lump sum (until they offered to increase their offer and then mislead me)
I found Legal & General/Saga (who are underwritten by L&G) offered the best advance yearly annuity but stayed with S/Life once they upped their offer
I agree that the original offer was much lower than most other providers that is why I was going for the Open Market option
I found the Money Advice Service a very good guide to finding out the approximate figures and then talk directly to the company if you do not want to deal with a finacial adviser which I do not

babyj3

mania112 wrote: »

Slightly on a tangent, but i really hate the way providers 'have discretion to better the quote'. Bloody well offer the best quote on day 1....

but they rely on inertia and hope people will not shop around as many don't - goodness only knows why as it doesn't take long especially if you have a computer

dunstonh

As for commission I have not been charged any as I did not ask for advice, I knew what I wanted which was originally the Open Market option plus a lump sum (until they offered to increase their offer and then mislead me)

There is commission. Std Life are not doing this out of love. They pay 1% on their annuities. Instead of it going to an IFA. They keep it for themselves.

I found Legal & General/Saga (who are underwritten by L&G) offered the best advance yearly annuity but stayed with S/Life once they upped their offer

L&G havent been coming up best for some time now. They do periodically but not finding their rates up there at the moment (including the one the one I am doing to today where their quote was 4th place)

I found the Money Advice Service a very good guide to finding out the approximate figures and then talk directly to the company if you do not want to deal with a finacial adviser which I do not

Which also means you will end up with an a lower annuity rate as an IFA would have got better. With Open Market options and annuity commencement, it is not just about advice. It is about retail. Most retail their products only via IFAs and not direct.

jamesd

babyj3 wrote: »

I found the Money Advice Service a very good guide to finding out the approximate figures and then talk directly to the company if you do not want to deal with a finacial adviser which I do not

That's OK as a starting point even for people with conditions that can reduce life expectancy, but for the reduced life expectancy and in general, even after costs, you can expect an IFA to beat going direct. One thing the IFA will do is be sure to ask about life expectancy issues that can significantly or substantially increase the payout for maybe 40% of all people buying an annuity. And if the IFA doesn't come up with a better deal you can still go direct.