Hallifax Compensation 4 investmint

Seva

*Investment

So I heard the radio add for badwin Carrot's, missold Halifax investments.

I did have a Halifax investment but lost the paperwork years ago, gave Badwind a call but they were unable to trace via telephone but I took another shot at it on the phone to Halifax & traced my account. I'm not happy with Bawinds no win , no fee but win at 40% rate, seems excessive?

I asked Halifax if they were willing to offer a settlement to intercede any complaints, ombudsman action and court action that I may have in relation to my account. Short answer is no not with out a complaint. I was unwilling to complain at the time. Badwind play the ''you've only got 1 shot at this, don't blow it, let us do it.'' line a lot which I took to heed.

Has anyone had any luck with compensation in regards to miss sold investments and Halifax without using a 3rd party who charge 40%?

I'm not even sure it'll be worth it.

I was pretty quick off the mark to remove my investments immediately on the crash. I invested £25k over 2 years & withdrew £24.5k losing £500 + 2 year interest on £25k. I would have acted quicker but I was in the military at the time & ''stop all this shooting nonsense I've banking to do'' just was not happening.

The basis of my complaint is that,

I was pressure sold into investment banking, I entered a branch to do normal banking and was collared by an investment banker who said I had ''the wrong type of accounts for such a high fund.''.

An inappropriate amount of savings was entered into risky investments, over 90% of my worth was put into investment banking.

My circumstance of being an active servicemen put me at a disadvantage to react to market changes so investment banking was not appropriate for me.

I know Bandwin are just gonna post an A4 with a script on and Halifax will pay out but does anyone have the letter so they can save me 40% of my reward?

dunstonh

I asked Halifax if they were willing to offer a settlement to intercede any complaints, ombudsman action and court action that I may have in relation to my account.

First thing is that the complaints process is regulated. Halifax are not scared of the complaints process and you threatening them with it is not going to change anything.

Legal action on investment cases is extremely rare and you don't see many successes. Especially with mainstream investments.

I was pretty quick off the mark to remove my investments immediately on the crash. I invested £25k over 2 years & withdrew £24.5k losing £500 + 2 year interest on £25k.

You don't get costs awarded on the regulated complaints process. So, use of any third party comes out of your pocket. You are only £500 worse off. So, paying for any third party is going to pointless.

Also, periods of loss are normal on investments. You only lost 2%. And Halifax initial charges were around 3% (varied over time). So, you possibly didnt lose anything after the initial fee.

Plus, you drew it out after 2 years. The minimum term recommended by Halifax is 5 years. Why did you not follow their advice?

I was pressure sold into investment banking, I entered a branch to do normal banking and was collared by an investment banker who said I had ''the wrong type of accounts for such a high fund.''.

Halifax do not employ any investment bankers in their branches and do not get retail consumers involved in investment banking. The do have rather basic investment products available which are considered appropriate for retail consumers. They are not very good but that is normal for banks. However, they are suitable. The only real thing that can go wrong with a bank advised investment is
a) if they invest too much of the money and leave no emergency fund
b) invest above the risk profile of the individual.
Banks have been found wanting at times on those points but that is still in a minority of cases. And the regulated complaints process is perfectly fine at dealing with those without spending money on legal costs.

An inappropriate amount of savings was entered into risky investments, over 90% of my worth was put into investment banking.

That is too high. You would expect around £10k to held back if you were investing £25k. However, each case is considered on its own merits.

My circumstance of being an active servicemen put me at a disadvantage to react to market changes so investment banking was not appropriate for me.

Can you explain what you actually had as what you describe is not something Halifax offered.

The certainly is no reason why a serviceman cannot have Halifax's retail investment products. None of which needed any changes or trading and are perfectly suitable.

I know Bandwin are just gonna post an A4 with a script on and Halifax will pay out but does anyone have the letter so they can save me 40% of my reward?

The reason it is 40% (and dont forget the 20% VAT) is that they are not going to succeed in many cases.

And in your case, the redress amount is small if the complaint was to be upheld.

Alexland

Seva wrote: »

I was pretty quick off the mark to remove my investments immediately on the crash.

My circumstance of being an active servicemen put me at a disadvantage to react to market changes so investment banking was not appropriate for me.

Mainstream investments do not require you to be available to react to anything - the market goes up and down so you invest at a sensible risk profile for the amount of years ahead that you will be invested. The worst thing you can do is remove money while the market is falling as you would buy high, sell low and cause an actual loss.

Seva wrote: »

An inappropriate amount of savings was entered into risky investments, over 90% of my worth was put into investment banking.

Over 90% of our non-property assets are invested in stocks and bonds via S&S ISAs and Pensions. It's not about the percentage but ensuring your have a suitable emergency cash account for your short term needs.

Alex

AnotherJoe

Given that you panicked and sold when you were only 2% down (which is barely more than a days normal movement) either you were put into inappropriate investments (of any sort) or you misinformed Halifax and yourself of your level of risk tolerance. Maybe yiu said "yes I understand that investments can go down" but then when you saw then % down and read and "The Sky is falling" headlines you panicked

Since you lost so little your compensation would be similarly little. Ironically had you held and were you globally Invested you'd probably have about £50k now.

Just go through their complaints process putting down what you wrote above, too much of your net worth and too risky for you (ironic given someone happy to have people shooting at them and blowing up bombs in the street as you pass by but whatever) . No need to use a claims firm who frankly woudl be ripping you off far more than Halifax.

Seva

Thanks for the reply guys,

I agree £500 is low and any reward will be based off this loss. I will hope to recover this plus interest.

''Halifax do not employ any investment bankers''. I'm not gonna split hairs on specific job descriptions but they do employ specialised investment sharks in branch circa 2007-2010 who poached customers into investment funds.

The specific name of the accounts, I can't mind.' ISA investor' or such was one & I had a 'stock one' they were both retail options in branch so your knowledge would probably guess better. I will find out on Tuesday when I complain.

@another joe I agree with you. I think this will be the strongest factor in my complaint. I was unwilling to take short term market losses which means I was unwilling to enter into investment banking.
I should also point out if I did not act so quickly I would have been hit hard in the 2008 crunch.

Looking back I am fully confident that the Halifax acted inappropriately, I also have a major disdain for them and have moved all my banking away from them for other reasons so will gladly throw this at them for £500.

I am just gonna complain via phone at lunch time and see if they pay out. in short,

My investment % was far too high, I had no money remaining if things did go sour, which put me at great risk.

I was unwilling to take risks as demonstrated by my behaviour on downwards % & small loss.

I was touted for investment in a retail banking Q.

If I had followed the banks advice about leaving funds I would have lost considerably more. My own prudence was impacted by my military service which left me unable to act to losses as they developed.

Due to these developing losses & bank advice contrary to my actions alongside inability to act in a timely manner I have incurred a deleterious effect on my health & mental well being.

Anything else you guys think I should add?

I'm just gonna shrapnel shoot with short sentences for £500 & post here unless nda'd.



.

Seva

btw this was prior to crash and I've checked they are not time barred, Hence the new PPI is investment banking losses buzz.

jimjames

Seva wrote: »

I should also point out if I did not act so quickly I would have been hit hard in the 2008 crunch.

.

On the other hand if you hadn't acted so hastily you'd be sitting on a very tidy profit now

fwor

Do you still have the documents that they supplied you at the time the investment was made?

[Edit - I see from your first post that you don't. If we assume that your investment was made in the mid-2000's, the documentation was pretty good at spelling out the pros and cons of your investment by that date, and you would have been given a period to read that and cancel if not appropriate. I still have these docs from a £25k Halifax PIP taken out in 2004].

Just to illustrate Jimjames' point, my investment with the Halifax was a very ordinary "medium risk" slightly UK-biased one, and these are the rough figures for that period:

2007 £36.5k
2008 £33.5k
2009 £25.0k
2010 £32.5k
2011 £38.5k
...
2016 £50.5k (when I sold/re-invested in something more global)

As already said, you should have held on.

Alexland

We have tried explaining nicely and it's been over a decade but you still haven't accepted this small loss is the result of your incorrect actions going against their correct guidance. We all make mistakes sometimes.

If you hadn't reacted this product would have probably generated a good return for you.

Sure complain - they might give you some money to get off their back.

Alex

AnotherJoe

Seva wrote: »

Thanks for the reply guys,

I agree £500 is low and any reward will be based off this loss. I will hope to recover this plus interest.

''Halifax do not employ any investment bankers''. I'm not gonna split hairs on specific job descriptions but they do employ specialised investment sharks in branch circa 2007-2010 who poached customers into investment funds.

The specific name of the accounts, I can't mind.' ISA investor' or such was one & I had a 'stock one' they were both retail options in branch so your knowledge would probably guess better. I will find out on Tuesday when I complain.

@another joe I agree with you. I think this will be the strongest factor in my complaint. I was unwilling to take short term market losses which means I was unwilling to enter into investment banking.
I should also point out if I did not act so quickly I would have been hit hard in the 2008 crunch.

Looking back I am fully confident that the Halifax acted inappropriately, I also have a major disdain for them and have moved all my banking away from them for other reasons so will gladly throw this at them for £500.

I am just gonna complain via phone at lunch time and see if they pay out. in short,

My investment % was far too high, I had no money remaining if things did go sour, which put me at great risk.

I was unwilling to take risks as demonstrated by my behaviour on downwards % & small loss.

I was touted for investment in a retail banking Q.

If I had followed the banks advice about leaving funds I would have lost considerably more. My own prudence was impacted by my military service which left me unable to act to losses as they developed.

Due to these developing losses & bank advice contrary to my actions alongside inability to act in a timely manner I have incurred a deleterious effect on my health & mental well being.
I think that's OTT you only lost £500 nit all your money. No need to Chuck the kitchen sink in and it looks less credible. Yiu took prompt action to mitigate your losses is all you need say
Anything else you guys think I should add?

I'm just gonna shrapnel shoot with short sentences for £500 & post here unless nda'd.



.

Go for it just (obviously) don't post personal Info

dunstonh

''Halifax do not employ any investment bankers''. I'm not gonna split hairs on specific job descriptions but they do employ specialised investment sharks in branch circa 2007-2010 who poached customers into investment funds.

Investment banking is a more advanced service. So, that is why clarification was needed. Best avoid referring to it as investment banking when you make your complaint.

If I had followed the banks advice about leaving funds I would have lost considerably more. My own prudence was impacted by my military service which left me unable to act to losses as they developed.

No you wouldn't. You would be about double the value now.

I was unwilling to take risks as demonstrated by my behaviour on downwards % & small loss.

That is fair enough. However, why did you agree to use a risk based investment if you didnt want to take risks? (be prepared to be asked that or something like that).

It is very easy after the event to say you didnt want risks but if the audit trail is good and still retained and done correctly and the fund invested defensively or cautiously then taking some investment risk is viable. Indeed, not taking investment risk can actually be more risky in the long term (due to shortfall risk and inflation risk).

Due to these developing losses & bank advice contrary to my actions alongside inability to act in a timely manner I have incurred a deleterious effect on my health & mental well being.

That is rather over the top for a minor loss in value over a decade ago. You want to come across as credible in your complaint. Try to avoid going over the top.

I am not sure anyone will believe that 12 years after the event, that a £500 loss has created should an issue for you. Why did you not complain earlier? (may be important if they decide to apply the timebar rules - which they could).

At the end of the day, banks are very scattergun in their approach to complaints. You can never really guess an outcome. They sometimes dig in with that appears to be nailed on complaints yet pay out on cases that appear to have no merit.