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Endowment Mis-selling - Don't give up!

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  • bill_3-2
    bill_3-2 Posts: 20 Forumite
    Dunstonh,
    Whats "Churning"
    Ta,
    bill
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 119,697 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Churning is when one policy is surrendered to allow commencement of another. Typical examples historically would be taking out a £5pm savings plan. a few years later wanting to do another £5pm one only to find the min premium was £10. So, the rep would surrender the old one and start a new one for £10. The early surrender penalties, if disclosed correctly would have put anyone off doing that.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • gobananas5
    gobananas5 Posts: 11 Forumite
    Pearl compliance was awful, and in the words of a guy who used to work there 'morally bankrupt'. I am new to this site but have read some of the postings with interest and would like to chip in my 2p.

    Approximately 70% of all claims are upheld first time without any input from a claims company so think very carefully as to whether or not you actually need to use them, but there seems to be little consisitency in how complaints are upheld or rejected so you almost never know if you are going to be in the 30% section.

    Many of these claims companies are targetting their previous client bank from the days when they were an adviser because they know that you hold a policy. This is particularly true of old direct salesforces where the adviser has left the industry. They know they can complain against their old company and don't get touched because the responsibility is with the company not the adviser.

    The comment about targets is rubbish the matter is to do with the advisers ethics, you did not have to mislead people to hit targets.

    If you want to use a company there is one I can refer people to but not sure if that is allowed on this site? They only charge 10% plus VAT, no win no fee
  • Sofa_Sogood
    Sofa_Sogood Posts: 5,258 Forumite
    Hi

    Just received our yearly statement from Standard Life, and it seems we're on a "Red Alert" - High risk of a shortfall, and some information on how to complain (although SL do go on to stress they weren't responsible for the original sale). It's a bit early in the day to remember who the intermediary that sold us it is. I'll get my brain into gear soon.

    Has anyone else received anything like it?
  • Ozone
    Ozone Posts: 24 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    :rotfl: I agree about persistance-it does pay off. We went to the FSA, having been told we didnt have a case. As soon as the ombudsman got involved, (which took months due to their workload), we received an apology and an offer of compensation! We did it ourselves - it was fairly straightforward- we simply asked the FSA if we were unsure-thats what they are there for!
    Once the other party admits liability, they will ask you how you want them to calculate your position. (ie the loss you may have occured up to the time that the calculation is carried out). It doesnt matter which method you choose, the Ombudsman told me that you can go back and ask them to calculate on the basis of the other method anyway! Whichever way you choose, once they have replied, you can request a copy of the "mortgage Fundamentals" from them. This is the actual calculations and figures they used rather than just headline figures such as "you spent £x's" and "your endowment cost you £x's". You can then better evaluate their offer or, get an expert to do it. If your not sure - ask them and always check their reply with the FSA or the ombudsman. Good luck to everyone pursuing these types of claims.
  • Ozone
    Ozone Posts: 24 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    :rotfl:
    Hi

    Just received our yearly statement from Standard Life, and it seems we're on a "Red Alert" - High risk of a shortfall, and some information on how to complain (although SL do go on to stress they weren't responsible for the original sale). It's a bit early in the day to remember who the intermediary that sold us it is. I'll get my brain into gear soon.

    Has anyone else received anything like it?

    Yes, we did!
    we had years of SL statements saying everything was ok....then suddenly, it may not pay up to a third of the original projected maturity value!!
    We complained to the FSA on two counts:
    1. we alledged that we had been mis-sold our endowment by our financial advisors-the Halifax. this was eventually upheld, once the ombudsman became involved, and we are now negotiating a settlement figure. (Dont trust a word they say - check everything).
    2. we alledged that SL had not advised us properly and not quickly enough. How could things be ok one year and so bad the next? Could they not see this coming and could we not have paid more in or taken other measures sooner in order to reduce the effect. It would certainly cost more to achieve this now than if we had started say 3-4 years ago. We currently await the outcome of this complaint which is now with the Ombudsman.
    Anyone wishing to make a complaint should certainly carefully read the guidance from the FSA first as this may mean the difference between success and failure. One last thing - SL should have records of the intermediary - I dont belive them - they intermediary probably received payment from SL so they should have recprds somewhere. Good Luck and be patient and persistant
  • Sofa_Sogood
    Sofa_Sogood Posts: 5,258 Forumite
    Thanks for the reply Ozone :)

    I'm still bewildered by it all to be honest. I can't remember how things went (although I know I've posted about them somewhere) but I still insist that whoever gave us the advice about endowments did paint a rosy picture - like there'd be a bit of a bonus at the end of it all - i.e. a holiday, a nice little bonus type thing. Now we're due to have a shortfall of, at the least £400, and at the most, nearly £4,000.

    My powers of memory recall are acting up :) but it'll all come back to me eventually - it always does ;)

    I can't help wondering why Standard Life enclosed leaflets on how to claim, albeit they're not the ones that sold it. Some intermediary did, the name of who escapes me at the moment. (I'll probably remember it as soon as I've posted this lol).

    They've got the accountant I use wrong too. Can't say I'm happy or unhappy with Standard Life at the moment, but seems like someone's covering their backs all of a sudden.

    It's confusing (for me), because there's another endowment, so maybe another shortfall? So I'm leaving it to the financial advisor that I'm still waiting to be allocated :confused:

    But I'll follow your advice and see what the FSA have to say. After all, Standard Life are encouraging us to get in touch with them for some reason.

    Well done on your outcome by the way :D I doubt we'll sit back and take this on the chin as we might have done before finding this site.

    Thanks again!
  • Ozone
    Ozone Posts: 24 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thanks for the reply Ozone :)

    I'm still bewildered by it all to be honest. I can't remember how things went (although I know I've posted about them somewhere) but I still insist that whoever gave us the advice about endowments did paint a rosy picture - like there'd be a bit of a bonus at the end of it all - i.e. a holiday, a nice little bonus type thing. Now we're due to have a shortfall of, at the least £400, and at the most, nearly £4,000.

    My powers of memory recall are acting up :) but it'll all come back to me eventually - it always does ;)

    I can't help wondering why Standard Life enclosed leaflets on how to claim, albeit they're not the ones that sold it. Some intermediary did, the name of who escapes me at the moment. (I'll probably remember it as soon as I've posted this lol).

    They've got the accountant I use wrong too. Can't say I'm happy or unhappy with Standard Life at the moment, but seems like someone's covering their backs all of a sudden.

    It's confusing (for me), because there's another endowment, so maybe another shortfall? So I'm leaving it to the financial advisor that I'm still waiting to be allocated :confused:

    But I'll follow your advice and see what the FSA have to say. After all, Standard Life are encouraging us to get in touch with them for some reason.

    Well done on your outcome by the way :D I doubt we'll sit back and take this on the chin as we might have done before finding this site.

    Thanks again!

    Good luck! If it makes you feel any better we are likely to be up to £15,000 short and I have a freind with a projected shortfall that makes even mine pale into insignificance!!!
  • Sofa_Sogood
    Sofa_Sogood Posts: 5,258 Forumite
    £15,000 and even more? :(

    Something's definitely out of order and it's not just my memory. And I misread your post - I thought you'd complained and won.

    Good luck - that's a hell of a lot of shortfall in my opinion.
  • Moncs_2
    Moncs_2 Posts: 183 Forumite
    I'm currently around £15k short with my endowment which still has 18 years to run.

    Mines is with Royal & Sun Alliance, who projected the rate of around 7.5%, its currently at 4.5% :mad: :mad:

    Im not to clued up on endowments, could over the next 18yrs that 4.5% rise to the projected 7.5% or will it stay around the same.

    I complained about this a few years back and was given £2k compensation, so I dont know if I can do anything else
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