Direct claims against financial services companies have been on the increase in recent years as regulatory scrutiny of the financial advice industry grows.
A series of high-profile cases involving the UKs largest financial advice firm ‘St James’s Place’ and companies such as LEBC Group, a UK-based group providing financial advice, have forced regulators to cast an even closer eye over the industry of financial advice. Today, the public has learned about the subject of financial mis-selling but what is it, exactly, and how can those who are victims of it progress with their claims? This article aims to explain the concept of financial mis-selling and explain why, in cases of seeking legal advice, there is a difference with Financial mis-selling solicitors such as HT Legal.
What is Financial Mis-Selling?
Financial mis-selling refers to the selling of financial products such as pensions, investments, mortgages, loans or insurance products that are not suitable for the individuals buying them. It is also found when a financial adviser fails to adequately give information on risk, gives a misleading description of the product or pushes a client into a product that is not suitable for them.
Some common types of financial mis-selling include:
- Pension Mis-Selling: Recommending a client to invest his pension into unsuitable pensions like SSAS, or QROPS, or using products like SIPPs to access investments which were not suitable without the client fully understanding the risks, sometimes to their entire life savings.
- Investment Mis-Selling: Promoting, advising on or arranging and investment that does not match a client’s aims, risk capacity, or personal situation.
- Unsuitable Financial Advice: Not taking proper advice for anyone’s financial situation or failing to give disclosures before making advising on a major financial decision.
LEBC Group: A Case Study in Financial Mis-Selling
One of the most well-known cases of recent financial mis-selling was that associated with LEBC Group. The company provided its clients with unsuitable defined benefit pension transfer advice and LEBC faced rising redress claims which eventually led to its administration. Up to the date of writing, FSCS is investigating more than 200 potential Defined Benefit Pension Transfer Claims made against the firm.
At the time of writing this article, the majority of LEBC’s misadvised customers have no idea whether they will be fairly compensated. Most of the time, when compensation is recovered from the FSCS, it is capped at £85,000 per individual. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) can reward up to £400,000 when dealing with Defined Benefit Pension claims, which shows just how low the shortfalls on these claims can be.
That’s where regulated solicitors like HT Legal step in.
Why Work with HT Legal?
1- Financial Services Claims Experts
HT Legal have demonstrated a history of managing financial mis-selling claims. With regards to DB pension transfer claims and investment mis-selling, our team is fully aware of the entire range of financial products and when it should be advised. We constantly represent and successfully aid clients who have been mis-sold products by high street financial companies and independent advisers.
2- Reclaiming More Than Just FSCS Compensation
Whereas the FSCS does provide a lifeline to those whose financial firms have entered liquidation or have no means of compensating its clients, it does have a cap upon payout. Financial advisers are usually covered however by professional indemnity insurance, and working with specialist no-win no-fee solicitor can give you with the option to pursue a claim through court with a view to applying for redress from the financial adviser’s professional indemnity insurer, which can open up the door to recovering much more than the cap set by the FSCS.
3- Personalised Client Care
At HT Legal, we take immense pride in our client-centric approach. We are aware, for example, of the anguish of losing money through mis-selling. That’s the reason we provide you with sympathetic, effective advice. For no-win, no-fee, you are able to pursue a claim without any personal financial risk and can be assured that we share the same goal, to get you the compensation or financial redress that you deserve.
How to Start Your Financial Mis-Selling Claim
If you have been a victim of financial mis-selling, perhaps due to the transfer of pensions or unsuitable investments based on adviser negligence, the sooner you act the better. The longer you wait, the more likely your claim is to be time-barred which may limit your options.
HT Legal make the claims procedure as painless as possible.
- Contact Us : Free consultation. We will look at your case and decide whether or not you may have grounds to make a claim.
- Gathering Evidence: We help you collect and gather all evidence and papers relating to your claim.
- Valuing your Claim: Once we have the required information we provide an free expert valuation which not only tells us how much compensation you may be due but also can reveal the most efficient path to pursing your claim.
- Submitting your Claim: We will ensure that every detail in relation to your claim submission, follow-up, communications, and any related procedure with the pertinent parties are taken care of by us.
- Compensatory Award: We push for recovery of as much compensation as possible: either via direct complaint, the FOS, the FSCS or direct legal enforcement.
HT Legal’s claim advices services work for you from start to finish in pursuit of recovering compensation. Contact an Expert Today.
