Six other pension and finance companies have been wound up by the High Court following an investigation which found that savers were lured into transferring around £21 million. The companies used methods such as cold calls and the offer of free pension reviews to make contact with clients and persuade them to transfer their safe pension. The transferred sum was then put into high risk schemes which were not suitable for the client. Following the transfers, £4 million of the funds were used to pay commissions and to make loans to other companies.
The 15 pension schemes affected are: Broughton Retirement Plan; DM1 Retirement Plan; Elphinstone Retirement Plan; EP1 Retirement Plan; Fleming Retirement Plan; FP1 Retirement Plan; FP2 Retirement Plan; FP3 Retirement Plan; Galileo Retirement Plan; Golden Arrow Retirement Plan; Leafield Retirement Plan; Springdale Retirement Plan; Talisman Retirement Plan; Templar Retirement Plan; and VRSEB Retirement Plan.
Typical pensions that have be affected include Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) and Small Self- administered Scheme (SSAS). Often in these cases the potential client was cold-called and advised that they could have a free pension review, or that they could make better returns on their pension if their safe and secure pension was moved. These unregulated companies introduced people to high risk schemes that were unsuitable and therefore pensions that people had worked hard for have potentially been lost as their investments are essentially worthless.
Mortgage advice has also come under scrutiny as mortgage brokers have failed to mention the risks and disadvantages of certain types of mortgages which has led to many people being left with mortgages that they are unable to pay. Examples of mis-sold mortgages include; advice to consolidate loans which has caused clients to have a longer repayment terms and therefore increase the rate of interest payable, self-certification, excess fees and interest only.
If you believe that you have been given unsuitable advice by a financial adviser, suffered a loss due to any of the issues discussed or you have been mis-sold an investment, including high risk and unregulated schemes such as storage units, car parks, overseas property, ethical forestry, Australian farmland, elysian fuels or other high risk investments then please contact us.