Endowment

Rallen

A long time ago, when under performing endowments/PEPs were under scrutiny, I was being informed of the potential shortfall by letter as many policy holders at the time were.
I did make a claim against "Fidelity" i think it was, for "compensation at the time and was successful however, in order to get the compensation I was made to cash in the whole policy.
I do not recall being given any options to retain the policy and I have always felt a bit miffed about it as, had i kept it going it would have been worth a considerable amount by now.
Just wondered if it was worth taking this up with anyone or is it way outside of time scales ?Thanks Richard

[Deleted User]

Once you complain that something has been mis sold, you're saying that you should haven't been sold it.

Hence it gets cancelled.

SonOf

I did make a claim against "Fidelity" i think it was, for "compensation at the time and was successful

Are you sure you complained to Fidelity? Fidelity have never offered an advice service. Are you sure you didnt complain to the bank that used Fidelity for its service?

in order to get the compensation I was made to cash in the whole policy.
I do not recall being given any options to retain the policy and I have always felt a bit miffed about it as, had i kept it going it would have been worth a considerable amount by now.

Your complaint was that you shoudlnt have had a PEP/ISA mortgage but a repayment mortgage. They upheld your complaint and put you in the position of having a repayment mortgage.

You need to make your mind up. Were you missold or did you commit fraud by putting in a fake complaint?

Rallen

Hi
Perhaps mis-sold is not the right word, the policies in general were under performing and the payout received, as i recall, represented what it could have been worth had the original forcasts been true.
I was pleased to have recieved the compensation but just wonder if it was right that they made me cash it in, I have certainly not heard of that happening with others, it seemed others i knew were given options to just receive the compensation by cheque or as an addition to their policies.

Rallen

It was a long time ago, i guess the matter could have been handled by the bank, it would have probably been the Halifax, the policy was taken out at the same time.
I have to say, i am sensing a little bit of aggression in your reply, perhaps you have read these sort of threads a little too often.
It wasn't the case that the PEP/ISA was necessarily wrong, just that the projections made were unrealistic compared to what it turned out was achievable.
If there is nothing further to be done then that's fine but, i know others who were offered choices and not forced to "cash in".
Also, i appreciate that it would have been down to me to make provision to pay off the mortgage but in the real world there is a whole load of difference between having to pay a regular premium and tucking something away regularly without dipping into it.

MEM62

Rallen wrote: »

I was being informed of the potential shortfall by letter as many policy holders at the time were.
I did make a claim against "Fidelity" i think it was, for "compensation at the time and was successful

Rallen wrote: »

I have always felt a bit miffed about it as, had i kept it going it would have been worth a considerable amount by now.

The two statements almost seem to contradict themselves, don't they?

Back in the day I received compensation for an endowment that was under-performing. It was not as a result of any complaint that I have made and I never had to cash in the policy. When it matured after 25 years it, of course, failed to meet it's original projected value but did quite well in overall scheme of things. It cleared my mortgage.

I think the question is, when the endowment was cancelled, what did you do with the monthly payment that you were putting into it? Did you save or invest it elsewhere or was it just absorbed into your daily spending? If you did the former then you might still have something "worth a considerable amount" now. If you did nothing with it then you will have nothing. The fact that the original plan was cancelled did not prevent you doing something else with the money.

SonOf

erhaps mis-sold is not the right word, the policies in general were under performing and the payout received, as i recall, represented what it could have been worth had the original forcasts been true.

That is not how the complaints process works. They would not provide redress based on the original projections as those are not forecasts and no provider issues forecasts. They are synthetic projections based on assumptions. The redress would have been based on your switching your mortgage to repayment basis at that point and comparing the difference.

It wasn't the case that the PEP/ISA was necessarily wrong, just that the projections made were unrealistic compared to what it turned out was achievable.

Projections are synthetic using a range of assumptions. At times in the past they were set too high. Currently many argue they are set too low. Indeed, the low rate projections and mid rate projections you typically see today are understating what is likely. However, it is the regulator that sets the projection rates. Not the provider.

I was pleased to have recieved the compensation but just wonder if it was right that they made me cash it in, I have certainly not heard of that happening with others, it seemed others i knew were given options to just receive the compensation by cheque or as an addition to their policies.

Yes, they were allowed to insist on surrender at the time. After all, you were complaining that you shouldnt have had it. They agreed and put you in the position you said you should have been in. Some companies allowed you to stay put. Others didnt.

You cannot argue that now because it would indicate that you were telling lies in your original complaint. Plus, you could always have chosen to set up your own investment if you wanted. Nothing stopped you. Fidelity would have been more than happy to accept a new contribution from you without it being linked to the mortgage.