Cannot get a response from Pension administrator

Persil58

Hi, Can anyone offer me advice please. I have been waiting on my pension figures from Capita for seven months in total . After 4 months I was provided with incorrect figures, so replied immediately on Feb 14th, asking for them to be reviewed, finally received another email on 24th April and said I would get  my figures within a week as they were being checked !! Nothing to date!
I was made redundant in December and need my pension to live off! I have threatened going to the papers  and now have told them I will go Legal. You cannot phone (as they are working from home)  they ask to leave a message and the recorded message advises they will get back to you within 24 hours (joke) 7 months not a call yet!! My old company contacted them and still nothing! Do you think I should go Legal? I am 63 and a widow and worked for the same company for 42 years.

Albermarle

I had a similar problem with Mercer . Some of these pension administrators are very poor at responding .
Mine was solved ( partly anyway) by my ex employer  / Main trustee complaining directly to them - officially and at the highest level they could unofficially.

Marcon

Persil58 said:

Hi, Can anyone offer me advice please. I have been waiting on my pension figures from Capita for seven months in total . After 4 months I was provided with incorrect figures, so replied immediately on Feb 14th, asking for them to be reviewed, finally received another email on 24th April and said I would get  my figures within a week as they were being checked !! Nothing to date!
I was made redundant in December and need my pension to live off! I have threatened going to the papers  and now have told them I will go Legal. You cannot phone (as they are working from home)  they ask to leave a message and the recorded message advises they will get back to you within 24 hours (joke) 7 months not a call yet!! My old company contacted them and still nothing! Do you think I should go Legal? I am 63 and a widow and worked for the same company for 42 years.

What a mess. The good news is that you don't need to 'go legal' when there is excellent free help available: https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/pension-problems

xylophone

 I have been waiting on my pension figures from Capita for seven months in total .

Which is totally unacceptable.

You cannot phone (as they are working from home)  

All the staff? Still?

This predates the Universal Covid excuse being a report from 2012.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-2101085/ASK-TONY-Seven-month-pension-delay-left-dire-straits.html

The PAS is now part of Money Helper

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/contact-us/pensions-guidance

You can ring on 0800 011 3797 for some advice.

Tommyjw

What's the name of the Pension Scheme ? One route you may be able to take is attempt to find contact details of the Trustees of the Scheme, contact them and let them know what a shambles everything is.

penners324

Lodge an official complaint with them, refer the matter to the Pensions Ombudsman at the same time

Marcon

penners324 said:

Lodge an official complaint with them, refer the matter to the Pensions Ombudsman at the same time

No point doing the latter - the PO won't look at it until the member has been through the scheme's own Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure, which is what MoneyHelper is likely to suggest. OP's complaint is against the trustees, who are responsible for the  behaviour of the administrator.

Persil58

Thank you all for your advice, I have today lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman, to see if that gets me anywhere. I had already contacted the trustees but maybe need to keep putting the pressure on them! Thank you all

Marcon

Persil58 said:

Thank you all for your advice, I have today lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman, to see if that gets me anywhere. I had already contacted the trustees but maybe need to keep putting the pressure on them! Thank you all

Have you used the formal IDRP I referred to above? That certainly puts pressure on the trustees and, as I mentioned, you will need to have been through this procedure before the Ombudsman will take the case.