endowment policy

frad

I have a double five endowment policy which matured on the 1st of may 2007, it is with the CIS (Co-0p) and I have paid £ 110 per month for 10 years, they very rarely contacted me, last year I asked them for a estimated maturity value which they sent me at £17,400.00 to £ £18,000,00 which I thought was about right on what the rep said when he sold it me, however they have sent me notifacation that my payment maturity is £9,130. I have phoned the comany and have been passed from pillow to post, sent emails and written a letter, their so called rep does not answer his phone or voice mail,can someone adivse me as to were I can get the best advice without the cost of a solicitor. thankyou.

dunstonh

can someone adivse me as to were I can get the best advice without the cost of a solicitor.

Why would you need a solicitor? I cannot see one being of any use to you.

Most of these plans are falling between a small gain to a small loss. It depends on how much was allocated to the life cover element and how much to the investment element.

£9130 is quite possible if you had above average life cover on the plan but it is unlikely on their conventional with profits "savings" plan. Plus 1997 was a pretty awful time to start a 10 year investment plan in a low quality investment fund.

If you have written a letter of complaint, as you suggest, then the co-op rep is not allowed to contact you as most tied salesforces will not allow their advisers to see or speak to you whilst complaints are in process.

polybear

Hi,
My mum was in a similar position recently with the CIS, though for a lot less money. Basically the payout she got was a few quid less than she had actually paid in over 10 years. We complained to the CIS, then to the Ombudsman. Got nowhere.
Unless you can prove mis-selling then you probably won't get anywhere.
I'd complain anyway, if only to make them work for their profits.

polybear

EdInvestor

The problem really is that

a)Not much would have been invested early on as first they take out charges
b)The stockmarket crash will have wiped out what gains you had made in the first half of the period
c)In the second five years, a big chunk of your money will have gone into bonds, not shares, due to new solvency regulations, and thus your returns will have been much lower.
and
d)Gains on these plans are taxed and charges are high.

You'll know next time.

annandalex

'Which' have a letter generator that makes it easier to complain about mis-sold endowments. At least you can have a look and see if you can fit your complaint into any of the categories they say will deserve attention. There's also advice on the process to follow. It shouldn't make any difference that your endowment has already matured.

Good luck!
Here's the link

https://www.which.co.uk/reports_and_campaigns/money/campaigns/endowment_mortgages/complaint_letter_generator/endowments_letter_generator_560_56532.jsp

polybear

Hi,

Perhaps one day we may see a law which says that companies take their charges as a percentage of the overall policy profits. No profit = no charges.

The current system means that companies get paid whether or not they make or lose an individual's money. Should focus their attention a little more....

polybear

dunstonh

The Which template is of no use. This is a regular contribution "savings" endowment. Not a mortgage endowment. The mortgage endowment is different to a "savings" endowment.

Perhaps one day we may see a law which says that companies take their charges as a percentage of the overall policy profits. No profit = no charges.

Where volatility exists, it is unlikely to happen because it is inevitable that there will be periods of downturn in the markets which are totally outside of the control of the firm/manager. The last crash saw three negative years. Most firms wouldnt have the capital to continue for three years with no income.

However, an increasing amount of business is being placed where advisers and fund managers are paid against the fund value rather than big up front commissions which was the position historically. That does bring the interests closer in alignment.