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Prudential huge mistake who's accountable...

Francesco28
Posts: 10 Newbie

Hello all first post here...
Prudential have made a huge mistake and apart from awaiting 4 weeks for two complaints to pan out what else can i do...cant contact Pensions ombudsmen until Pru send me Final outcome letter!
In October they sent me my Retire options pack with plan value...decided as it was lot money to take my pot and pay the tax and then hoping to claim some back with a form from HMRC... Problem today is my pension total plan value is £123k less than stated in letter form in October....after hours on the phone and multiple calls they have admitted its a mistake, clerical its all been submitted in my complaint...What should i do? They have made the massive mistake giving me hope for high plan value to then demote it 4 weeks later...its gave me sleepless nights
Thx for any help and advice in advance
Prudential have made a huge mistake and apart from awaiting 4 weeks for two complaints to pan out what else can i do...cant contact Pensions ombudsmen until Pru send me Final outcome letter!
In October they sent me my Retire options pack with plan value...decided as it was lot money to take my pot and pay the tax and then hoping to claim some back with a form from HMRC... Problem today is my pension total plan value is £123k less than stated in letter form in October....after hours on the phone and multiple calls they have admitted its a mistake, clerical its all been submitted in my complaint...What should i do? They have made the massive mistake giving me hope for high plan value to then demote it 4 weeks later...its gave me sleepless nights
Thx for any help and advice in advance
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Comments
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A token compensation (£50 to £100) for some distress if you are very lucky. Other than that, you won't get anything else.to be frank. Errors does happen unfortunately.
So have they actually paid out then? Or they just double check with you beforehand. Otherwise you can just leave the funds alone if you don't need them.0 -
Let's just break this down.
1) Have you actually withdrawn any money or is it still in the pension?
2) what were you going to do with the money after you had taken it out and paid a large amount in tax?
3) Why take it all out in one hit?
Clerical errors happen unfortunately and they can't pay out what isn't there however disappointing that may be.
Depending on the answers to the above questions there may be a better way to get you the retirement you want despite the error.1 -
I just realise one more possibility.
What are the name of the fund you are invested in? We don't know the value of your overall plan or what it is invested in but is it possible that your plan actually fallen by £123k in previous three months?
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Francesco28 said:Hello all first post here...
Prudential have made a huge mistake and apart from awaiting 4 weeks for two complaints to pan out what else can i do...cant contact Pensions ombudsmen until Pru send me Final outcome letter!
In October they sent me my Retire options pack with plan value...decided as it was lot money to take my pot and pay the tax and then hoping to claim some back with a form from HMRC... Problem today is my pension total plan value is £123k less than stated in letter form in October....after hours on the phone and multiple calls they have admitted its a mistake, clerical its all been submitted in my complaint...What should i do? They have made the massive mistake giving me hope for high plan value to then demote it 4 weeks later...its gave me sleepless nights
Thx for any help and advice in advance
The Ombudsman might award you token compensation for distress and disappointment, but as the Pru seem to have spotted the error reasonably promptly and are taking steps to correct it, even that is uncertain.Googling on your question might have been both quicker and easier, if you're only after simple facts rather than opinions!2 -
hey have made the massive mistake giving me hope for high plan value to then demote it 4 weeks later...its gave me sleepless nightsI had similar in the past with a provider giving a value that was about £100k higher than it actually was. It went to complaint and ombudsman and the provider was told to be pay £250. Mainly because of the way they handled the complaint. It would have been less if they had handled the complaint better.
The ombudsman gave the expected outcome that a mistake does not give legal entitlement and that the pension holder should have realised the mistake as the figure did not appear on previous statements and any reasonable person would have questioned it beforehand.
I had another one in the past that got £450 but that was because the value was wrong for 15 or so years but again with that, the ombudsman said a mistake did not give entitlement and the person should have realised the error from the annual statements (the premiums had been stopped but the provider hadn't updated the plan and the projections were still assuming the premiums were paid). In that case, the person retired and moved house to a different part of the country before trying to get the pension. They also died during the period of the complaint to the ombudsman.
In your case, you have suffered no financial loss and given the sudden jump, you should have reasonably been aware that there was an issue. It has been identified as an error. So, the expectation will be a very small goodwill gesture for the inconvenience.
There should be no sleepless nights, and generally, the complaints team nor the ombudsman, if you decide to go to them, will not fall for false drama. Effectively, you thought for a short period you were in for a windfall but now have the disappointment that you are not getting lucky because of the mistake.I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.8 -
Appreciate all replies...I realised a jump in value from October only...with the pru online account its rubbish...you can't see the value online you have to request a manual calculation...takes 3 weeks...Yes i did recognize the jump but when you receive a letter stating the way they calculate plan values has changed....what do I know? Money is being paid next 3 working days...as Pru states in there options pack my money my choice...No issue for me taking it all and claiming some back P53z form i think...its not full retirement at 55...just doing 3 day week still..i like my money in one place its not ideal for all i know...0
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How much is your pot, even after the £123k deduction? You could still be looking at a huge tax bill.
N. Hampshire, he/him. Octopus Intelligent Go elec & Tracker gas / Vodafone BB / iD mobile. Ripple Kirk Hill member.
2.72kWp PV facing SSW installed Jan 2012. 11 x 247w panels, 3.6kw inverter. 33MWh generated, long-term average 2.6 Os.Not exactly back from my break, but dipping in and out of the forum.Ofgem cap table, Ofgem cap explainer. Economy 7 cap explainer. Gas vs E7 vs peak elec heating costs, Best kettle!1 -
I asked earlier but you didn't reply, why take it all out?
In fact, why take any out?1 -
QrizB said:How much is your pot, even after the £123k deduction? You could still be looking at a huge tax bill.2
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AlanP_2 said:I asked earlier but you didn't reply, why take it all out?
In fact, why take any out?0
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