Private Pension Bonus

youngtommy

Over the last couple of months I have had several phone calls with what I believe to be a recorded voice telling me that I am at risk of loosing A £1000 pound bonus from my private pension and told to press a key to proceed. The first time I almost pressed the key but stopped myself and I contacted my pension provider.
This is obviously scam but does anyone know anything about it. Is the scam in pressing the phone key and getting a large phone bill or are that trying hook you with something else?

Linton

I believe they will offer to transfer your pension into their "investments" and give you a £1000 cash bonus for the privilege. Of course its a scam and, as they are unregulated, a good way to lose your money.

somethingcorporate

Does it matter what the scam is? It's a scam.

If it's an advanced fee scam would you go ahead and press the button?

Aegis

They're likely trying to flog you a pension "review" which concludes with you buying a particularly awful investment at massively over-inflated costs, with a small portion of your own money illegally returned to you in the form of a commission.

Not worth the risk, just hang up.

dunstonh

I just got one of these calls. So, I can comment with experience on this. Also, note that the call was today and is post RDR.

The recorded text was dodgy as hell. It makes out it is regarding your existing pension. I pressed to get through to the next stage to see if I could get some names. They ask some questions but dont actually say who they are. They then talk about the review being totally free of charge and the bonus comes to you as cash and not into your pension.

I pressed for some detail and the company is yardstick marketing. A quick google check shows they have form on this front and I am not the first IFA to be called.

The call was not compliant and there was misleading information. Remember we are RDR now. So, no commissions exists. Any charges are explicit. So, the only way to get a £1000 bonus is for your pension fund to have £1000 taken out of it. They are effectively giving you your money. Except the firms they refer it to do the review will be taking more than £1000. The call didnt go that far.

My impression is that it is a scam. What it is doing it not breaking any rules from the actual transaction. After all, it is just transferring your pension from one provider to another and they do refer it to an IFA firm to do it. The IFA firm probably breaks no rules at all (on paper). However, the introducer (the cold caller) is the one breaking the rules by telling lies and misrepresenting what they do and how much it costs. The introducer is not regulated by the FSA. So, effectively they say what they like and by the time you get to the IFA firm, the IFA is doing little more than the transfer. They seem to refer to one IFA called Pension Matters. However, that name is in use by multiple firms and I'm not even sure its an IFA.

The whole thing stinks of scam and misrepresentation and do not be fooled. You will probably pay many thousands of pounds in fees taken from the pension (as there is no commission any more) and the £1000 is just a rebate of some of the fee. Not free of charge. Not a bonus but a part refund.

Yardstick marketing are also on the FSA warning list:
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/doing/regulated/law/alerts/unauthorised-firms#26

brianrhill

I had a call from them recently, here it is, almost verbatim

Eagleeyes

Yardstick Marketing is a front, I don't think it actually exists. They are part of Aims Review and Aims Reclaims SL who are PPI reclaim agents. Aims also use the same cold calling automated dialler technique to gain clients.

Yardstick used to be called Forensic Review (also on the FSA avoid list) but they had to stop trading under that name as they run into problems with the FSA. These sharks are located in Spain, El Rosario Marbella if you google Aims Reclaim SL you will get their address and phone number.

Dunstonh is correct they are giving you your own money back after all where else does that £1000 come from? The IFA they refer people to are MC Global Choice LTD in Carlisle again if you goggle them their address and phone number comes up. Pension matters despite the name are not IFAs they only handle the sending and receiving of paperwork but come to think of it I don't think MC Global Choice are proper legal IFAs either as MC Global are not registered with the FSA!

MC Global Choice I hear were set up by Aims / Yardstick purely to deal with their pensions transfer clients. MC will recommend you put your pension fund into some high risk land investment company under the name of Advalorem again I hear set up by Aims / Yardstick for the purpose of transferring their clients pension funds.

What do Aims / Yardstick get out of all this? A juicy fat cut of your pension funds so that the bosses can go buy another Ferrari Porsche and Mercedes! Ask yourself where will these people be if and when things go south!

Oh and have pity on the poor sod who has to answer the pension helpline as he or she is instructed to be nasty and rude to anybody who dares question who they are or where they are. Also should that poor slave decide to leave the sharks from their employ they won't get paid any commission that are due to him or her. Their hard earn cash is put into the bosses new Ferrari fund!

bigadaj

Eagle eyes, you wouldn't happen to run their helpline would you?

Eagleeyes

bigadaj wrote: »

Eagle eyes, you wouldn't happen to run their helpline would you?

Don't quite see the relevance but no I do not.