Endowment Mis-selling - Don't give up!

dunstonh

You complained, they upheld and paid what was due. At that point you should have made corrections/alterations going forward. You cannot complain again.

Spendless

Hi

My FIL has been approached by a company offering to look into if he was mis-sold his endowment.

I am wary as i think he could do the same thing for free himself and i assume that this company will also take a cut of any compensation he receives.

Am i right to be concerned?

(new to this thread- so apologies if its been raised before)

dunstonh

Spendless wrote:

Hi

My FIL has been approached by a company offering to look into if he was mis-sold his endowment.

I am wary as i think he could do the same thing for free himself and i assume that this company will also take a cut of any compensation he receives.

Am i right to be concerned?

(new to this thread- so apologies if its been raised before)

Its raised every few days

There is a template letter you can get from the Which? website which you can do yourself for free.

There is no increase in payment if you use a third party company, they do not do any more work and it is just easy money for them. They are unregulated, unlicenced companies who are preying on the innocent. They are no different to those that sold the endowments in the first place. Indeed, some of these are ex endowment sellers.

Why give up 15-25% of any compensation when it can take a quick letter and 20 minutes of your time?

Dingdangdoforme

Hello, have just received the dreaded red letter from my endowment company indicating that there is likely to be a shortfall in my endowment (started in 1996), though have had previous letters (2 or 3 I think in the last couple of years) indicating the likelihood of a shortfall. after the first shortfall letter immediately took out a repayment mortgage but kept the endowment running, on advice from the new repayment mortgage lenders.

Now wondering if we have a case for being miss-sold the endowment in the first place (or have we left it too late) as when we went to see the financial advisor about taking out a mortgage, we specifically went to see him with the intention of taking out a repayment mortgage (thought it was the risk free option) but was asked why we ruled out endowments, pretty sure our answer was along the lines that they were not risk free (think cases may have been coming to light about shortfalls at the time - though may be mistaken on this) so he suggested a 'with profits endowment' apparently not as risky (though still not entirely sure what the difference is), still to this day can't understand how we came out of his office having taken out a with profits endowment.

So after viewing several websites we are now wondering if we may have a claim for being miss-sold the endowment, any advice would be greatfully appreciated, particularly what to do next if we do have a claim, as the more we read up on the subject the more confused we become.

Apologies for the length of the posting and if something similar has been posted - tried to read through the thread but head is starting to spin.

the_doctor_2

Update!

History....


Originally Posted by the doctor
Many thanks for replying to my post!

Does the FOS take "verbal" advice into account when conducting their work?

I have received my FPQ from the IFA and it does not record certain statements which I considered as his professional advice (he was being paid for this service!).

My problem is that when he verbally stated that the final figure would be achieved I disregarded the written "under and over performance figures!

Do I have a chance with this

The Doctor

scottishlizzie wrote:

Just because he showed you an illustration containing over and under performance figures, this is not necessarily enough for him to defend the complaint. He should be able to point to written confirmation in the fact find or in a separate letter which shows: that you were advised specifically that returns were not guaranteed and there was a possibility of a shortfall, that your attitude to risk was appropriate for a plan of this nature and that alternative repayment methods were discussed along with a note of why you went for an endowment. This may seem perverse/unfair on the IFA but it is the standards that insurance companies are expected to satisfy when they are defending complaints and the regulator (FSA) should treat complaints about IFAs in the same way.

I think I have said before on this thread or another that IFAs reject a proportionately higher number of complaints than insurance companies. There are a few reasons for this but the principal ones (assuming the complaint is justified in the first place) are that if the individual IFA gave the advice then he is more likely to be personally defensive about it plus any compensation will be coming out of his profits.

My advice would be to press ahead with the complaint to the IFA, exhaust his complaint process and if you genuinely feel you have a validd case then appeal to the Financial Ombudsman.

Good luck.

I have had a reply from the people dealing with my complaint. I requested the written confirmation (over a month ago!) they have responded stating that "the regulatory framework at the time of sale, did not require the adviser to provide a report on the recommendations made.

What does this mean :think:

They have attached a letter from the time of the sale (from the IFA) which does not state that returns were not guaranteed and there was a possibility of a shortfall, that my attitude to risk was appropriate for a plan of this nature and that alternative repayment methods were discussed along with a note of why I went for an endowment. It has an illustration attached but this is from NU and not the IFA.

I don't believe that they are going to be able to provide the letter requested, are they just trying it on with the statement above? I note that once again the dispute resolution officer dealing with my case has changed!

Any ideas would be gratefully received just as the previous replies to which I am indebted to you

The Doctor

bill_3-2

Had a letter from Insurance company today telling me it was nothing to do with them as the Building Society was the selling agent. I told them this info as they were taking ages to reply. They said they would be informing the Building Society. So I'm waiting for their reply now. As I knew this all along I have not come very far in the last 2 months. Neither of them have replied or complied with my request for a copy of my file. Would welcome any advice.
bill

defender_of_the_weak

Sounds like the usual stuffing of a letter to try and dissuade you. Look back at scotslizzies posting for some good pointers on your complaint.I think your next step would be to take the case to the Ombudsman.

In terms of oral evidence it is acceptable (this was laid down in a letter from John Tiner the head of the FSA to the life companies) but will not be viewed in isolation. Before you file with the Ombudsman do some further research into the advice you received, what was your attitude to risk, did you hold any other similar products, were you married, what fund were you in. It is usually not enough just to say this was wrong or that was not explained you need to make a case. Hope that helps.

Bill- Send your complaint direct to the building society these letters between life companies and building societies often get lost in transit

vanessaw

Has anyone who has claimed/received compensation for mis sale of endowment policies used any of these firms that advertise? eg. claim2gain, bruno franklin etc.. I've been approached by a couple, one over email and one by telephone and am unsure whether to proceed. Any advice would be welcome as I feel I have a case .... many thanks

gobananas5

If you believe you have a case why not do it yourself there is loads of info on sites such as which that can help. If you want to use an 'ambulance chaser' as everyone else calls them, I would recommend libran compensation in lincolnshire. The company is run by a friend of mine who I have referred a number of people to. No I don't get any money for the referral. If you are being 'approached' to make a claim does that not infer that these companies are trying to generate claims rather than deal with people who have been mis-sold.

bill_3-2

Defender,
Thanks for the reply. I started with the Building Society and they said they were waiting for th Insurance company so thats why I contacted them. I knew from day one the BS were the selling agent. Sounds like they are just giving me the run around.
Bill