Saturday, March 15, 2003

I received a letter today from company A, in respect of my complaint about the mis-selling of my first endowment policy. Extracts as follows:

“…I am sorry to inform you that A are unable to investigate your complaint, as the advice you were given on the sale of the above plan was by an Independent Financial Broker (editorial note this was company B)…

B were not acting, as agents of A but were your own chosen Financial broker…we had no control over the advice that they gave you…

If you feel that you have received an unsatisfactory reply from B, please contact the Financial services Ombudsman service…”

I have the following initial observations:

1. I am sure, but will check my records, that B would have been receiving commission payment for selling A’s policies. This, at the very least, would place them in a quasi agency role.

2. The advice re contacting the Ombudsman is spurious, I have already done so and was told that as the policy was sold in 1987 the legislation does not cover my claim. Indeed the Ombudsman recommended that I contact A!

3. I detailed the last point in my original letter to A, even including the correspondence between myself and the Ombudsman together with the detailed endowment complaint questionnaire. The fact that A now recommends me to contact the Ombudsman indicates to me that they have not read my letter.

This is not the end of the matter as far as I am concerned. I will go through my records and decide what to do next.

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