Can Norwich Union do this?

commadus

Ongoing endowment miss selling claim from Norwich Union. They sent an endowment Mortgage Questionnaire for my father to complete. My father is now on holiday not back for a few months. Norwich Union sent a letter saying if they do not have a completed form back they may not consider the claim but they never said when the form must be returned. I can complete the form by asking my father and going through his files but I cannot sign it so where do I stand.

dunstonh

All you need to do is let Norwich Union know that your father is away for a few months and they can note that on their file. A good idea is to get the name of the person you speak to.

Its not a problem as long as they know what is going on.

NU wont mind a delay as their endowments arent too bad generally and the longer you leave it the less redress they pay as the returns have improved. Indeed, increasingly they arent paying any because people are not worse off. Delaying really works in their favour.

commadus

Well just called them and made them aware. There is nothing that I can do at the moment. Is it acceptable to complete the form post it to my father and then get him to send it back? Or will that cause confusion if they call to speak to my father and he is not at home.

dunstonh

You shouldn't complete the form.

I go to compliance meetings periodically to inform company owners what is going in with complaints, regulation and stuff like that. We were given an example earlier in the year where a complaint went to the ombudsman after being rejected and when the paperwork was supplied, the handwriting on the initial complaint and the FOS complaint was different and it raised suspicion that the complaint had been scripted and when they want back to the person complaining, they didnt have a clue what was written on the form and contradicted a lot of what was said. The complaint was rejected.

If NU know its going to be delayed then leave it at that. Let your father complete it on his return unless you can scan and email a copy to him (or fax) so he can fill and return it in from there.

EdInvestor

It's also not a good idea to say much on these forms as they are often a fishing expedition by the insurers (who may have lost/destroyed the original file) to find out info they can use to reject the complaint.It's up to them to show the sale was fair, so if they have no file, they have a problem.

It's probable your father won't be able to remember the answer to many of the queries and it's quite OK to put that - or 'not applicable', whatever.

dunstonh

dont overdo the not applicables or cannot remember though.

Complaints have been turned round in the advising firms benefit by people putting in a complaint saying they remember this and remember that but then on these forms put down "cannot remember" for everything. Therefore casting doubt on their memory (which even those who have worked for the FOS have said is very selective when it comes to complaining).

commadus

My father is 70 and he has always relied on me to get his forms / stuff done so I fill out forms he checks and signs them. Now in regards to the above I have no problem waiting its just whether it will materially affect the outcome.

dunstonh

Now in regards to the above I have no problem waiting its just whether it will materially affect the outcome.

If bonuses go down in the next 6 months, any redress would go up. If bonuses remain the same or increase then the redress would go down.

commadus

dunstonh - thank you for your information, much appreciated.