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Media
Comment |
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"It is particularly concerning to see how many consumers
did not have their complaints upheld despite possessing an
average of six grounds of complaint. There is clearly a large
gap between the experience of consumers and the way companies
appear to be treating them. "
"Insurance companies creamed off huge commissions and
charges in the past, but they are now trying to blame problems
on the stockmarket for the failure of these schemes. There
was a culture of greed throughout the industry. People right
at the top were driving the sale of endowment policies on
the bag of bogus promises that they would pay off home loans
and provide a tax-free lump sum.
Individual consumers are being left to pursue recompense themselves,
and we believe a large number of legitimate claims are being
rejected by insurers."
Sheila McKechnie, Director, Consumers’ Association
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Endowment
Bombshell – Now three out of four policies will fall
short |
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The endowment mortgage scandal is claiming millions more victims
than anyone realised. Insurance industry experts claim the
proportion of endowment policies which will not cover loans
has rocketed from 46 to 75 percent in just three years. Excessive
charges imposed by the insurance giants combined with stock
market turmoil have left 7 million policies heading for a
shortfall estimated to total £21 billion. A quarter
of the endowments maturing this year are failing to deliver
the target sum.
The reality for victims is that they may not have enough money
to pay off their home loan, threatening poverty in old age
or even homelessness.
Daily Mail – 27 September 2003
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FT Money –
Mis-selling: Millions face big endowment deficit |
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Millions of homeowners face big shortfalls on their mortgages
in one of the financial services industry’s longest
running mis-selling scandals.
Seventy per cent of mortgage endowment policy holders –
of which there are more than 10 million – will have
to find an average of £7,000 to make up a shortfall
on their loans, says the Association of British Insurers.
Many were sold policies on the promise that not only would
their mortgage be paid off years in advance of the maturity
date , they would also get a lump sum. The risks were often
not explained. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) reacted
by implementing guidelines on how firms should handle complaints
and by setting up investigations into firms that were thought
guilty of widespread mis-selling in the past.
Financial Times - September 20 2003
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Cheated out
of justice – "A fair process? It doesn’t exist" |
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John Dawson's complaints about his
endowments with Provident Mutual took months, involved dozens
of letters to numerous organisations – and achieved precisely
nothing. "There is nothing I can do," John says.
"We are led to believe that there is a fair complaints
process, but in practice it doesn’t exist." The
process is just too daunting.
Financial Mail on Sunday - July 6 2003
Investor Compensation Plc comment – Unfortunately
those people who choose to represent themselves often fall
at the first hurdle. Investor Compensation Plc has the experience
and required in-depth knowledge to ensure your complaint is
taken seriously and in many cases compensation will be paid.
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