Follow these simple steps to get your endowment compensation
1. First of all you have to complain to the company that sold
you the policy i.e. whoever the sales adviser was working for.
Financial companies should have a complaints process and you need
to exhaust this before taking your complaint to the
authorities.
2. It is important to get across to the company exactly what you
want and why. Put your case in writing and explain as clearly as
possible why you feel that the endowment policy was mis-sold. Quote
any policy numbers or reference numbers that you have, list events
in date order, and enclose photocopies of all documents relevant to
the policy and any other evidence you may have.
State that if it were not for the bad advice you were given, or
the lack of advice, then you would not have purchased the policy.
Say that you wish to be compensated and be put back into the
position you would have been in had you taken out a repayment
mortgage instead.
3. The company is required to respond to you within eight weeks
(it should inform you if they think it may take longer). If they
uphold your complaint they will offer you compensation based on
Financial Services Authority guidelines and won't be for the
shortfall you suffered.
4. If you are not satisfied with the company's response, or if
they have not responded at all after eight weeks, then you may take
the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS
will assess your case independently for free and you can find their
process on their website.
5. If you are still not happy after all this then it is possible
to take your complaint to the courts. If your claim is for less
than £5000 then please see our guide to the small claims court for
more information. It is highly recommended that you consult your
local Citizens' Advice Bureau or a solicitor before taking court
action however.
The 1988 rule
If you took out your endowment through a financial adviser
before 29 April 1988 you may be caught in a black hole because
there was no regulatory protection. However people sold endowments
by banks, building societies or insurance company salesmen before
then can still complain, although some will try to fob you off. The
FOS can tell you if your firm is covered.
Claims Financial
Testimonial
"I just had to put pen to paper and write to say I'm more than delighted with my settlement that you won me back from my PPI I had with Lloyds TSB. The Claim Forms were simple to fill in. It was a breeze"
Mr R Evans 11 Nov 2010