Endowment policy claim, who should pay?

[Andy Boz]

Hello.
I took out an endowemnt policy with a wife, to repay a mortgage. We divorced. She signed a Deed of Assignment, transfering all finances to me. The Deed was clipped to my house deeds, by the building society. I later changed to a repayment mortgage, but kept the endowment policy going, as a savings plan/pension etc. Then I moved house, a few years after.
Now I have decided to weigh it in against the mortgage, thus reducing my monthly payments, and in effect earning me 3% or so, rather than the minus 20% it is getting with the endowment company.
I applied to the building society for it (the Deed) and they did not have it. They suggested that it had been sent to the solicitors that handled the house sale. They do not have it. So to all intents and purposes, the document has been lost. I therefore had to apply to a solicitor, to get a new deed drawn up, (luckily there is no greif with the ex-wife) and I have now got it.

As far as I am concerned, the building society was negligent in forwarding a financial document to the conveyancing solicitors. They were negligent in not returning that document to the building society. But I am left with the bill, some £340. The building society, although being polite and cordial in their correspondance, do not seem to want to admit guilt.

Do forum members concur that I should not be financially responsible for their error, and if needed, do you think the Financial Ombudsman would consider this case?

Andy