How do I claim back a mis-sold SIP

Susan_S

I worked for a local authority paying superannuation. I was persuaded by a financial adviser to move my pension to a private provider, which I stupidly did. The company I moved to then went out of business with the meagre pot they offered being transferred to another pension provider. I now have very little in my pot rather than what I could have had if I had not moved it in the first place. Can I re-claim and if so how?

dunstonh

I was persuaded by a financial adviser to move my pension to a private provider, which I stupidly did.

Why was that stupid? This forum is dominated by people wanting to do what you call stupid.

Can I re-claim and if so how?

We need more detail. There is nothing wrong with transferring when it is suitable. There is when it is not. Give us more info on what went wrong. Then we can be more helpful.

whitem

I keep hearing ad's about reclaiming for Sip's how do we know if it was the right thing or not?

dunstonh

whitem wrote: »

I keep hearing ad's about reclaiming for Sip's how do we know if it was the right thing or not?

Those adds have been widely condemned.

SIPPs are actually becoming the main pension product taken out today. Virtually all investment platforms in the UK only have SIPPs available. Standard Life, one of the largest and well known brands in pensions in the UK is stopping providing personal pensions and stakeholder pensions for new business and will only offer SIPPs. Aviva's main pension product is a SIPP. Aegon, the UK's largest platform, offers a SIPP. The largest DIY provider uses a SIPP.

So, adds saying you may have been missold if you had a SIPP are a bit like an advert saying you may have been missold if you had car insurance.

SIPPs do have a particular issue when used by unregulated cold calling scammers. The freedom to invest where you like with SIPPs has allowed some people acting on cold calls using [usually] unregulated companies to invest in completely foolish things like biofuels, rain forests, car parks, storage pods and cape verde property.

The majority of people investing in SIPPs use shares, investment trusts, unit trusts/OEiCS.

So, its a bit like saying you can claim if you bought a kitchen knife because the knife crime in London has gone up.

So, the key thing is: did you invest in sensible regulated investments or did you get scammed into going into stupid unregulated and unconventional assets by someone that typically slagged off all the conventional regulated options.

Dox

Susan_S wrote: »

I worked for a local authority paying superannuation. I was persuaded by a financial adviser to move my pension to a private provider, which I stupidly did. The company I moved to then went out of business with the meagre pot they offered being transferred to another pension provider. I now have very little in my pot rather than what I could have had if I had not moved it in the first place. Can I re-claim and if so how?

Depends what you were told by the adviser. As someone else has said, more detail needed.

bostonerimus

Caveat Emptor

zagfles

Who was the provider, and what were the investments in? Was this following a cold call?

Susan_S

Thanks for the replies. I was persuaded by a financial adviser 30 years ago to swap my local authority superannuated pension which was index linked into a private pension that was not. I did not understand the implications and they were not explained to me. The provider was Abbey Life, they subsequently sold out to another company and they sold out to another company. Am currently with Standard Life. I have been able to get a few 'extra' pounds via another financial adviser's help in the pot by complaining but my pension payout is still going to be very dire compared to what it would have been had I not moved it in the first place. Any ideas if I have a case for someone to answer?

AnotherJoe

Impossible to say without exact details of what happened 30 years ago, what your contributions have been since (how for example do they compare to what you'd have paid if in the LA scheme) and what the "few extra pounds" you got covered, that may have been in final settlement for example.

dunstonh

I was persuaded by a financial adviser 30 years ago to swap my local authority superannuated pension which was index linked into a private pension that was not.

Everyone sold a personal pension between dates in 1988 and 1994 was put under a pension review in the 90s. You were sent a questionnaire asking questions about the sale and the advice. These were chased multiple times and non-responders contacted to get them to be completed. If a review was carried out then you cant complain again. Did you answer the questionnaires and follow up phone calls and letters?

The provider was Abbey Life, they subsequently sold out to another company and they sold out to another company. Am currently with Standard Life.

Abbey Life remained Abbey Life until 2016 when they sold to Phoenix. There haven't been multiple sales.

I have been able to get a few 'extra' pounds via another financial adviser's help in the pot by complaining but my pension payout is still going to be very dire compared to what it would have been had I not moved it in the first place.

If you complained and got a response on that then your complaint is over. You cant keep complaining on the same thing. If you dont agree with the outcome from the complaint, you get 6 months to go to the FOS. Once the 6 months is up, you are barred from raising that complaint again (unless the firm volunteers to waive that)

Silvertabby

As Dunstonh's reply, above.

In the case of the LGPS mis-selling reviews, once proven, those who were still working in Local Government were given the option of being re-instated in the LGPS with the 'guilty' (for want of a better word) private pension companies shovelling enough money into the LGPS pot to buy back the pensionable service transferred out.

It was a little more difficult for those who were no longer eligible for LGPS membership. Instead, these people had a sum of money (the 'few extra pounds' you mentioned?) put into their current pension funds, the idea being that the increased funds would help buy an annuity comparable to the LGPS pension they had 'lost'.

The bulk of these cases were dealt with over 20 years ago, since when the expected annuity returns have dropped considerably. Is this what you are complaining about now? If so, then I'm afraid you can't go back for a second bite of the cherry.