Complaint following death? 14 December 2021 at 10:36PM in Reclaim PPI & other insurance 6 replies 216 views

GaryBC

Firstly, apologies if I'm in the wrong category here!
My parents took out a Shared Appreciation Mortgage in the 90s.
I've lodged a complaint with the bank and it is ongoing. 
My parents have subsequently passed away. 
Does the bank have to carry on investigating the complaint to its conclusion? Or, as they've died, can it wriggle off the hook? 
And.... 
In the event that the bank doesn't resolve the complaint to my satisfaction, does their death of my parents have any effect on my escalating my the complaint to the ombudsman (or FCA or whoever I escalate to)? 

[Deleted User]

Your parents dying won't change the state of affairs, the question would be whether they agreed to the complaint and on what grounds you are arguing it was miss-sold. They cannot just close the case now and if they agree it was miss-sold, they have to pay to the estate (though they are allowed to offset any refund against anything owed including written off debts)

If you raised the complaint you can refer it to the FOS

GaryBC

Thank you! 
I was concerned that their death might give the bank grounds for walking away. 

dunstonh

Does the bank have to carry on investigating the complaint to its conclusion? Or, as they've died, can it wriggle off the hook? 

They will continue it with the executor of the estate.  Typically they will require proof of executor.
If the complaint is successful, the redress is paid to the estate and distributed in accordance of the Will.

In the event that the bank doesn't resolve the complaint to my satisfaction, does their death of my parents have any effect on my escalating my the complaint to the ombudsman (or FCA or whoever I escalate to)? 

The executor can refer the complaint to the FOS (not the FCA).  However, you do need to be aware that most of these do end up getting rejected.    Whilst hindsight has shown SAMs not to be good value, at the time of purchase, they were considered a good option.  It was unforeseen economic events that led to them being poor value.    In general, the FOS reports on complaints have mostly said documentation was of a good standard for the time.   This is not to put you off but prepare you for the statistical likelihood of failing.   You may end up in the minority.

Here is a typical FOS response:
Decision Reference DRN-2352939 (financial-ombudsman.org.uk)

Key to note is that they do not consider the "fairness" in relation to how house prices increased significantly resulting in the final amount being much higher than expected (and what many people feel is unfair).

I tried to find an upheld complaint on SAMs but couldn't.  All the recent ones have been rejected.

You also need to be aware that you need to complain to the seller.  That may not necessarily be the bank.   These sorts of equity release products were often sold by third parties (such as what you would refer to as mortgage brokers nowadays).   Has the bank got as far as confirming it carries the liability for the complaint?

GaryBC

The bank has accepted my complaint and passed it onto their internal investigation process. Very early days yet! No doubt I'll hear soon enough whether I've constructed a decent enough argument for miss selling. 
The 'broker' who sold it ceased trading c10 years ago.

[Deleted User]

GaryBC said:

The bank has accepted my complaint and passed it onto their internal investigation process. Very early days yet! No doubt I'll hear soon enough whether I've constructed a decent enough argument for miss selling. 
The 'broker' who sold it ceased trading c10 years ago.

The problem here then is whether the broker worked for the bank or not. If not, your complaint will most likely fail as the bank didn't sell you anything so are not liable for miss-selling, the seller is liable and if the seller is gone, there is no-one left to complain to

dunstonh

The 'broker' who sold it ceased trading c10 years ago.

That means the bank carries no liability for the suitability of the sale.  i.e. they didn't provide advice.  The broker would have.   So, any aspect of the complaint that is related to suitability or advice will not be considered by the bank (or the FOS). i.e. you cannot complain it was missold by the lender.  (similar to that complaint with the FOS that I linked higher up).

Product providers are instruction takers.  They are not liable for any advice regarding suitability unless their documentation carries errors or the advice was given by their own staff and not a broker.