Endowment complaints form

defender_of_the_weak

Interesting last point FOSman about lying, cos some of the big financial intitutions/ review teams do it regularly and yet nothing happens.

They have been 'interpreting' the rule on time bars since they first spotted it, conveniently misinterpreted the change to the rule in 2004 and bizarrely enough have not written to their clients to tell them they got it wrong.

Bradford and Bingley say they will no longer deal with me because they say 'the chances of success are no better with a third party, than if you complain yourself' A quote from your annual report FOSman. So I wrote to the chief exec on 3 separate occassions and challenged him to send me the stats. I win 95% of my cases, I also wrote to walter merricks the chief FOS man with the same comment, I win 88% of all the cases I file with them. Do you know what, not a single reply.

One of the reviewers described what my client categorically stated was a golfing acquitance as a 'close and trusted personal friend who would have been aware of your financial situation'.

If the big institutions could be trusted people would not use third party companies at all and I would probably still be writing books for them.

dunstonh

Interesting last point FOSman about lying, cos some of the big financial intitutions/ review teams do it regularly and yet nothing happens.

This is why documentation is so important. There are 4 truths in these things. The policyholders, the advisors, what really happened and then how its interpreted.

Lets be honest about this, providers have been trying to get out of paying but loads of consumers have been telling lies too.

defender_of_the_weak

The problem is that one 'interpretation' by a big company disadvantages thousands of people (see abbey) one lie by a consumer has little if any effect on the corporate pocket. Thats why individuals do it.

In terms of scope we see very little in the number of cases where we think there is something wrong or someone is lying. Probably less than one in 50, I cannot be sure but certainly not loads. If we think it is the case that someone is lying, we request the base details first from the company and if they do not match usually throw the case back to the consumer.

FOSman

You would actually be surprised how many complainants I catch lying. Only on Friday, I got a complaint from a supposed FTB, who took a £50K mortgage. On the EMQ, which was completed by a claims handling organisation (different colour ink and handwriting to signatures), they wrote that they had no previous savings or investments.

After a few phone calls to some life companies, I found out that the comp. had 3 previous endowment policies, and £60K invested in unit trusts and PEPs.

Needless to say that the case was a quick reject. But the point is, when you get people who are really trying it on like my example, you have to wonder how genuine people are.

And in my opinion, 3rd party complaint handlers add absolutely nothing to a complaint. They might be able to write nice letters quoting rules and guidance that sound threatening, and they might intimidate some small IFAs, or even some life companies, but they will do you no favours at the FOS. We have to deal with them, because people want them and the FSA can’t stop them.

FOSman

Oh, and WALTER RULES!!

defender_of_the_weak

FOSman., there must have been something else in the paperwork that suggested the form was inaccurate, so the cliams handler was dumb.

No favours a FOS!!! How come you overurn 50-60-70% of previously rejected complaints and my uphold rate is 88%. A significant number of our cases are originally rejected by FOS and overturned on a senior review or ombudsmans decision (including some where we have never dealt with the client until they recieve the final decision letter that are then overturned.

'We have to deal with them because the FSA can't stop them'

So why don't they regulate the claims companies? Claim2 gain are the highest charging company, chery pick complaints, so they only take on easy cases and have been round for years now. Did the FSA not spot the national advertising campaign.

defender_of_the_weak

Connection broke in mid flow

I have written to the press, the FSA, and parliament suggesting a way forward with regulation, and codes of practice, do you know not a single reply. A number of these companies are IFAs feeding off their previous client bank and they are supposed to be regulated.

Please ask Mr Merrick to reply to my letters

FOSman

Mr Merrick is probably too busy at the moment to reply to all the letters he gets. Every nutter who knows his name (not saying that this is you) is writing telling him how they have been mis-sold something or another.

Its funny that you mention Claims-2-Gain. They were the firm I caught telling fibs.

On the stats. Trust me, 60-70% of all cases against IFAs get rejected. I think that the reason for this is that most IFAs are simply crap at responding to0 complaints. Complainants think they have been fobbed off, and so they take it to the FOS.

Its obviously worrying if you are having loads of decisions on your reject cases upheld by Ombudsman. If you feel that you are not getting a consistent approach from the FOS, then you should ask to have the cases you disagree with to be looked at by an Ombudsman. As you may be aware, there are not many Ombudsman for each department (eg pensions, endowments, investments), so you should get a more consistent + comprehensive decision that way.

Generally, Ombudsman do agree with their adjudicators, otherwise, what is that point in having them in the first place.