How binding is a endowment maturity notice?

Let_Us_See

So DrewE basically this post comes down to someone made a mistake and you are now trying to make a fast buck? Have you been financially disadvantaged? No!

Have you never made a mistake at work? If so, did anyone try and obtain a bucketful of cash off you?

I hate this parasitic, claim society.

dzug1

It would appear you knew or at least strongly suspected that the offer was wrong. Therefore the contract is (whatever the wording) likely to be unenforceable

ValHaller

DrewE wrote: »

Thanks guys you give me food for thought, although I don't see dunstonh how I can be breaking a contract.

Just my understanding of a contract is...

A contractis an agreement having a lawful object entered into voluntarily by twoor more parties, each of whom intends to create one or more legal obligationsbetween them. The elements of a contract are "offer" and"acceptance" by "competent persons" having legal capacitywho exchange "consideration" to create "mutuality ofobligation."

It is my reading of their letter and form than that is exactly what they have done i.e. made an offer by presenting a maturity value and date, which was then accepted. It is they who proposed a change to the original contract!

This may well be a genuine mistake and morally maybe they shouldn't have to pay but they hid behind the law over this and another policy which was missold a few years back, (causing a 20% shortfall for the mortgage) by their own regional manager of a company they took over. They hid behind the fact that a financial advisor who introduced the regional manager was paid a commission even though this was not known at the time. This advisor was no longer in business and was unable to be traced.

This is merely an exploration to see whether a victory may be gained and I am taking in all of your comments before deciding whther to take it further.

Morally maybe not but Legally is the question.

After all why should we offer morals when they showed none!

It is quite clear that although you have found a correct but partial description of a contract in legal terms, you are misapplying it.

The offer sent out in error on the letter is NOT an offer which is one of the essentials in establishing a contract - there is also the matter of 'consideration'.

If I offer you a garden gnome now to be delivered as a gift for christmas and you accept, there is NO CONTRACT, because there is no 'consideration'. If I offer you a garden gnome for £5.62 to be delivered at christmas and you accept, there is a contract which is brought about by the 'consideration' of £5.62 which you will pay me,

Now in relation to your endowment, there is a contract because you were offered an endowment and you accepted - and you paid your premiums.

The offer of a maturity payment is not an offer in relation to the original contract, because we are way past the point where offer, acceptance and consideration have been established. It is not an offer in relation to a new contract, because there is no consideration. It is no more than a mistake.

Now, had they offered you early maturity for £5.62 and you paid (acceptance and consideration), you might have a new contract established and grounds to take legal action. But it did not happen like this.

There is no legal victory for you to have here - all that will happen is that any decent lawyer will tell you to go away. And any other lawyer will have you tied in knots.

And as for a moral issue, well they made a mistake and the moral thing to do is to forgive mistakes.

DrewE

dunstonh wrote: »

You took out an investment contract with a maturity date in 2016. You now wish to break that contract by surrendering it early. That is allowed within the contract terms and for that they will pay you the surrender value applicable for that day.

Sending out the wrong form in error does not give you some automatic entitlement.


Your maturity date is 2016. Your policy is not maturing. You are breaking the contract by surrendering it early. Not maturing it.

Excuse me but I have not stated anywhere that I wanted to surrender the policy. It was they that that sent a letter that confirmed a maturity of the policy providing a date and a value (Offer) and requesting me to sign in return for releasing them as full and final settlement. (Consideration) So how do you make out that I am offering to surrender?

ValHaller If I offer you a garden gnome now to be delivered as a gift for christmas and you accept, there is NO CONTRACT, because there is no 'consideration'. If I offer you a garden gnome for £5.62 to be delivered at christmas and you accept, there is a contract which is brought about by the 'consideration' of £5.62 which you will pay me,.

Am I wrong in thinking the letter that confirmed a maturity of the policy providing a date and a value is (Offer) and requesting me to sign in return for releasing them as full and final settlement. (Consideration) ? Thats the way it reads to a layman

and finally...

Let us see

Let us see I hate this parasitic, claim society.

I love you too! and I hate the ambulance chase society too but I see you make no comment as to the fact that they missold to me in the first place which will cost me at least £4k on this policy and £6k on another.

No I am not concerned about that because if it was possible to win it I would go for it as ultimate justice for what they did!

Thank you

ValHaller

DrewE wrote: »

Am I wrong in thinking the letter that confirmed a maturity of the policy providing a date and a value is (Offer) and requesting me to sign in return for releasing them as full and final settlement. (Consideration) ? Thats the way it reads to a layman

Yes, you are totally mistaken.

Consideration is inherent in the offer. I offer you a garden gnome for £5.62. You accept my offer of a garden gnome for £5.62. My consideration to you is a garden gnome, your consideration to me is £5.62. Both considerations have value.

In the present case, the offer is for maturity. It is an offer in conversational terms, but not a contract offer in legal terms, because there is no consideration. You are only giving your signature which is inherently worthless and does not count as consideration.

It is only if they offered early maturity for say £100 that you would be looking at a contract offer,