Pensions and Investment Mis-selling

Ever since the pensions mis-selling scandal of the mid-1990s some financial product or other has been on the wrong side of the news: splits, endowments, cash funds and structured products to name a few. Yet financial products are rarely inherently flawed; the problems generally lie with the financial advisers and investment providers selling them.

Mis-selling is a catch-all term but generally refers to situations in which financial products are recommended even though they are in fact unsuitable for the particular needs of the customer, or in which the risks of financial products are not properly explained.

We have experience of handling a wide variety of mis-selling claims using both the Financial Ombudsman Service and the courts, and the fact that we have certificates in financial planning and in-house tax planners and investment managers means we are uniquely placed to spot and assess these claims. Common examples are: transfers out of final salary occupational pension schemes into personal pension schemes; pension drawdown when additional income is unnecessary; transfers into SIPPs (self-invested pension plans) when there is no business connection and no real need to 'self-manage'; and unnecessary 'churning' of investments leading to surrender penalties and a general depletion of funds.

We also have experience of enforcing and appealing awards by the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Pensions Ombudsman in the courts.