Smooth Commercial’s mis-sold SIPP team have assisted those who have lost thousands in pensions savings after poor financial advice.
Smooth Commercial Law have had a very busy 12 months in relation to mis-sold SIPPs. Over the past year, our mis-sold SIPP team has returned a staggering £2,097,512 to clients.
While this figure is impressive, it only tells some of the story in relation to our clients and their lives. Many of our clients have had to sell their homes, put back their retirement, and even come back out of retirement, due to mis-sold investments. This money goes someway to helping them get their life back to normal.
Smooth Commercial are also getting more and more mis-sold SIPP enquiries, every single day. Every case has its own tragic circumstances - we will keep fighting those who put our clients in this awful situation.
What are SIPPs and how could you be mis-sold one?
SIPPs were introduced in 1989 as a method for UK citizens to take greater control of their pensions pot. They were created, however, for experienced investors due to their risky nature. These investors would be able to take more risks, but the financial product was never intended for the general public.
SIPP transactions are sought after by financial advisors due to the high fees that are involved. This leads to many advisors telling their clients to transfer into a SIPP even when it is not suitable. A lot of the time, it is simply for the commission.
Savers can lose thousands by investing their money into SIPP schemes which are very high risk, such as overseas property investments, plantations, storage pods and car parks. If the risks are not properly explained by their financial advisor, they are liable.
How can Smooth Commercial Law help?
At Smooth Commercial Law, our team of experts have extensive experience in dealing with a whole manner of claims that arise from negligent and/or unsuitable financial advice. We are seeing more and more mis-sold SIPP claims. As you are now aware, we have managed to secure millions in compensation for our clients.
You may be eligible to make a claim for compensation if:
- You were given bad advice. For example, you were wrongly advised about your options or the advice given by your financial adviser or SIPP provider was unsuitable, unreliable or negligent and has, therefore, cost you financially.
- You were encouraged by pressure sales to invest your pension savings into a SIPP investment that was not right for your circumstances and did not match your individual needs.
- Your adviser had invested in unregulated high-risk investments that you did not know about. For example, your financial adviser or SIPP provider encouraged you to transfer your traditional pension into a SIPP and then to invest into one of a number of high risk unregulated investments.
- You were not informed about the potential risks. The potential risks and downsides of your investments were not fully and properly explained to you by your financial adviser or SIPP provider and you were not made aware of what could potentially go wrong.
- You did not have all the necessary information you needed from your financial adviser or SIPP provider to help you make a fully informed decision. If you had been better informed, you would not have gone ahead with your investment or followed the advice.
- You are financially worse off. For example, the value of your SIPP has fallen despite promises and assurances from your financial adviser or SIPP provider that it would increase.
- You were not advised about income tax implications. For example, you were not advised about exceeding the tax-free threshold and increasing your tax liability. You may have even been told you could avoid tax.
- You were unaware of additional costs and fees. For example, you have been subject to additional hidden costs and unexplained fees attached to your SIPP investments because they were not fully explained to you and that there was a lack of transparency
- You were promised guaranteed high returns that never materialised. For example, the returns on your investment do not correspond with the assurances and promises made by your SIPP adviser.
Should you have a claim, we can deal with your case and look to recover compensation for not just your loss of investment but also any adverse tax liabilities that you may now be facing as well.
You can contact our experienced team by calling 0800 046 9976 or by emailing sb@smooth-commercial-law.co.uk