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*PLEASE NOTE* This site is
for information purposes only - we are not accepting
any new cases from January 2007
This generally is an easy
question to answer. You need to establish a few key
points about the selling of the actual policy when it
was first taken out. This then enables you to determine
whether there is a valid claim for
endowment compensation against the provider or
seller of the property endowment policy.
Please also read our key questions page - click here
Sufficient grounds
Firstly please be aware that your
complaint is not about the performance of your
individual endowment policy - but instead about the
ADVICE YOU RECEIVED when you purchased the product.
The
situation for most people is that the whole concept of
risk combined with the fragility of endowment products
generally, was not properly communicated at the time
when these policies where at there most popular during
the 80's & 90's. One very important question is whether
the endowment adviser made sure that this type of
product was the best method for YOU to repay your
mortgage.
This question should be dealt with by
addressing two important factors:
a) Your financial
circumstances at the time
b) Your attitude to risk
You
may have grounds for complaint if:
Your financial
advisor did not explain how your money (monthly premium
payments) would be invested and what risks involved with
such an investment.
Your advisor did not explain the
fact that these products are long term and often give a
poor return if you cash them in early.
Your attitude
to risk was not properly vetted and that you were not
fully aware of the risks associated with this form of
investment.
This is a major issue and should always be
considered when presenting a complaint.
The advisor
did not check that you were fully able to keep up the
payments until the end of the relevant period (usually
25 years).
The advisor did not fully explain what fees
would be payable during the life of the policy and how
these deductions would affect the return on your
savings.
You were sold the policy on the understanding
that it would definitely pay off the mortgage and
provide a surplus, but instead it is forecast to fall
short.
You were single and did not require the life assurance
element of the endowment and the salesman failed to make
it clear you were paying for life assurance OR you already had sufficient life-cover
for your property mortgage and did not require more.
The endowment matures after your retirement date and the
salesman failed to make this clear to you OR told you
that the policy would be worth enough at retirement to
pay off your mortgage. Or if the salesman failed to
conduct a proper fact find to discover whether you would
have sufficient income in retirement to meet the
mortgage and endowment payments.
The salesman
persuaded you to cash in one endowment and take out
another.
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:
How compensation is calculated
Endowment related news and press releases
Endowment complaints - articles
Common problems or complex claims
Complaints about "retirement" misselling.
We also
have a team of specialist Insolvency lawyers providing
bankruptcy legal advice
Specialist wills solicitors offer free advice online
- In an increasing trend, more and more people are
Making a will
online with many probate solicitors offering free
initial advice. [September 2007]
Personal Injury Claim Reform - read about the
forthcoming reforms and how they are likely to affect
the industry in England & Wales [15 August 2007]
The new regime for selling residential property will
soon be upon us -
Home
Information Packs (Hips) will go ahead as planned on
the 1st August 2007 for 4 bedroom properties. [25th July
2007]
New Government plans to build more affordable homes
[11th July 2007] Cyprus gears up for a switch to the
Euro in Jan 2008 - this is driving up the cost of
property on the island.
Long term
rental in Cyprus is now far more expensive as
ex-pats move in from the UK. [8th July 2007]
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