The Financial Ombudsman Service has published 3 decisions involving Hallmark (East Midlands) Ltd, and 2 of them were upheld. The decisions are public documents, and they set out in the ombudsman’s own words what went wrong and what the firm was told to do about it.
The complaints span 26 September 2013 to 15 May 2019, and concern investment and pensions. If you are looking into a Hallmark East Midlands claim of your own, or you believe you received mis-sold pension or investment advice through a St. James’s Place appointed representative, the decisions are a useful place to start.
The St. James’s Place connection
Hallmark (East Midlands) Ltd carried on regulated business as an appointed representative of St. James’s Place Wealth Management, an appointment the FCA Register records as running from 23 September 2011 to 10 October 2016. An appointed representative operates under the licence of a fully authorised principal firm, and it is the principal that holds regulatory responsibility for the regulated activities carried on under that appointment. The decisions above fall inside that period.
This is a matter of public record and is not an allegation against St. James’s Place Wealth Management, which remains an authorised firm.
What the decisions say
| Date | Reference | Complaint | Outcome | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 September 2013 | DRN5028735 | Investment and pensions | Upheld | Read it |
| 23 May 2014 | DRN8326606 | Investment and pensions | Upheld | Read it |
| 15 May 2019 | DRN6747559 | Investment and pensions | Not upheld | Read it |
An upheld decision means the ombudsman agreed with that consumer in that individual case. It does not by itself mean any other complaint against the firm will succeed, and every case turns on its own facts.
What to do if you were advised by this firm
Hallmark (East Midlands) Ltd is no longer trading, so a complaint cannot be made to the firm itself. Where an advice firm has gone, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme is the route that deals with claims against it, which is why a Hallmark East Midlands compensation claim would normally be made to the FSCS. If the company was dissolved within the last six years there may also be a claim against the professional indemnity insurance it held at the time.
The practical difficulty with a firm that has closed is evidence. Records become hard to reach, and proving what you were advised to do, and why it was unsuitable, is rarely straightforward on your own. That is a large part of what we do.
We have set out the firm’s full public record, including its Companies House and FCA history, on our Hallmark (East Midlands) Ltd page.
If any of this sounds like your experience, talk to us for a free, no obligation chat about your Hallmark East Midlands claim. We will give you an honest view of whether you have a case, and if you decide to go ahead we work on a no win, no fee basis.
Information on this page is drawn from public records held by the Financial Ombudsman Service, the FCA Register and Companies House. It is factual and neutral, makes no allegation against any named individual, and is not advice. No outcome is promised.
