"Opt of of Serps" - Is it still active?

specialiity

Sorry to butt in but I have posted this query elsewhere too, as this is my first time on here I just want to get it right.

Hi, I was given advice by an IFA recently to switch my pension from one provider to another. I don't recall the adviser telling me there was a fee during the meeting, but it was confirmed by email after. I hadn't completed an application form but when I received the email, I stopped the transaction immediately.

I now wish to make a complaint about the advice. Is this possible as I never proceeded with the advice. It appears that with the cost deducted the new pension with LV is still a cheaper option, but I don't want to pay the fee. I have checked with LV and they won't accept my transfer unless it is through an IFA. Can I take this to the Ombudsman too?

Thanks

xylophone

I now wish to make a complaint about the advice. Is this possible as I never proceeded with the advice.

If the advice was to change to LV and this would be a better option for you then there was nothing wrong with the advice?

Do you mean that you want to complain about the fact that the IFA did not tell you that a fee was payable?

Did you really expect a professional to work for nothing?

I have checked with LV and they won't accept my transfer unless it is through an IFA. Can I take this to the Ombudsman too?

If LV's terms of business require a pension transfer to go through an intermediary then you don't have a valid complaint?

You can explore pension transfer options with providers who do not require you to use an intermediary?

gadgetmind

xylophone wrote: »

Did you really expect a professional to work for nothing?

We haven't yet heard how far abstracted from nothing this fee was. That it caused "sticker shock" once revealed, I'm guessing at significant.

TBH I don't know why fees didn't come up at initial interview, and leaving until advice given and paperwork in flight seems very unusual.

Do you wait until your car is up on a hoist before asking how much the new exhaust is going to cost?

jem16

gadgetmind wrote: »

TBH I don't know why fees didn't come up at initial interview, and leaving until advice given and paperwork in flight seems very unusual.

So unusual it also seems very unlikely to be honest. Initial meetings are always free but an IFA must set out their fee structure before proceeding.

As no application form had been submitted it probably didn't get any further than that.

Daniel54

specialiity wrote: »

I now wish to make a complaint about the advice. Is this possible as I never proceeded with the advice. It appears that with the cost deducted the new pension with LV is still a cheaper option, but I don't want to pay the fee. I have checked with LV and they won't accept my transfer unless it is through an IFA. Can I take this to the Ombudsman too?

You have not received any paid- for advice


You have not been able to proceed without advice


You don't want to pay for the advice ,but you have not proceeded anyway


You have suffered no monetary loss


You have no valid complaint against the IFA or the Ombudsman


What do you want to do next ?

specialiity

Sorry I didn't mean take LV to the Ombudsman I meant the IFA as they feel there was no misselling because there was no transaction. But I don't think that's good enough..

I don't think he told me the charge at the first meeting. I initially agreed to the transfer and the process that followed was this -

1. An email within a day or so that confirmed the fees. Illustrations, terms etc.
2. Then an application form at a later date.

Once I saw there was a fee as I thought the transfer was a free process, I replied to the email to cancel. I then never received the application.

The adviser said the fee was mentioned and one of the reasons for following up the conversation with the fee by email was to double confirm that I knew about the fee and that I needed to sign to accept the fee.

As I said, I don't remember the adviser saying there was a fee.

I want to complain about misselling because no fee was mentioned even though they confirmed it by email before I received the application.

jem16

specialiity wrote: »

Sorry I didn't mean take LV to the Ombudsman I meant the IFA as they feel there was no misselling because there was no transaction. But I don't think that's good enough..

I don't think he told me the charge at the first meeting. I initially agreed to the transfer and the process that followed was this -

1. An email within a day or so that confirmed the fees. Illustrations, terms etc.
2. Then an application form at a later date.

All as I would expect from the IFA - there is nothing wrong with this.

Once I saw there was a fee as I thought the transfer was a free process, I replied to the email to cancel. I then never received the application.

The adviser said the fee was mentioned and one of the reasons for following up the conversation with the fee by email was to double confirm that I knew about the fee and that I needed to sign to accept the fee.

As I said, I don't remember the adviser saying there was a fee.

Perhaps you just missed it or have later forgotten. The point is that you got the fee structure before being asked to continue.

I want to complain about misselling because no fee was mentioned even though they confirmed it by email before I received the application.

You have nothing to complain about. The fee structure has been clearly set out and you chose not to continue so nothing has been sold and you have suffered no loss.

dunstonh

Sorry I didn't mean take LV to the Ombudsman I meant the IFA as they feel there was no misselling because there was no transaction. But I don't think that's good enough..

You didnt complete the advice process. So, you would not have received the bulk of the documentation. You were not sold anything. So, you cannot complain mis-sale.

I suspect that if you went to the ombudsman, they would treat your complaint as frivolous as it is totally daft.

I don't think he told me the charge at the first meeting. I initially agreed to the transfer and the process that followed was this -

1. An email within a day or so that confirmed the fees. Illustrations, terms etc.
2. Then an application form at a later date.

So you were told the fee in the email before you were issued the application form. The audit trail seems compliant.

Once I saw there was a fee as I thought the transfer was a free process, I replied to the email to cancel. I then never received the application.

You thought it was free? How on earth do you think the adviser was getting paid then?

I want to complain about misselling because no fee was mentioned even though they confirmed it by email before I received the application.

Adviser can prove that they notified you of the fee at an earlier date to one where they issued the application. You cant prove any different.

However, it is all totally irrelevant as until you have signed the fee agreement, you have not employed the adviser to provide advice. Up to that point it is all general discussion. You are not any worse off (other than the recommendation itself saving you money but you seem to be happy to pay more),

bowlhead99

specialiity wrote: »

Sorry I didn't mean take LV to the Ombudsman I meant the IFA as they feel there was no misselling because there was no transaction. But I don't think that's good enough..

People who claimed money back for PPI mis-selling did so because they bought a financial product that they didn't want, didn't understand, didn't need or couldn't use and the wool had been allegedly pulled over their eyes to get them to buy the product and make money for the seller while leaving the buyer worse off.

BUT - if those people had never gone ahead and paid to buy any PPI, they couldn't possibly have been mis-SOLD the product because nobody successfully SOLD them anything - there was no SALE and they did not BUY. So they couldn't possibly need or get any restitution or compensation because there was no sale, no transaction.

So look at your case. You went to an advisor for advice. You had a meeting during which you thought he would advise you for free out of the goodness of his heart. But he thought you would pay him for the advice. When he followed up to confirm the fees before putting his name to the advice, you didn't want to proceed. So, you didn't sign an agreement to pay for advice, and he did not provide his written advice and you did not go ahead with the pension transfer.

So nothing has been mis-SOLD because there was no SALE and you didn't BUY anything.

If you want to complain about a financial product offered by a regulated professional the first step before running to an ombudsman (an official who investigates complaints against companies) is to go through their internal complaints process and see if they can resolve the complaint to your satisfaction.

When complaining to the advisor you can tell them how much you paid to buy products from them and why those products weren't suitable for your needs. The amount is zero and the product bought is nothing. The amount of cash that they could pay you to put you back in the financial position you were in before 'buying' the product is zero, because you haven't spent anything or suffered any loss and there has been no buying of products. So, they would say "I'm sorry you didn't understand the service I was going to provide, we did not go through with the service, you have paid nothing for the service, so let's just both walk away".

At that point, it is resolved. You don't need to waste the time of some other body like a financial ombudsman to investigate whether your complaint was handled correctly because there's no problem. It is certainly not mis-SELLING because there was no selling or buying. The ombudsman is funded by financial services businesses across the industry. You and I and everyone else on the forum pays for the ombudsman's running costs out of the financial products and services we buy. I and the tens of millions of other customers do not want that service to be inundated with frivolous or vexatious complaints.

I want to complain about misselling because no fee was mentioned even though they confirmed it by email before I received the application.

So basically you want to complain, not about any real costs you have suffered (because you haven't paid for anything) but about about the time you spent in the meeting thinking the whole service was free, when it turned out not to be free so you wasted your time having the meeting.

He says he mentioned it was not free and you say he didn't, one word against the other. When you're having meetings with professional experts for free, and you don't pay for actual advice, basically they are general chats - if nothing really comes from them, you can't really expect any redress. Certainly not involve a financial regulator.

If you would like something to come from the meeting (i.e. his advice in connection with the transaction which would enable you to move your pension that would save you money even after the cost of advice) then email him back and complete the process. Alternatively find a different advisor to sign off on the advice that you need to be able have LV take you on as a client. Perhaps another advisor would do it for a lower cost.

Or try to find a different provider, someone other than LV, who doesn't require the transfer to have been an advised one, and then you don't need an advisor (but if you do something without advice then the risk is on your own head).

But don't complain to an industry regulator about a transaction that never happened because you didn't like what it would cost and chose not to proceed.

Mattygroves2

gadgetmind wrote: »

We haven't yet heard how far abstracted from nothing this fee was. That it caused "sticker shock" once revealed, I'm guessing at significant.

TBH I don't know why fees didn't come up at initial interview, and leaving until advice given and paperwork in flight seems very unusual.

Do you wait until your car is up on a hoist before asking how much the new exhaust is going to cost?

Actually yes I would wait until it was on the hoist as until then it isn't clear what exactly the problem is - a full exhaust or only part of it. I wouldn't expect to be charged for the inspection but then make a choice based on cost amongst other things.