Friend has lost nearly all his pension pot, advice needed please.

MaxiRobriguez

SVS Securities has an ongoing thread in the Savings & Investment subforum I'm afraid:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6032496/svs-securities-shut-down

AnotherJoe

That is the secondary issue though and will be sorted by the time he's been through a complaint with FCS 

steampowered

I'd say the priority is to salvage whatever he has still got. Try to find out ASAP where this £7k investment is held, and try to move it into a reputable SIPP!

Then, he can look at making a complaint. The fact that he signed a waiver doesn't protect the company concerned - financial services are regulated. Though, if the individuals behind it are scammers, he might find it difficult to chase them down. Do get in touch with the FSCS.

swingaloo

Thank you all for the replies but I've dug  a bit deeper and it gets worse. After reading the advice given here and looking at the links I rang him to tell him about trying to make a claim through the FSCS. He then told me that he has found his paperwork from the company he saw on the tv  who he had previously contacted about making a claim. He has rung them this week and they said  they are 'progressing his claim through the FSCS' so basically he has signed over 25% of whatever he gets back if anything.  It also transpires that he contacted them over 2 years ago and then failed to update his address when he moved which explains why he said he had not heard from them. Apparently, according to him, they are trying to recover his money from SVS Securities who went into liquidation and not Torch Wealth who started this chain of events.  Seems very  odd to me because whoever they are supposedly doing they have taken nearly 2 years and no result yet.

Sandtree

Whats odd is the "nearly 2 years" as its exactly 1 year and 2 weeks ago that it was put into special administration:
https://www.fscs.org.uk/failed-firms/svs/
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/04402606/insolvency

Marcon

swingaloo said:

Thank you all for the replies but I've dug  a bit deeper and it gets worse. After reading the advice given here and looking at the links I rang him to tell him about trying to make a claim through the FSCS. He then told me that he has found his paperwork from the company he saw on the tv  who he had previously contacted about making a claim. He has rung them this week and they said  they are 'progressing his claim through the FSCS' so basically he has signed over 25% of whatever he gets back if anything.  It also transpires that he contacted them over 2 years ago and then failed to update his address when he moved which explains why he said he had not heard from them. Apparently, according to him, they are trying to recover his money from SVS Securities who went into liquidation and not Torch Wealth who started this chain of events.  Seems very  odd to me because whoever they are supposedly doing they have taken nearly 2 years and no result yet.

I think you have to accept, however reluctantly, that some people are their own worst enemies and trying to help them is a lost cause. Suggest he contacts https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk for free, impartial guidance on how best to track down/pursue any claim, although it sounds as if he's already dug himself an even deeper hole than when he started.

swingaloo

Sandtree said:

Whats odd is the "nearly 2 years" as its exactly 1 year and 2 weeks ago that it was put into special administration:
https://www.fscs.org.uk/failed-firms/svs/
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/04402606/insolvency

That's what I meant, it doesn't make any sense. Thank you all for the replies but I'm at a loss to advise him at all, he is insistent that 'these people said will help me get it back' so I will leave him to it as I cant seem to get a straight story. I think he is kicking himself without me adding to it. thanks all.

Mistermeaner

If you want a positive for your friend (relatively speaking) a typical.income from a pension pot is around 3% - he could perhaps think less about losing 40k and instead think of it as losing 100quid per month 

Not ideal by any means but it's the equivalent of a couple of cheap  meals out and can be compensated for by saving money in other ways 

Just trying to give the loss another perspective