Who do I complain to?

I withdrew a lump sum from my pension & I believe my Financial Advisor got it wrong, I asked for enough to keep me under the 40% tax threshold however both he & the pension company paid out using an incorrect tax code (assumed that it was the normal rate whilst I was on a reduced code) & didn't take into account my Company Car details (even though they were told I had one) meaning they gave me more money than was only subject to standard tax & pushed me into 40% bandwidth, which I didn't find out until my tax code changed drastically (K Code) & I had a rather large demand for tax owed from HMRC.
My question is which ombudsman do I complain to as the Financial Advisor is basically saying it's not his fault, the Pension company are saying it's not their fault & I'm out of pocket!!
Any assistance would be gratefully received, TIA

Comments

  • BoGoF
    BoGoF Posts: 6,968
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    Ultimately I would say it's your responsibilty. These people are not tax experts....did you actually tell your financia ladvisor the taxable benefit of your company car?

    Defo not the fault of the pension company.
  • Dox
    Dox Posts: 3,116
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    You have no redress against the pension company, who will have acted on your instruction.

    Did you give your IFA your tax code? Did you tell the IFA the taxable value of your company car?

    You need to make a formal complaint to the IFA's firm and complete their complaints process before you are able to take your case to the Ombudsman.
  • Brynsam
    Brynsam Posts: 3,643
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    edited 22 May 2018 at 2:32PM
    When did this happen - in the current tax year, or the previous one?

    Your pension company can't pay out based on your tax code - they need to be given a code directly from HMRC, failing which they are required to use an emergency code. Could that explain what's happened? Was 25% of the lump sum expected to be paid tax free or had you already had the full tax-free allowance from your pension already?

    The calculation wouldn't (or shouldn't) be done based on your reduced tax code. You would need to provide your IFA with full details of your income/taxable benefits etc for the year in question to enable him/her to work out how much cash could safely be paid from your pension and would normally be required to sign off the information provided, confirming it is full and accurate.

    As others have pointed out, you have no cause for complaint against the pensions company, who won't have been involved in the calculation.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,036
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    Pension company is not liable. They just received a form in the post and acted on it.

    IFA is reliant on the information you supply them. They ask the questions, you give the answers and that is what is used for the calculation. So, if you gave them the wrong information, then you would not expect a complaint to succeed. If you gave them the correct information and their calculation is wrong, then there is a complaint to be made.

    As mentioned above, the first payment under UFPLS is on a month 1 taxation basis. So, you always pay more. You then have to claim back the difference.

    A company car shouldnt make an enormous difference to the tax position. How much over are you talking about? Was the company car already included in the tax code?

    How long ago was this? In some cases, it may be possible to unwind a transaction.
    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.
  • Malthusian
    Malthusian Posts: 10,898
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    The adviser.

    I am taking the OP's statement "even though they were told I had one" at face value and assuming "they" includes the financial adviser.

    Whether the OP told the adviser exactly how much the taxable benefit was is neither here nor there. If the adviser knew they had a company car they should have asked how much the benefit was before doing the calculation.

    That said, the OP ideally needs a copy of the adviser's fact find or other written proof that the adviser knew he had a company car. Otherwise this is potentially going to be a "he said, xe said" as to whether the OP told the adviser or not.
  • Dox
    Dox Posts: 3,116
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    Malthusian wrote: »
    Whether the OP told the adviser exactly how much the taxable benefit was is neither here nor there. If the adviser knew they had a company car they should have asked how much the benefit was before doing the calculation.

    That said, the OP ideally needs a copy of the adviser's fact find or other written proof that the adviser knew he had a company car. Otherwise this is potentially going to be a "he said, xe said" as to whether the OP told the adviser or not.

    ....which is exactly why making a formal complaint would be the first step, not least to flush out why the adviser is denying responsibility.
  • Womble_wwfc
    Womble_wwfc Posts: 6
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    edited 29 May 2018 at 12:46PM
    Cheers all, the FA was fully conversant with everything, he was told about the company car & shown both P60 & P11d, I do have in writing that the AF's company advised the pension company as such however they used the standard tax code to carry out the calculation & didn't contact the HMRC (or they would have known the facts). The formal complaint to the broker is in & being written up by them now, I'm not hopeful, hence the question which ombudsman do I use when I get the inevitable "it's not our fault" response.

    I also stated in the 1st post that the IFA had all the details so not sure why you're all saying (apart from a couple) that they aren't to blame it's my responsibility, surely the fees charged by an IFA should give you a little hope that it will be sorted correctly.
  • In reply to BoGoF
    As it says in the original post, the IFA was told everything
    The Broker has also told me that the pension company get info directly from HMRC, if that's the case they would have been given my tax code as it stood not the emergency code so I can't see how you can say with all certainty that "The Pension Company" is not to blame
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,036
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    Cheers all, the FA was fully conversant with everything, he was told about the company car & shown both P60 & P11d, I do have in writing that the AF's company advised the pension company as such however they used the standard tax code to carry out the calculation & didn't contact the HMRC (or they would have known the facts).

    The IFA would not contact HMRC. They would use the P60/P11D and update with any variations for this tax year based on what you told them.
    The formal complaint to the broker is in & being written up by them now, I'm not hopeful, hence the question which ombudsman do I use when I get the inevitable "it's not our fault" response.

    The FOS.
    The Broker has also told me that the pension company get info directly from HMRC, if that's the case they would have been given my tax code as it stood not the emergency code so I can't see how you can say with all certainty that "The Pension Company" is not to blame

    The pension company do get given the tax code. However, that is after the first payment is made. The first one is made under month 1 temporary coding which you need to fill in the P form to get corrected. Subsequent payments will use the tax code provided by HMRC.

    So, the pension company carries no blame.
    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.
  • BoGoF
    BoGoF Posts: 6,968
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    In reply to BoGoF
    As it says in the original post, the IFA was told everything
    The Broker has also told me that the pension company get info directly from HMRC, if that's the case they would have been given my tax code as it stood not the emergency code so I can't see how you can say with all certainty that "The Pension Company" is not to blame

    The pension company are not responsible for calculating the actual amount withdrawn - that is you or your advisers job. The tax code operated has nothing to do with the fact you ended up in the 40% tax bracket.
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