SVS Securities - shut down?

eskbanker

RasputinB said:

IanManc said:

RasputinB said:

ITI have settled out of court with cash and gagging orders. 

How could you possibly know that?

Those who are actual ex-clients of SVS, who put a proper claim in to ITI, and who read the detail in the reply, will be familiar with the following sentence “This offer is made in good faith and is conditional upon your agreement that these matters remain confidential.”

Clearly if you've accepted recompense from ITI under those conditions then you'll naturally be reluctant to go into further detail, but are you able to divulge if this was to settle a claim against ITI directly via their own complaints process or was it at a later stage after involving FOS and/or actually initiating a court claim?

masonic

I know of more than one example where a firm has adopted a stance of offering to settle all claims arising in respect of a particular matter after some contact with the FOS. One such firm liaised with the FOS to get advice on what they should be offering customers as a fair settlement (and communicated to all affected individuals, of which I was one), while another apparently took the typical amount awarded in a few initial cases and offered it out to the remainder of those with outstanding complaints. It is in everyone's interest that matters do not come before the FOS (or a court). The firm avoids a case fee or costs, while the complainant gets a quicker outcome and perhaps more generous settlement for avoiding the formal process, and the FOS avoids a large number of substantially similar complaints adding to its workload. Frankly I'd be surprised if ITI wasn't making offers to avoid what must now be a foregone conclusion that compensation must be awarded.

johnburman

Guys what sort of money is being talked about for settlement,? More or less than the 250 to 300 the FOS is awarding? 

masonic

johnburman said:

Guys what sort of money is being talked about for settlement,? More or less than the 250 to 300 the FOS is awarding? 

It would be unwise of anyone with an agreement to keep the details confidential to answer in anything but the most general terms. Even a rough figure could identify an individual if they were an exceptional case. The same is true of comparing what two different individuals were paid, as their circumstances could be significantly different. Even the FOS may be awarding different amounts depending on the circumstances. There has been a suggestion of some individuals suffering a demonstrable financial loss as a result of the delays.

Taking the example of a systemic failure by a firm suffered by all customers which was not subject to NDA, namely the TSB IT transfer, the amounts people were stating they received in compensation varied significantly, from about £25 up to around £600 IIRC (Edit: TSB later went back and topped up many (all?) of those who received less than £150, see https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6081287/tsb-keeps-on-giving)

johnburman

As ever a good answer masonic but the FOS award for non pecuniary loss around 250 to 300 GBP only per individual. If you settle for less than this SILLY YOU. but if you get more from iti than that SENSIBLE YOU but you may have to agree to an nda. I would never agree to confidentiality with ITI. I believe that what they have done is a stain on the UK financial services and people should be told. But again I've got my FOS money and am no longer a client of ITI I'm pleased to say

adeel26

Just a quick question? 

Has anybody got paid from ITI after what was decided by FOS for a complaint? If so how that is done. 

FOS is also looking at my complaint! Compensation is around the same as what’s been talked around. They gave ITI 24 December to reply back to a letter they sent but I guess ITI hasn’t replied back? 

johnburman

Yes. Got the cash at the last moment. Had to threaten to wind them up tho. They paid up without me needing to issue it tho

masonic

johnburman said:

As ever a good answer masonic but the FOS award for non pecuniary loss around 250 to 300 GBP only per individual. If you settle for less than this SILLY YOU. but if you get more from iti than that SENSIBLE YOU but you may have to agree to an nda. I would never agree to confidentiality with ITI. I believe that what they have done is a stain on the UK financial services and people should be told. But again I've got my FOS money and am no longer a client of ITI I'm pleased to say

The FOS publishes its non-pecuniary compensation scales here: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/expect/compensation-for-distress-or-inconvenience

As you say, they will award up to £300 for "more than the levels of frustration and annoyance you might reasonably expect from day-to-day life, and the impact has been more than just minimal", and most ITI-related claims would fall into this band. However, there are several bands above this: up to £750 where the impact has caused considerable distress, needs a lot of extra work to sort out and occurs over an extended period of time; up to £1,500 for substantial distress, humiliation, and/or disruption to daily life; and even up to and beyond £5,000 where it has impacted someone's health or severe disruption lasting longer than a year.

If someone has settled privately with ITI for less than the £250-300 figure you mention, then they should probably go back and ask ITI if they would still consider this to be a fair settlement in hindsight - they ought to raise it to be in line with what the FOS has been asking them to pay.

One advantage of going through the FOS is that you can talk about it freely, unencumbered by any award conditional on your silence.

masonic

adeel26 said:

Just a quick question?

Has anybody got paid from ITI after what was decided by FOS for a complaint? If so how that is done.

FOS is also looking at my complaint! Compensation is around the same as what’s been talked around. They gave ITI 24 December to reply back to a letter they sent but I guess ITI hasn’t replied back? 

You should get back in touch with the FOS. They will likely give ITI an extension (if they haven't replied), which is frustrating if they do, but your only option to force the issue is to kick it up to an Ombudsman, which will involve a re-examination of the whole case and likely add months onto you getting a final decision. Hopefully the lack of reply is just an oversight and you'll get their agreement and payment in January.

johnburman

Useful post masonic.  Remember to get the £300 and not less than that figure.  It 'pays' ITI and other defaulting FS companies to ignore the FOS (and complaints) as the comp figure is soooo low.

No wonder ITI ignore the FOS, you or I would do likewise.  It takes a year to make a finding and costs them under £300 PLUS the figure FOS charges them.  Far less that the costs of the county court (which they must defend) let alone the award fo any damages.

HAS ANYBODY GONE DOWN THE COUNTY COURT ROUTE...and what was the finding of the court?