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Think You Were Missold Your Endowment Complain Now!!!! [CLOSED]
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Pete2001 wrote:Hi,
I've read this entire thread and only found one case that is similar (Fullup on page 6) to this one. My brother was sold an endowment mortgage in 1996 to target £51,596 after 25-years. At that time my brother was living at home, had no property lined-up and was not even looking to move in the foreseeable future (in fact he didn't buy a house until 2002). The advisors who sold the mortgage were well aware of this, yet still claimed that it was an excellent product for him. I was living away from home at the time but have always felt it was wrongly sold. As with so many other cases, the shortfall warning letters are now showing up. The only thing that confuses me is the way in which this case differs from nearly all the others - e.g. misselling tends to depend on being questioned re. attitude to risk and guaranteed returns etc. In my opinion, regardless of all other criteria, this product should never have been sold to my brother as it was entirely inappropriate for his circumstances at the time. Just wondering if anyone could offer any advice - e.g. how to proceed or tell me I'm totally wrong! Thanks in advance for any help,
Peter
Hi Peter and welcome to MSE.
I have today received a letter from Lincoln about my endownment and they have said that they agree the endownment was unsuitable for me at the time as I didn't have a mortgage and had no need for life insurance.
They have asked for more information regarding the mortgage that I did eventualy obtain, from this they are going to make a 'potential offer of redress'. I'm not too sure what this means but I'll send them the information they have asked for and wait and see.
So in your brothers case he may wish to do the same as me, write to the company that sold the endownment saying he didn't feel the endownment was a suitable policy for him at the time as he didn't have a mortgage at the time and request that they look into it for him.
I was sent a form to complete which took a few hours of digging around in the loft to find the information. Once I sent it backthey wrote to me telling me who was dealing with it and they kept me upto date with how things were progressing.
HTH
Fullup0 -
Thanks very much for the replies and help.
It's always nice to have some back-up with stuff like this. I suppose the hardest thing is knowing which way to proceed. Fortunately, my brother is fairly sound financially so as things stand the endowment mortgage is not a be all and end all as it is for so many others. At the same time I wouldn't want him to continue paying into a policy for another 17 years or so that simply isn't worth it. In the first instance I guess the best course of action is for him to follow Fullup's lead - get onto the provider with an initial complaint and see what the response is - whether they admit to a missell, then go on from there. I think the main worry is the remaining duration of the endowment - 17 years at £100 a month is a long-time and a lot of money to be wondering whether you are doing the right thing!
I just feel that the people who sold this policy were totally out of order and it does rile me a bit that he's burdened with the thing! OK, I know you get the ultimate choice but he was relatively young at the time and genuinely felt that they were acting in his best interests.
Anyway, I'm beginning to ramble on a bit! Thanks again for the help. I will tell him to write to the provider and then go from there. Good luck with your claim, Fullup.
Cheers,
Pete.0 -
what happens if the company that sold the endowment no longer exists?
Am I stuffed on this one??0 -
quids_in wrote:what happens if the company that sold the endowment no longer exists?
Am I stuffed on this one??
Try here
https://www.fscs.org.uk
If it's before around 1988 there's little you can do.Trying to keep it simple...0 -
dunstonh wrote:These tend to end up virtually always as upheld complaints. They are called pre-sale endowments. Unlike the endowment versus repayment compensation method, these circumstances usually result in the policy being voided and the premiums being returned plus interest.
I am in a similar situation in that I have two "pre-sold" endowments from my early twenties. They are both currently at high risk of not meeting the target amount by about £5k each on the 5% projection leaving me with a potential shortfall of £10k on the interest only portion of my mortgage. One was taken out in late 1987 and the other in early 1989.
If I do complain, and the complaint is upheld, is voiding the policies the only option or is there likely to be an option to continue the policies with appropriate compensation?What goes around - comes around0 -
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your letter 17/5/04 to Gordon Brown enclosing correspondence from your constituent about her endowment mortgage. I am replying as the Minister responsible.
Mrs X took out her endowment policy in 1985 and is unable to lodge a mis-selling complaint since the EA who sold her the policy is no longer in business. I appreciate the difficult situation in which Mrs X is placed. However, a system of regulation covering sales of endowment mortgages only came into existence in April 1988, following the implementation of the Financial Services Act 1986.
Where the companies which advised on the sales are still trading, the vast majority of mortgage endowment complaints fall within the compulsory jurisdiction of the FOS. This provides and effective means of redress for consumers where appropriate. This can also cover pre 1988 cases if the firm subscribed to a voluntary code of conduct. Pre 1988 cases mortgage endowment cases that do not fall within the ombudsman’s’ jurisdiction are essentially those where the firms in question had not volunteered to join the Personal Investment Authority’s Ombudsman scheme and which have not subsequently signed upto the FOS’s voluntary jurisdiction arrangements.
In most cases where a company has ceased trading, the FSCS acts as a final safety net for consumers who have a claim for compensation. However, the FSCS is a boy governed by statute and cannot legally enforce a asset of rules which were not in existence when the alleged mis-selling took place. As Mrs x has discovered, she may be one of a relatively small number of people who is unable to pursue a claim through the normal regulatory channels. Nevertheless, firms selling endowments have always had general legal duties not to misrepresent products or give people negligent advice about investments. The final avenue for your constituent to pursue would be to consider taking legal advice about whether she would have any prospect in a court action.
The FSA is ensuring that endowment providers tell policyholders if their endowments are unlike to deliver the cash sums they were designed to produce and provide them with information about what action to take. The FSA is aware that this will be particularly important for anyone whose endowment is intended to repay a mortgage. By taking action to alert people now to possible problems in the future, the FSA is helping them plan alternative means to meet their financial objectives.
However it’s important to appreciate that all investments carry the risk, to varying degrees, that they will not perform as well as expected. Endowment policies are no exception to this rule and the amount policyholders receive is rarely guaranteed. Where a shortfall on the endowment is now projected, this does not in itself mean that the firm which sold the endowment was at fault at the time of sale.
Although it cannot regulate how investments perform, the FSA does regulate the provision of financial advice and how investments are sold to protect consumers and to help them make informed and effective decisions. Insurers were asked in January 2000 to issue a general letter to all their mortgage endowment holders enclosing a copy of the FSA’s factsheet Your Endowment Mortgage- what you need to know. Companies were also asked to send a second letter to all such customers quantifying any projected shortfall before the end of June 2001. On 2 July 2001 the FSA issued a further factsheet Mortgage Endowment Complaints specifically to help consumers understand whether they have grounds for complaint and when compensation might be payable and how it is calculated. This was last updated in May 23003. Further endowment projection letters from insurers have followed.
I am sorry to send a reply that Mrs X will find disappointing.~Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.~:)
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Im probably too late on this but, our endowment only has 2 years left to run, I havent a clue if it will make its target or not (I am now seperated and my husband used to deal with all this stuff) firstly how do I find out? Secondly is it too late after 23 years? I know it wont be a huge amount as we only have a small mortgage, but if its going to be short hey! I could do with some help!!!!!!0
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firstly how do I find out?
Ask them directly about the policy or get an IFA to ask them if you dont feel confident doing it yourself.
If you don't know, there is a good chance they dont have your current address.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.0 -
I have now recieved the name of the company that set up my endowement with the Norwich Union in 1984.But the name isn't familiar to me and is no longer in existence.I thought it was through Leeds Perm. Can I still make a claim for misselling and who do I make a claim to.If I do claim can I keep the policy going to maturity?0
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Sorry for being so thick but ......!
I am in a similar situation to GIRLPOWER in that i too have an endowment policy from 1995 with GA which was sold to my by an estate agent FA. I pay £80 a month and was expecting it to cover a mortgage of £57,000.
What I want to know is are you recommending that I don't do anything until after the supposed windfall payment (which i knew nothing about, so am happy about that!) or should I still try to claim a mis-sold policy now?
Thanks - wonderful site by the way!!0
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