Mis Sold Pension?

ajd7569

Hi! Has anyone had a serps review carried out to see if your policy was missold to you. I've seen a lot of advertising for this company on facebook etc and wondered if it was genuine or a scam.This is the name of the company.
Serpsreviews and MK Financial Planning Ltd .

They also have a video on youtube
Is it genuine or a money making scam?:question:

dunstonh

ajd7569 wrote: »

Hi! Has anyone had a serps review carried out to see if your policy was missold to you. I've seen a lot of advertising for this company on facebook etc and wondered if it was genuine or a scam.This is the name of the company.
Serpsreviews and MK Financial Planning Ltd .

They also have a video on youtube
Is it genuine or a money making scam?:question:

Not a scam but it's a Spratt to catch a mackerel.

The regulator did a review of contracting out and found a potential failure rate of just 1% (that wasnt actual failure rate - just potential as information could turn some of those into suitable).

They did create a guide at the time with a flowchart:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100202114201/http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/pdfs/s2p_wrongly_advised_ink.pdf

Basically, if you were under 45 for men (40 for women) at the time of contracting out and earning over £10k a year, then it was suitable to contract out.

Since then, the move to the single state pension has made most people who contracted out big winners (some are getting as much as the whole state pension AND keeping their contracted out benefits - you can include me in that). Also, the increased flexibility on how you spend your money (which you dont get with contracted in benefits).

To give you an idea of the level of complaints and the uphold rates, you just need to look at the FOS stats. Just 1% of pension and investment complaints were about SERPS in 2015/16 and 2016/17. In numbers, that is 281 and 112. It is one of the lowest complained about things. And that is about anything to do with SERPS (not just the sale). The uphold rate on those complaints was 6%

Here is a typical complaint response from the FOS:
http://www.ombudsman-decisions.org.uk/viewPDF.aspx?FileID=89120

The firm is known to put in speculative complaints and then transfer the pension taking a commission/fee at the same time. Often doing the same things as they accused the original seller of doing as being wrong. I have copies of an actual case where that is exactly the case. The complaint letter is signed by the same person on the claims company side as it was on the transferring pension side. The complaint letter said "she is a very cautious person. everything she has ever done financially has been zero risk". Yet the plan they set up on the transfer has 15% in global equity. 15% in pacific equity, 15% in UK equity and others. So, they were saying one thing in the complaint which was clearly not true and doing exactly the same thing in the new plan they set up.
They also took an initial charge of 5% on the transfer value. This is why it is a Spratt to catch a mackerel.

zagfles

lisajaynec wrote: »

Hi no He has no recollection of signing the paper but it is his signature.
Yes we know where its been transferred to but an army pension is for life and the transfer will only pay 189.00 for 15 years.

My husband was absolutely distraught when he discovered that he has no pension and obviously we had the quote from when he was 55 that never said he had opted out.

I don't know who to complain to. The bank where it was transferred or the army. This was signed over in 1992

His ex wife got the house so no pension shared

Has anyone got a template of a letter that i have to send in to see if it had a review completed please. Thank you for taking time to read and reply its very much appreciated

Worth having a chat with TPAS https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk

There was a lot of mis-selling in those days, perhaps the bank's "advisers" suggested they could "improve" the pension by transferring into some rubbish "with-profits" scheme.

Silvertabby

As above.

Don't complain to AFPS (Army pensions) - they only acted in accordance with your husband's instructions.

Any complaint should be directed to the Compliance Officer of your husband's current pension company - but I fear that he may be out of time to register his case.

lisajaynec

Thanks everyone. I had sent a letter to army pensions but them amended it and sent it to the receiving company. I will await their replies but appreciate he may have missed the opportunity to complain.

atush

What is his current employment pensions savings? Yours?

Not too late to better things as they stand.