Dodgy investment by my stepfather, can I claim for him

Reaper

happyhero wrote: »

Obviously I can write and ask them just that, but if I am going to get them to cooperate why shall I say I want that information?

Will it not help to give them reason, (made up maybe), to get them to try and help me solve a problem?

Personally I wouldn't start making up stories. I would just say you are concerned about certain trades he made and would like more information to understand what happened. Then ask your questions.

Don't mention the word "complaint". You are just trying to understand the circumstances. It sounds like they are a professional company so they should cooperate.

Flobberchops

happyhero wrote: »

Difficult to explain this clearly but we are quite aware (must be a better word for this) in our family and would not easily have missed his mental state failing. My stepfather was someone everyone went to for advice, whether it be school work, advanced maths, political things, or investing. He seemed very clever on everything and it was from about 2011 that things seemed to start to go wrong for him so I would say most of the period we are talking about (2003 to 2011) he was very good still. I have no idea how I could prove that in a claim but I really believe he was very good still obviously and especially as we go back towards 2003, so buying these stocks still strikes me as very odd.

Not wanting to be mean-spirited, but it sounds like the gentleman was very successful in cultivating a reputation for financial shrewdness and level-headedness, when perhaps it might be closer to the truth to suggest that he kept his high-risk ventures very discreet and didn't advertise any losses or failed bets? Many conventionally wise people have a "Do as I say, not as I do" brand of wisdom.

If as you say there was no sign of dementia before 2011, it would make it difficult to argue that he was being regularly hoodwinked and bamboozled into investments he didn't understand as long ago as 2003. So, one alternative explanation is that he knew exactly what he was doing - perhaps knowingly taking the risk and offsetting losses against CGT, or perhaps as a kind of gambling addiction?

Malthusian

happyhero wrote: »

Obviously I can write and ask them just that, but if I am going to get them to cooperate why shall I say I want that information?

Because you are their customer and you want it.

You have POA and have the same right to request the information as your stepdad.