Mis sold pension claim closed by FSCS

FGregs

Hi

I wonder if you could help please?

From 1983 to 1991 I worked for the NHS until our department was sold to the private sector. The NHS procured a financial advisor for all the affected staff and we were all told that our best option was to move our NHS pension into the new employers scheme and then move it back out, in the same period, to a scheme managed by the company the advisor worked for. Naively most of us followed this advice. We then continued to pay into the defined benefits scheme of the new employer as a new scheme.

I was contacted by an ex colleague in 2015 to tell me that he had successfully claimed compensation from FSCS as the advice we were given meant we had lost a substantial amount of pension and that the advisor that provided the advice had been declared in default. I was encouraged to claim by my colleague and on contacting numerous other colleagues, I discovered that most people I worked with had been compensated. In fact, I cannot find anyone who hasn't. I told my colleagues that as I moved house just after this event I did not have any paperwork relating to the scheme change, however, I was told that neither had most of them and they were still paid. All of them received the same amount of compensation.

I was the last to write to FSCS at the end of 2015 and I managed to get some of the documents from the company currently administering the scheme, which provided a transfer value, date and the company that gave the advice. The FSCS has written to various providers trying to track down documentation relating to the transfer but has been unsuccessful. They have therefore notified me that my claim has been closed but that if I provide the following they will reopen :

A copy if the deferred benefit statement at date of leaving
A copy of the scheme booklet applicable for the date of leaving of this scheme member
A copy of the current scheme booklet
Supplemental scheme information such as history of discretionary increases awarded in the last 5 years for both in deferment and in payment pensions and the scheme equalisation date
Confirmation of the date and amount of transfer value paid to the non DB scheme
Confirmation of any AVCs

I have contacted them to ask why colleagues were compensated without this information and explained that I appear to be the only one who's case has been rejected and they have told me each case is dealt with separately however that I can write to complain and ask them to look at my case again. I have the claim numbers of 5 ex colleagues, 3 of whom definitely had no paperwork and one of whom went through the same process as me but was successful.

The amount involved is not insubstantial and I don't want to get anything wrong when I complain.
does anyone have guidance on how to proceed please? Is it possible to raise this with any other body, such as the ombudsman, if my claim is not reassessed? Should I discuss with a financial advisor?

I am really worried about complaining in the wrong way and losing what is rightfully mine and should be invested for my retirement.

Thanks in advance.

dunstonh

Each case is look at on its own merits. Info from one case cannot be transferred to another case. Over time, documentation is destroyed. So, earlier cases could have had access to documentation that no longer exists. Yours is very late to be complaining about a early 90s transfer. It is over 25 years ago.

Confirmation of the date and amount of transfer value paid to the non DB scheme
Confirmation of any AVCs

These two things should be easily confirmed. The receiving scheme would know the data and amount of the transfer. That info is not deleted unless you happened to have transferred the pension again. You should know if you had any AVCs.

The FSCS has written to various providers trying to track down documentation relating to the transfer but has been unsuccessful.

Why various providers? The pension left the NHS scheme and went to another provider. There should only be one provider they are contacting. This is unless you have transferred again since. If that is the case, then that would likely cause the problems as closed accounts destroy data quicker than open accounts.

FGregs

Thank you for your response. My claim is late as was the claim of 6 of my colleagues who were subsequently successful in being compensated. The last one was compensated just before my claim was filed.
I know I had no AVCs. I also have a copy of the scheme booklet. All that is missing is the deferred benefit statement and the supplementary increases to the scheme.
I have the transfer values etc from the current provider (there have been two) but I have used the wrong terminology I think. I think there is a provider and an administrator. I kniw that Capita is the current administrator and they have been really helpful. It's the one before them that are not responding.

I do understand that each case is treated in isolation however I am at a loss as to how my case is the only one closed without compensation as we have identical cases apart from the transfer values. And my ex colleagues have told me they had the same issues and hit a brick wall but FSCS paid them anyway.

I think I will approach an independent advisor to help me to compose an email to FSCS but thank you for your advice. It has been helpful.