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MSE News: Barclays to pay £60m compensation for investment mis-selling
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MSE_Guy
MSE Staff 1.7K posts
This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:
"Thousands of customers are set redress after the bank mis-sold risky investments to those wanting a safe haven for their cash. ..."
"Thousands of customers are set redress after the bank mis-sold risky investments to those wanting a safe haven for their cash. ..."
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Just goes to confirm that the banks really dont have to offer quality products, quality investments or good value investments or even good advice. It just walks through the door. That is an average investment of £56,118 per person. Each and everyone choosing a low skilled sales force who could only sell from an expensive limited panel of providers when just down the road they could have obtained independent advice cheaper and including the whole of market.
Not sure alot of people get the idea they could go anywhere and get the same products or investments at a better price
Same here.
I have a distinct (and unhappy) recollection of being a director of a Bank Insurance company. Abiding perceptions include:
1. Liaison meetings intended for Fund Managers to communicate with Life Product Managers about fund performance. Graphs showing abysmal performance compared to indices and competitors would never be discussed. Commission rates on new 'Structured Products' would be the only topic of 'interest'.
2. The ever increasing demands of 'compliance'. In the 'good old days' a life company had underwriters. Depending upon activity, you would need X underwriters to assess all the cases. However, the 'Fact Find Police' need to be there also to 'check' that the salesman has given 'appropriate' advice (an inexact science after the event). It is no joke when the number of these people starts exceeding X, and eventually needs to by a multiple of X.
3. An inbuilt culture that imposes a more 'softly softly' approach to the 'best' sales people. With a few easily spotted exceptions, the vast majority of such sales people are 'good' only because they 'sail close to the wind' with the customer. That's bad enough, but when this is rewarded by 'toning down' examination, it is no surprise what you get!
No. Its normal practise for investment related issues where trends have been identified. It doesnt seem to get applied to other areas but it is quite common on investment backed products.
Far from it. It applied in trumps to the Mortgage Endowment shortfall issue, and then the Pension Transfer issue. The second one (in my opinion) having a bit more 'meat on the bone' than the first one.
It is quite normal for a single (or a few) mis-selling issues to result in a mass mailing of all those who could have been effective. In some cases, more costly than the fine itself.
A very high proportion of IFAs are former banks and insurance salesmen of course and while they were flogging their employers wares, they were the bee's knees apparently. After they leave it appears most suddenly develop a conscience and it becomes apparent to them was all one shocking rip-off. The miracle of a Damascene conversion.
The poor behaviour of banks and the shifty salesmen they too often employ is very hard to deny but there rarely seems any gratitude expressed by IFAs for the lot who taught them their trade. Gives hope to all leopards who fancy a change of spots.
God help anyone who was a trainee in their career. Not everyone can be like you and know it all from the day they are born.
Those people need to see the Whistleblower program. It not only shows a callous attitude to people who have incurred charges, one guy brags amount how many sob stories he had turned down. It also shows, with undercover filming the (how can I put this) motivational techniques for staff. Basically if you don't reach the required standard (which is about stats not quality of service incidentally) you will be abused and managed out.
Sadly this is common to many banks and building societies and we're going to see more of this thing IMO. Generally regulators in this country are very wary, so the size of the fine shows they had no option and its proabably a miracle they didn't have more cases.
Final point its also revealing what the banks attitude was. They emplyed the usual deny everything approach to complaints, even as the issue was getting publicity and more people were realising they'd been done over. Once again we see the filtering approach to complaints they all employ at work.