Endownment compensation

[Mallaig]

Has anyone successfully claimed compensation for endownment shortfall. If so what is the best  way to go about it.

[thikasabrik]

In the first instance you should complain to whoever sold you the endowment, setting out the reasons why you were mis-sold the policy. If they reject your claim, the next step is to contact the Financial Ombudsman who will investigate the case. I would advise that under NO circumstance should you use one of the firms that offer to do all the work for you, as they will take a huge slice of any compensation you are awarded. It's a fairly straightforward procedure but you must make sure you have adequate grounds for complaint. I'd recommend you have a look at the Financial Ombudsmans website which tells you what to do from start to finish. You need to act quickly because I think there is some sort of deadline for claims looming fast.

[VINNY100_2]

We complained to the building society concerned and were automaticaly send an F.S.A claim form for compensation.If they dont send you a form go to the citizens advice bureau.We were successfull and got back �2000. good luck.

[desertrat]

In my case I wrote to the insurance company who handles my two endowments explained my grievances and they have offered compensation on one of the policies. On the other policy they have said it is the building societies problem. Although the insurance company was very helpful the building society is hopeless. I have recently written to both of them stating that I will refer the case to the ombudsman if I do not get some action soon. From experience this usually moves things along a lot faster.

[kazza55]

We successfully claimed compensation from the company that mis-sold us our endowment policy. It took about 7-8 weeks. We received just under �4500. We had a couple of forms to complete and a letter to write,but it was fairly speedy and hassle free. They even paid for a repayment penalty from our lender which was around �600. (We are on a 5 year fixed rate with our borrower, hence the fee)

I'm so glad that we handled the complaint ourselves instead of using one of the firms that thikasabrik mentioned.They charge a lot of money. It is well worth handling the complaint yourself and not as daunting as you might think.

The first step is to ring the company that sold you the policy and ask them what their complaints procedure is. They will probably send you a complaint form and then you can start the ball rolling.

[thikasabrik]

For info - todays Mail on Sunday (Financial mail) has a double page spread on the firms that do the work for you - and take up to 50% of your payout. A good site that will take you through the whole claims procedure is

www.thisismoney.co.uk/endowments