Endowment Mis-selling - Don't give up!

GerW

Saw a message posted saying go to endowment advice to get pre 1988 advice and look for someone who posted called "dave Boy..."
Unfortunately can't find the posting gagain . Can anyone help to direct me to Pre 1988 advice

GerW

Kerr_3

Hello. Im about to wade through the many endowment post but maybe I could get some help before I start.

As a first time buyer in 1995 my girlfriend took out an endowment. She received a "red letter" in November 2000 saying she would not reach the expected amount. The letter came with 5 pieces of advice with the main one saying Wait. She waited for a promised second letter which has not appeared yet. Ive read that you only have 3 years after the first letter but 6 months after a second letter?. Is my understanding correct? Should she have received a second letter by now? Can she still complain. Cheers for any help as I spend a few hours reading whatever I can find.

zantos

Just got my letter from the Financial Obmudsman Service. Very pretty English but totally biased decisions.
1) As I had a repayment mortgage before buying a new house I should have been aware of the risks of taking out an endowment WHAT ABOUT THE ADVICE GIVEN?
2) Because I had a PEP in existence I must have been prepared to take risks even though my IFA didn't investigate this or put it on his form as being discussed. On this form I was a sex maniac because I had a child, I was a workaholic because I was employed. I like many others put a small amount in a PEP each month as a speculative savings vehicle. Think of the assumptions that could have been made if I played the football pools or indulged in any form of gambling.
3) Although the policy matures after my 65th birthday that's my fault as I new it at the time - nothing to do with the IFA who obviously knew it as well.
Why didn't I take out a repayment mortgage - because I couldn't afford one, where was the financial advice, obviously endowment - more commission not wait until you can!
Seems that any advice you are given is not examined at all - hence the comment "you could have saught advice" so what is the use of an IFA, must be a breach of trade descriptions if they can't be expected to give honest advice.

dunstonh

1) As I had a repayment mortgage before buying a new house I should have been aware of the risks of taking out an endowment WHAT ABOUT THE ADVICE GIVEN?

I'm not sure what they are getting at there.

my IFA didn't investigate this or put it on his form as being discussed.

Doesnt need to be recorded on a focused review. On a savings/investment review it should be there, if disclosed but there is no real reason to have it recorded on a mortgage review (at least not back then). When this is highlighted, its normally because you say you wouldnt invest in the stockmarket. Obviously, a PEP counters that and shows that not to be correct.

3) Although the policy matures after my 65th birthday that's my fault as I new it at the time - nothing to do with the IFA who obviously knew it as well.

This is a tricky one for all involved. You, the advisor and the ombudsman. The mortgage term is normally chosen on affordability. Going past retirement age doesnt affect the decission to go endowment or repayment. If your complaint was about that, then age is a side issue. Indeed, the advisor may have documented that it was going past retirement age but this was the only way to afford the mortgage and was acceptable to you. You havent said what age information and affordability past retirement information was recorded on the files. So its hard to give any comment.

Why didn't I take out a repayment mortgage - because I couldn't afford one, where was the financial advice, obviously endowment - more commission not wait until you can!

OK. So, lets say the advisor says you cannot afford the repayment mortgage (which, in periods of higher interest rates would have cost more). Your options were to go with the endowment mortgage or not proceed with the purchase. Would you really not proceed with the mortgage if the advisor had set you shouldnt?

Generally, the FOS tend to be quite fair. They will look for inconsistencies on both sides of the complaint. This is where you get the three truths comment. Your truth, the advisors truth and then what really happened. If you say something in your complaint which can be shown to be incorrect, then that will look less favourable for you. The same applies to the advisor if they say something in their defence which can be proven otherwise.

It sounds like, from your post, endowment and repayment was discussed and documented and endowment was chosen as it was the cheaper monthly option. The advisors job was to present options and costs in repaying that mortgage. Not to tell you that you shouldnt proceed. You know what your budget was/is better than he/she does. On the choice of repayment methods, you chose endowment. There does have to be some personal accountability on these things as well. Its easy just to blame the other party.

You may not like the decision and your venting makes that clear. However, no-one here can change that. We dont know enough about your case, the documentation or the reason for your complaint. Only thing we can do is comment on possible reasons why and look on the bright side. The property value would have sky rocketed in that time and had you not proceeded, you would have missed out on that. So its not all bad

defender_of_the_weak

Hi

Is not true about changing the decision unless it has been given by an Ombudsman. f it was from an adjudicator then it can be challenged and you can ask for a full Ombudman ruling. FOS won't ike me for posting this as they are already stretched but if you genuinely believe the decision is wrong then ask for the further review. Also give some further thought to the circumstances of the sale etc.

Referral to an Ombudsman can take up to a year or more but if you are still unhappy then the choice is yours. Remember that not all the people who work for FOS are particularly skilled or knowledgeable in any large organisation this is inevitable, but adjdicators decisions can be challenged and overturned, we challenge them regularly and win far more than we lose

mickandsue

yes, but I want to know if the company advertising on TV is any good? They want 205+VAT for a successful claim

Freddie_Snowbits

Question. Would you trust your money to some guy who sits in an gin palace all day?

mickandsue

I meant 20% +VAT

dunstonh

If you have a standard life endowment, you could use an IFA to deal with the complaint. Standard Life will pay upto £300 towards an IFA. Therefore you get the complaint put in and its cost you nothing. They will only pay IFAs though and not tied agents or non-authorised people.

defender_of_the_weak

As always, a few observations.

Dunston the £350 from Standard Life is for advice on the future direction of the mortgage, not the filing of a complaint. There are separate issues and IFAs should not be billing Standard Life for non existent advice when in fact it is merely an opportunity to charge £350 for an unrelated topic.

No, not everyone charges 20% plus VAT or sits in a gin palace. The which guideline on these cases is that you should not pay more than a total of 15% including VAT for a company that offers to handle your complaint on a no win no fee basis.