Comments on: things that make you go ARRRG! http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/ The life and times of Anni, Duke and Aprilia Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:43:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.1-alpha by: Joanna http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-310 Sun, 15 Apr 2007 19:28:40 +0100 http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-310 Hmmm, this is making me think maybe we really should try and make a claim - it was just DH at the time and he's very pessimistic about such things though. But maybe.... Hmmm, this is making me think maybe we really should try and make a claim - it was just DH at the time and he’s very pessimistic about such things though. But maybe….

]]> by: Anon http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-309 Sun, 15 Apr 2007 17:36:36 +0100 http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-309 I used to work as a financial adviser during the period when endowment mortgages were still being sold. I don't believe there was ever an occasion when an endowment mortgage was the right advice for anyone - it may be that there is a circumstance under which it would be, but I certainly can't think of one. The only reason they were sold is because greedy insurance companies paid lots of commission on them so that they could rip people off for the life of the policy. Do go to the CAB. Don't throw good money after bad. I used to work as a financial adviser during the period when endowment mortgages were still being sold.

I don’t believe there was ever an occasion when an endowment mortgage was the right advice for anyone - it may be that there is a circumstance under which it would be, but I certainly can’t think of one. The only reason they were sold is because greedy insurance companies paid lots of commission on them so that they could rip people off for the life of the policy.

Do go to the CAB. Don’t throw good money after bad.

]]> by: Nic http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-308 Sun, 15 Apr 2007 17:22:04 +0100 http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-308 We managed to claim misselling of our endowment and got the whole £11K we'd payed in over the years back. It was lengthy and required the tenacity to keep writing to them and about 2 years of waiting for their 'investigation' but it was basically done on the strength of me insisting the risks had not been made as clear to us as they should have been. I wrote an initial letter and then they sent back forms requesting lots of supporting information. Plenty of it I refused to give as I felt it was irrelevant to them what our overall financial situation was at the time (bleak as it happened! I worried they might use that to gague that we had made consistently poor financial judgements and blame it on us, although I wonder if we'd shown examples of a strong overall position like a lottery win if they'd have felt we didn't need their money too :lol:). I took the opinion that we had nothing to lose other than my own time and everything to gain, which indeed we did with a very large cheque at the end of it. Of course how we frittered that money away is another story but I'd definitely pursue it if I were you. We managed to claim misselling of our endowment and got the whole £11K we’d payed in over the years back. It was lengthy and required the tenacity to keep writing to them and about 2 years of waiting for their ‘investigation’ but it was basically done on the strength of me insisting the risks had not been made as clear to us as they should have been.
I wrote an initial letter and then they sent back forms requesting lots of supporting information. Plenty of it I refused to give as I felt it was irrelevant to them what our overall financial situation was at the time (bleak as it happened! I worried they might use that to gague that we had made consistently poor financial judgements and blame it on us, although I wonder if we’d shown examples of a strong overall position like a lottery win if they’d have felt we didn’t need their money too :lol: ). I took the opinion that we had nothing to lose other than my own time and everything to gain, which indeed we did with a very large cheque at the end of it. Of course how we frittered that money away is another story but I’d definitely pursue it if I were you.

]]> by: Administrator http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-307 Sun, 15 Apr 2007 10:16:03 +0100 http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-307 Merry, you are right, I need to deal properly with this, NO WAY am I in a postition to pay 3 times as much for the luxury of only "earning" an extra £7k over what I've paid them - it's less than the 6% I could earn in a high interest account... HElen, the FSA grounds for complaint are not all that generous, i would pretty much have to have it in writing that I was definitely going to get the right money for the policy to claim, I took it out when I was working and for a different house (although it's not linked to that house any more obviously) so they could argue that it was a good deal at the time. I'll see what the CAB has to say though. We are going to look at complaining bout Duke's policy though, it's set to run until he is 75!!!! They are not supposed to allow policies that go past retirement age without documenting how you are going to pay for it! (but then that is with the Perl who i wouldn't trust DD's pocket money with...) Merry, you are right, I need to deal properly with this, NO WAY am I in a postition to pay 3 times as much for the luxury of only “earning” an extra £7k over what I’ve paid them - it’s less than the 6% I could earn in a high interest account…

HElen, the FSA grounds for complaint are not all that generous, i would pretty much have to have it in writing that I was definitely going to get the right money for the policy to claim, I took it out when I was working and for a different house (although it’s not linked to that house any more obviously) so they could argue that it was a good deal at the time. I’ll see what the CAB has to say though. We are going to look at complaining bout Duke’s policy though, it’s set to run until he is 75!!!! They are not supposed to allow policies that go past retirement age without documenting how you are going to pay for it! (but then that is with the Perl who i wouldn’t trust DD’s pocket money with…)

]]> by: HelenHaricot http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-306 Sun, 15 Apr 2007 10:02:39 +0100 http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-306 if this is the first red, I would still pop in a complaint. the going down and up is not the only thing that can mean you were missold - but was it a suitable plan for you. ie it is better if you are a 40% taxpayer than normal rate, and pretty useless if you don't pay tax? bbut yes, consider an ISA. on the admin charge, that is a huge percentage of premium, so I would complain about that, and take it to the relevent ombudsman too. but it is woth paying for financial advice at this point. [or at the minimum, seeing the CAB. we have a 70,000 endowment from the first house, but as that is so crap, the remaineder of the mortgage for this house is on repayment. if this is the first red, I would still pop in a complaint. the going down and up is not the only thing that can mean you were missold - but was it a suitable plan for you. ie it is better if you are a 40% taxpayer than normal rate, and pretty useless if you don’t pay tax?
bbut yes, consider an ISA.
on the admin charge, that is a huge percentage of premium, so I would complain about that, and take it to the relevent ombudsman too.
but it is woth paying for financial advice at this point. [or at the minimum, seeing the CAB.
we have a 70,000 endowment from the first house, but as that is so crap, the remaineder of the mortgage for this house is on repayment.

]]> by: Merry http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-305 Sun, 15 Apr 2007 09:24:23 +0100 http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-305 I should get some financial advice and instead of putting money into their endowment see if you can set up an ISA or whatever they are called these days that will give you a better return. We hardly have anything to cover our interest only mortgage; we've got a savings plan via work and are relying on paying in lump sums of anything we scrap together. No pressure then! (£174,000 to go!) I should get some financial advice and instead of putting money into their endowment see if you can set up an ISA or whatever they are called these days that will give you a better return.

We hardly have anything to cover our interest only mortgage; we’ve got a savings plan via work and are relying on paying in lump sums of anything we scrap together. No pressure then! (£174,000 to go!)

]]> by: Administrator http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-303 Sat, 14 Apr 2007 23:22:13 +0100 http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-303 WEll yes, Joanna, they have sent plenty of letters (roughly 1 a year for the last 10 years) saying there will be a minor risk of shortfall but don't worry, it won't be much. Now suddenly it's a "SERIOUS RISK OF SHORTFALL" (written in red ink just to be sure it scares the bejesus out of you) and want to rack up the premiums to 3 times what they were. Then they have the gall to tell me that they are increasing the monthly admin charge to £4..... :twisted: WEll yes, Joanna, they have sent plenty of letters (roughly 1 a year for the last 10 years) saying there will be a minor risk of shortfall but don’t worry, it won’t be much. Now suddenly it’s a “SERIOUS RISK OF SHORTFALL” (written in red ink just to be sure it scares the bejesus out of you) and want to rack up the premiums to 3 times what they were. Then they have the gall to tell me that they are increasing the monthly admin charge to £4….. :twisted:

]]> by: Joanna http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-302 Sat, 14 Apr 2007 20:56:10 +0100 http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-302 Is that the first letter you've had about an endowment shortfall then? We've been getting them for a few years now. Is that the first letter you’ve had about an endowment shortfall then? We’ve been getting them for a few years now.

]]> by: jax http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-301 Sat, 14 Apr 2007 18:21:48 +0100 http://tbirdanni.blogsome.com/2007/04/14/things-that-make-you-go-arrrg/#comment-301 do not get me started on incompetents and money right now... do not get me started on incompetents and money right now…

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