Endowment - What should I do next ?

Jamjar_2

Today I received a letter from Friends Provident regarding my endowment shortfall.

They explained that it is not possible for them to investigate my complaint any further as the policy was recommended to me by an 'Independent Financial Advisor'.

They are basically washing their hands of it and saying 'nothing to do with me mate'.

What do you think I should do next ?

I do not know if the IFA who sold me this policy is dead, alive or living off the commision he received from mis-selling endowments !!!

Thanks

EdInvestor

Hi Jamjar,

If you bought the policy before 1988 you might as well give up now.If after that, then you'll have to try to track down the IFA. I suggest you ask Friends Prov if they have an up to date address for him, as he's probably still receiving commission from them for your policy.

susan47

You should write to the Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR. They'll send you a form to fill in - it will take a long time, but you will get a decision eventually. (In one case it took us over two years to get one, but it was in our favour in the end.) You just tell them what you know about who sold you the policy in the first place and they will tell you what to do. Do you have anything with the guy's name on it? They can look him up on their database, if you phone and ask them. I did that for one of our policies. If it turns out that you don't know who sold it or they're dead, I think there is a fund for people who no longer have anyone to complain against. If they can't track who sold you the policy, they will be able to tell you where to go next anyway.
As for the 1988 deadline, that's perfectly true - but I wrote to my MP about one of our policies which we took out in 1987 because I was angry about the random cut-off, then I wrote to the company quoting my MP's reply (selectively), and what do you know, they paid. I always try anything I can think of and keep going till I hit a brick wall, and you're a long way off that yet!

EdInvestor

Hi Susan

As for the 1988 deadline, that's perfectly true - but I wrote to my MP about one of our policies which we took out in 1987 because I was angry about the random cut-off, then I wrote to the company quoting my MP's reply (selectively), and what do you know, they paid.

If you were sold an endowment by a large company (eg a building society) before 1988 then they will accept a complaint because they owe a "duty of care" to their customers under the previous law. But this doesn't apply to IFAs, which is why I said to Jamjar he shouldn't waste his time.

If anyone was sold a policy after 1988 by an IFA, and this IFA has disappeared/folded, whatever, then the Financial Services Compensation Scheme is the place to go with the complaint.

Google is always worth a try in the first instance to see if the IFA is still around and indeed the FOS [https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk ] is also a source of info about registered financial people, as is the FSA.[https://www.fsa.gov.uk]

dunstonh

As for the 1988 deadline, that's perfectly true - but I wrote to my MP about one of our policies which we took out in 1987 because I was angry about the random cut-off

That date isnt a random cut off. The financial services act was the driver for that date.

You should write to the Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR. They'll send you a form to fill in - it will take a long time, but you will get a decision eventually.

The FOS will reject the claim and refer you back to the person that sold the policy. The FOS only deal with complaints where an agreement between the claiment and company cannot be obtained.

In this case, asking Friends Provident for the details of the person that sold the policy would be the easiest option. If that person is no longer trading, then it goes to the FSCS as mentioned above.

It should also be noted that the FSCS doesnt just cover IFAs. It covers all financial services firms. Firms can be tied, multi-tied, whole of market or independent.

SPENCER

Go back to FP and ask them for name and address of IFA. I had to do the same thing to track down my IFA. I also used the firm check service on the FSA website to confirm he was still in business.

dunstonh

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register/ is the list of firms/individuals.