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*PLEASE NOTE* This site is
for information purposes only - we are not accepting
any new cases from January 2007
Here we provide a snapshot of recent news and
developments in the endowment claims sector.
[30 April 06] Nationwide
will introduce a time bar from 8th May 2006. from "the
Guardian"
Nationwide Building Society has
announced that it plans to time-bar endowment claims
from May 8. Until now it has, along with Prudential,
been the only leading provider to have an open-ended
commitment to dealing with complaints. Legal & General
also joined the time bar club in March 06.
But in what
many will regard as a U-turn, it has decided to join
rivals in prohibiting compensation payouts if customers
have not complained within three years of receiving an
endowment shortfall warning letter.
Prudential - which,
following its takeover of Scottish Amicable, has
hundreds of thousands of endowment customers - is also
believed to be considering closing the doors to
complaints. A Prudential spokesman said its position was
"under review".
[30 April 2006] Unfair time bar
arguments The Mail on Sunday highlighted the plight of
many thousands of customers caught by the time bar
ruling.
TThey carried an article that discussed one
case involving the Nationwide who time bar where they
believe that a customer "ought to have known" that a
policy was likely to produce a shortfall. The Ombudsman
states that you can only time bar after three years from
the date of the first RED warning letter. But since 2004
the regulator has introduced a ruling that stipulates
providers must remind customers of the approaching time
bar deadline six months before the date expires. If
the provider fails to comply with these rules, the time
bar argument may be invalid.
[17 April 06] Legal &
General join the time bar club Legal & General were one
of a dwindling group of insurers who did not invoke the
time bar rule.
A recent shift in policy means
that they will now refuse to deal with time barred
cases. All plan update letters sent out during 2006
will provide a six month deadline for complaining about misselling. This leaves the Nationwide Building
Society and Prudential as the only two main players who
do not invoke the
time bar rule. [Mar 06] Customers continue to
receive a poor service and a poor deal from Providers
Endowment
Justice the complaints handling service have
recently conducted a survey which revealed a
consistently poor performance from key providers in
dealing with customer complaints.
The Abbey were found to be the worst culprits with
99% of claims they rejected being upheld when referred
to the Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO). This was the
result of a sample of complaints assessed by Endowment
Justice. Up to 81% of rejected complaints by the Halifax
were also upheld by the FSO. Legal & General came third
in the list with 78% of rejected complaints being
overturned.
There are a
few interesting sites below where you can find out more
about endowment complaints:
Financial Ombudsmans official site
Consumer
information from the FSA
Building Societies
Association
Or read our additional pages here:
Grounds for complaint (more detail)
Endowments compensation claim
Claims procedures
Endowment complaint articles
compensation injury claims -
personal injury claims -
accident claims -
criminal injuries compensation -
Law Society of
England & Wales -
industrial injury -
legal news -
accident compensation -
dog bite claims -
manual handling regulations -
NHS Complaints -
online legal advice -
dental claims - -
useful links -
claim for your child -
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