Small stakeholder Pension - Lump Sum

jeabbob

This might seem a strange question and that possibly nobody will be able to answer, but I'll give it a try.
At the beginning of last year, my wife (Thai/British national) forwarded a letter to a pension company in the UK requesting closure of her small pension fund (under GBP10,000) having reached her required age, stating her Thai bank details, i.e. name of bank, bank address, name of holder, account number and SWIFT code.  In February of this year she forwarded an original Thai bank statement confirming her address and her ID.  These two documents were approved by the company.
Last month she received from the company the release forms for the proceeds to be paid to her Thai bank which were returned duly completed and signed.
At the beginning of this month, she received an email from the company asking her to send a further original bank statement (letters from Thailand to the UK can take up to two months during these difficult times) with the SWIFT code printed on the statement for verification purposes, which I thought was rather unusual.  They also requested an IBAN code which Thai banks don't use.
In March of this year, my wife complained to the company due to the way they conducted their business, i.e. not taking this matter seriously and incompetent but she never received a final written answer.
I have received several outgoing remittances from companies in the UK and other countries to Thai banks and have never been asked to supply a Thai bank statement with the SWIFT code printed on it.  My wife has already asked the bank if they could do this, but the bank have refused.
The last email my wife received from the company was on 07 August informing her that they have taken this matter up with their head office.
If she doesn't receive a positive response from the company, she will be completing an online claim form to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Excuse my lengthy topic but, in a few words, is this a new thing that when a company in the UK wants a bank statement to confirm your address overseas and ultimately remit funds to your foreign bank, the SWIFT code must be printed on the bank statement?
Comments would be appreciated.

dunstonh

I have received several outgoing remittances from companies in the UK and other countries to Thai banks and have never been asked to supply a Thai bank statement with the SWIFT code printed on it.

It is normal for UK banks to ask for copy statements to validate the withdrawal details on investments.  

Excuse my lengthy topic but, in a few words, is this a new thing that when a company in the UK wants a bank statement to confirm your address overseas and ultimately remit funds to your foreign bank, the SWIFT code must be printed on the bank statement?

No its not new.   Remember this is not a bank to bank transfer.  This is the "surrender" of an investment product where they have to comply with both anti-money laundering requirements (which includes taking money out as well as paying in) and ensuring that the money is going to the correct person.   A transfer to Thailand would be considered high risk from a fraud potential point of view.

With postage taking months during normal times, it would be much longer during lockdown.    Most UK insurance companies closed their call centres during lockdown and some didn't even open their mail during that period.

Brynsam

jeabbob said:

At the beginning of last year, my wife (Thai/British national) forwarded a letter to a pension company in the UK requesting closure of her small pension fund (under GBP10,000) having reached her required age, stating her Thai bank details, i.e. name of bank, bank address, name of holder, account number and SWIFT code.  In February of this year she forwarded an original Thai bank statement confirming her address and her ID.  These two documents were approved by the company.

Why was there a gap of over a year between sending the first lot of documents and the Thai bank statement? Did your wife chase up the company during this period? If not, why not?

If your wife needs to pursue a formal complaint, it looks as if this is a case of maladministration and the correct ombudsman is the Pensions Ombudsman: https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk

jeabbob

dunstonh said:

I have received several outgoing remittances from companies in the UK and other countries to Thai banks and have never been asked to supply a Thai bank statement with the SWIFT code printed on it.

It is normal for UK banks to ask for copy statements to validate the withdrawal details on investments.  

Excuse my lengthy topic but, in a few words, is this a new thing that when a company in the UK wants a bank statement to confirm your address overseas and ultimately remit funds to your foreign bank, the SWIFT code must be printed on the bank statement?

No its not new.   Remember this is not a bank to bank transfer.  This is the "surrender" of an investment product where they have to comply with both anti-money laundering requirements (which includes taking money out as well as paying in) and ensuring that the money is going to the correct person.   A transfer to Thailand would be considered high risk from a fraud potential point of view.

With postage taking months during normal times, it would be much longer during lockdown.    Most UK insurance companies closed their call centres during lockdown and some didn't even open their mail during that period.

Thanks dunstonh
The original Thai bank statement which was forwarded to the company was to confirm my wife's address in Thailand.  She could have sent an original utility bill with her name and address.  SWIFT code on a utility bill?  I don't think so.
I understand what you are saying in that they have to comply with anti-money laundering requirements but when I spoke to my Thai bank (same bank as my wife) they informed me that they do not and will not print SWIFT codes on original bank statements, not like some if not all banks in the UK.
I have a personal pension with L&G and when I changed my address and bank here in Thailand, they asked for proof and I forwarded an original bank statement from my new bank which showed name, address, myself as sole account holder and account number.  A covering letter was sent informing them of the SWIFT code and the bank details as above.
This is exactly what my wife did although it was just to confirm address in Thailand.
All Thai banks in Thailand do not include SWIFT codes on their statements though I'm not too sure above foreign banks here such as Citibank and Standard Chartered.
It will be interesting to see what response I receive from the company' head office.

jeabbob

Brynsam said:

jeabbob said:

At the beginning of last year, my wife (Thai/British national) forwarded a letter to a pension company in the UK requesting closure of her small pension fund (under GBP10,000) having reached her required age, stating her Thai bank details, i.e. name of bank, bank address, name of holder, account number and SWIFT code.  In February of this year she forwarded an original Thai bank statement confirming her address and her ID.  These two documents were approved by the company.

Why was there a gap of over a year between sending the first lot of documents and the Thai bank statement? Did your wife chase up the company during this period? If not, why not?

If your wife needs to pursue a formal complaint, it looks as if this is a case of maladministration and the correct ombudsman is the Pensions Ombudsman

Thanks
Bank statement and ID card were under 3 months when received by the company.
My wife complained to the company in March this year due to their incompetence but never received a final written answer.
When contacted the company's response were mostly 'sorry, I'll get back to you'.  This was even before the pandemic.
My wife has already downloaded the POS online complaints form and will submit once she receives a response from the head office of the company.

jeabbob

Update
Again with the delay in responding to to my wife with reference to the company's referral to head office, she has submitted an online claims form together with relevant attachments to the Financial Ombudsman.  She has also received confirmation from her Thai bank stating they do not place SWIFT codes on their bank statements.
We realize that the submission of the claims form will take some time, especially during the covid-19 pandemic and my question is, can my wife still communicate with the company whilst the claim with the FOS is ongoing?

dunstonh

We realize that the submission of the claims form

What do you mean by claims form?

jeabbob

dunstonh said:

We realize that the submission of the claims form

What do you mean by claims form?

Apologies, My mistake, I meant to say 'Complaint form'.

Marcon

jeabbob said:

Update
Again with the delay in responding to to my wife with reference to the company's referral to head office, she has submitted an online claims form together with relevant attachments to the Financial Ombudsman.  She has also received confirmation from her Thai bank stating they do not place SWIFT codes on their bank statements.
We realize that the submission of the claims form will take some time, especially during the covid-19 pandemic and my question is, can my wife still communicate with the company whilst the claim with the FOS is ongoing?

Financial Ombudsman or Pensions Ombudsman? Should be the latter for a case of maladministration, which this appears to be.

jeabbob

As I though, it appears that nobody can answer my question but thanks for the various inputs.

jeabbob

jeabbob said:

As I though, it appears that nobody can answer my question but thanks for the various inputs.

As I thought,