a word about st james's place

eightfoot2

just a quick word in case others have been misled like i have regarding charges at st james's place
this relates to "early withdrawal charges" on a sliding scale of 6 to 1 year, I recently asked the question regarding these charges as I recently revisited my policy docs as I planned to switch away after the 6th year and was surprised to read that these charges apply to ALL new monies into the pension plan so arraigned a meet to clarify with my sjp partner to be told no sir the charges are on INITIAL deposits (ie the pension I switched in ) not ongoing

fast forward 4mths I phone sjp admin for clarification of my policy start to find when I can switch penalty free only to be told that the 6yr charge is ongoing for all new monies invested thus making it costly to switch away now as I have had a monthly d/d for the last 6yrs putting "new money in"

any way long story short I feel I have been misinformed regarding this charge especially as I ask the specific question 4mths ago so I contacted sjp to log an official complaint and we will see what they have to say regarding this and would suggest anyone that pays a regular amount into there pension fund is aware of ALL the charges you are liable for

Brynsam

eightfoot2 wrote: »

any way long story short I feel I have been misinformed regarding this charge especially as I ask the specific question 4mths ago so I contacted sjp to log an official complaint and we will see what they have to say regarding this and would suggest anyone that pays a regular amount into there pension fund is aware of ALL the charges you are liable for

i.e. they should read the paperwork including full terms and conditions before signing up. Did you?

eightfoot2

paperwork does say the charges are on all new monies entered but when you ask a sjp partner 2x what the charges are you sort of expect the info they give you to be correct as lets be honest who reads all the t/c when you start a plan you ask your adviser the relevant questions and take the info they give you and off you go

don't get me wrong I'm not complaining so much about the charges more so the advise I've been given by 2 sjp partners especially when I've asked the specific question regarding these charges after assuming there was no charges after 6yrs then reading in the t/c there are, then being told by the sjp partners that the charging structure is quite difficult to understand so what chance do I have (not being a financial adviser) to know, anyway isn't the reason you go to an adviser because they know more than you ?? (supposedly):(

JoeEngland

There's a piece in yesterday's Telegraph money section about SJP's opaque charges and working culture.

coyrls

Still_Dave wrote: »

What does your paperwork say, or the terms and conditions that you clicked to accept online?

Don't under estimate the sales skills of an SJP sales person. there is certainly no clicking online and the chances of being allowed time to read detailed terms and conditions before signing are minimal. Their sales people are well trained in techniques for getting signatures.

coyrls

Still_Dave wrote: »

I’d agree with you if I was ordering a toaster from Argos, but if I am entering into a decision with life-changing consequences then I’d read every line myself and possibly take independent legal advice.

This is a company who are really only known for having high charges, so I’d likely not go with them in the first place, but if dealing with a firm that one minute on the web would tell you charges an arm and a leg I’d make sure to have the charges set out in writing upfront.

This doesn’t help you now, of course, and unless you want to go to court you have no option but to pay the charges.

I too wouldn't have any dealings with them. In addition to basic research, I have had indirect experience of how they operate but if you get to the point where you've got one of their sales people in your house, you are on a very slippery slope.

eightfoot2

Still_Dave wrote: »

I’d agree with you if I was ordering a toaster from Argos, but if I am entering into a decision with life-changing consequences then I’d read every line myself and possibly take independent legal advice.

This is a company who are really only known for having high charges, so I’d likely not go with them in the first place, but if dealing with a firm that one minute on the web would tell you charges an arm and a leg I’d make sure to have the charges set out in writing upfront.

This doesn’t help you now, of course, and unless you want to go to court you have no option but to pay the charges.

totally agree with this but the fact is I was in the office of a financial adviser as I wanted the correct info, and expected to get the correct answers to all the questions I asked, the facts are :-I went to a professional for financial advise asked all the correct questions listened to all the answers given took a decision on these answers then made my choice on a "life changing decision" knowing I had acted on so called proper advise REALLY people are expected to take independent leagal advise to open a pension sorry bud but no I expect this from a financial adviser

New_World_Man

Certainly you would be expected to check t&c’s carefully on any non-advised transaction (say a car loan or opening a SIPP in a platform).

Presumably if you are an “advised” client then you can reasonably expect your advisor to accurately summarise the main points.

For example, if you employ a lawyer to summarise a contract and he does so inaccurately then he can’t avoid responsibility by saying that you should have checked for yourself.

eightfoot2

New_World_Man wrote: »

Certainly you would be expected to check t&c’s carefully on any non-advised transaction (say a car loan or opening a SIPP in a platform).

Presumably if you are an “advised” client then you can reasonably expect your advisor to accurately summarise the main points.

For example, if you employ a lawyer to summarise a contract and he does so inaccurately then he can’t avoid responsibility by saying that you should have checked for yourself.

thankyou sir not really much to expect is it ,its not like there advise is cheap or anything is it :beer:

coyrls

eightfoot2 wrote: »

totally agree with this but the fact is I was in the office of a financial adviser as I wanted the correct info, and expected to get the correct answers to all the questions I asked, the facts are :-I went to a professional for financial advise asked all the correct questions listened to all the answers given took a decision on these answers then made my choice on a "life changing decision" knowing I had acted on so called proper advise REALLY people are expected to take independent leagal advise to open a pension sorry bud but no I expect this from a financial adviser

I agree that should be your expectation. The issue is that SJP emphasise sales skills over advice skills.

AnotherJoe

Complain to the authorities stating what you were told.