endowment claiming

chickenlicken_3

Hi
My endowment policy was sold to me by a broker who also arranged the mortgage. I believe they are stil in business.
Please can anyone advise - should I be sending my claim to them, or to Standard Life who the policy is with?
My annual statement from standard life mentions claiming and the date i should do it by, but the "which?" site says you should claim from the person who sold it.
Wouldn't any compensation be paid by Standard life, not the broker?
AND if they are only a small busiiness, isnt this likely to affect whether they are willing and/or able to pay any compensation?

Thanks in advance ).........

EdInvestor

Ring up Standard life and ask who your complaint should go to. In some cases people who may have appeared to be independent or working for another company (eg a building society) may actually have been technically acting as SL employees at the point of sale.

dunstonh

Your statements should show the name and address of the servicing adviser.

chickenlicken_3

Thank you both for your replies.
I think I will have to ring them up then, because my annual statement doesn't mention anything about anyone else other than standard life - but thats where Im confused cos Which? say that you should claim to the broker. Its a minefield! Lets hope standard life play ball......

defender_of_the_weak

Call standard life and ask them for the name and SIB number. Look up the broker on the FSA website using the number or address and if they are still in business send your complaint to them by recorded delivery. You must have proof of posting that the claim was made within time, otherwise the broker can throw your letters in the bin and ignore you until it is too late to claim.

chickenlicken_3

Thanks for that
I phoned standard life and they confirmed if the policy docs were sent to me by the broker then it would definitely be them that sold it. They had the brokers details on the system too so it looks like its them. I will send the letter recorded delivery as suggested

Interesting info....
The person at std life I spoke to told me that her brother tried to claim from a broker and got absolutely nowhere, even appealing using the ombudsman. As she said, back in the 80's very few people actually got anything in writing that actually said that the target amount was guaranteed, never mind all the extra verbal blurb that so many of us had telling us it would be worth double!(which mine said)
It would seem that the get out clause is "prove it" and if you havent got anything that proves you were told that the policy would pay out then you're stuffed.

But loads of people have had successful claims, so it must work somehow cos not everyone must have something in black and white?
Also, does anyone know whether claiming from a small independent company is more likely to lead to no chance of compensation, or less compensation because they simply dont have the finances to pay it?
Who decides what you are entitled to? Can they just offer whatever they can afford, or are there statutory calculations?

Lots of questions but Im sure someone knows the answer on here!

EdInvestor

Check out the Which site for all the info and how to make a claim.

http://www.which.co.uk/reports_and_campaigns/money/campaigns/endowment_mortgages/index.jsp

chickenlicken_3

Thanks Ed - have had a look at that one and have used the letter builder

It doesnt give any info on reality though, like whether small firms will be more likely to just not pay, and more importantly whether you must have something in writing that guaranteed the policy would reach target in order to be able to be successful in claiming?
Or am I barking up the wrong tree?!!

defender_of_the_weak

A view won reality.

Small brokers tend to argue more (its their money, not the shareholders or policyholders). They bluster and snow complaints in meaningless paperwork in an attempt to show they met the regulatory requirements at the time.

No you dont need a guarantee letter, the policy is reviewed against your overall circumstances and suitability.Most broker cases end up with the Ombudsman so expect a two year time scale before the matter is finally resolved.

dunstonh

You mention 80s. Was it before 29th April 1988 that the policy was taken out?