I opted out of serps but I now need help

gemmaerin

Hiya I am new to this so here goes.
I opted out of Serps a while back, a firm called Tekram Goldberg contacted me and I was told that because I was told to opt out I am owed 11K back, and they want to help. I have to pay £500 upfront but have been told to put it on my credit card as if anything did go wrong I wouldn't loose out, they only told me this as I was wary of paying anything upfront. 11K would really help me, my husband and two little girls out right now but I am scared to do anything, can anyone at all help me with this.
Much appreciated Taz

EdInvestor

Forget it.Even if you were to win any complaint made by these very questionable people, the money will be put in your pension plan, not given to you in cash.

You can't get money out of a pension until you're 50 (going up to 55).

Never pay out money upfront.

No win, no fee is the rule.

gemmaerin

Thanks for that I was hoping that someone would agree with my gut instinct but, also hoping that someone had done it and won. Thanks again and for quick reply.

dunstonh

a firm called Tekram Goldberg contacted me

And broke the regulations by doing so. It against the claims management companies to do this. Tekram Goldberg are a disgraceful company. For a while they were even trading without authorisation. They have an extremely poor reputation and you should avoid them at all costs.

I was told that because I was told to opt out I am owed 11K back,

Complete and utter rubbish. The decision to contract out is not a mis-sale. Over half of the people that have contracted out are financially better off and that amount is increasing all the time. Later contracting out hasnt been as successful but those that contracted out before 1996 have typically done much better out of it.

Also, there are a number of benefits to contracting out. Such as being able to access the contracted out pension from age 50 (or 55 from 2010) instead of 65 (increasing to 68 by 2044). You can also take a 25% tax free lump sum from the fund value which you cannot do with contracted in funds.

In addition, its not risk free contracting in. The Govt has reduced contracted in benefits 3 times so far and the increase in state retirement age will be a 4th time. The govt could wipe out contracted in benefits and replace it with a single state pension. Those that are contracted in would lose out but those contracted out would benefit.

There are pros and cons to both options.

11K would really help me, my husband and two little girls out right now

They use this £11k figure with every phone call. Its one they have plucked out of thin air. As Ed says, even if you do win (which is unlikely), any redress is paid into your pension and not to you. It gets worse though as Tekram Goldberg will then ask for a percentage of that payout which you have to pay them cash (plus vat).

Things you should ask yourself (or consider) the following things:

1 - This firm contacted you in breach of the rules. Do you want to use a company that breaks the rules?
2 - Did they ask you about your pension? i.e. when you contracted out, when you contracted in and what protected rights value is and when you intend to retire? If not, how can they tell if it was a mis-sale or not and how can they set a figure?
3 - Did they explain the pros and cons of contracting out to see if it applied to you or not or did they just tell you that you were mis-sold?
4 - Did they tell you that you could complain for free under the FSA approved complaints proceedure? It is a requirement for all claims companies to do this
5 - With the FSA completing a review to contracting out and finding a very small percentage of people mis-sold (it was just a couple of percent of all those who contracted out), then the odds of an upheld complaint are low.
6 - As an IFA, I can tell you that the current stance on contracted out complaints is that if you contracted out within the pivotal ages then the complaint will be rejected. If it was outside of the pivotal ages, then it will be upheld unless there is a documented reason with sufficient warning. Current pivotal age is around 45 (it can vary slightly with different companies depending on charges).

The reason they are charging up front and its non refundable is because there is limited chance of success. They lie to you (and it is outright lies) to get you to pay £500 and they send in a template letter (same one for everyone) on the hope that the advising firm mucked up on a technicality. The money for them is in the upfront payment.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

gemmaerin

Thank you very very much for your very detailed reply. It has been very helpful. Like I said the money would be very handy to us but then who wouldn't love 11k thrown at them. Everything you said made a lot of sense. I am not completely stupid but I am not very good at financial things thank goodness my husband is much better. I get too confused too easy unless it's written down for me then I can absorb is better. So again thank you very much for definately stopping me make a BIG mistake.
Taz