A report by Oxford Actuaries has advised that it believes that complaints about endowments are going to get worse. As projected shortfalls continue and people become more aware of their rights, complaints will increase. The report said that the majority of complaints went directly to insurance companies, banks and building society advisers rather than Independent Financial Advisers.
Our View
Two thoughts here.
1) Consumers are becoming more aware and increasingly concerned about endowment and shortfalls on their mortgage.
2) Just because the investment performance on an endowment is poor, it does not give you the right to complain.
How many complaints would there be if investment performance was good and people were sat on nice little nest eggs? We think not many. You have a right to complain if you did not understand the risks and did not have them explained to you but you do not have a right to complain because returns are low.
We have no doubt that commission hungry salespeople have sold endowment over repayment mortgages for commissions. The biggest culprits are those that most consumers continually trust - the Direct Insurance Company Salesman, The Bank and the Building Society. Indeed, our advisers have come across many clients that are still being advised to take an endowment mortgage!
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Visit our registered users centre to download free fact sheets on Endowment Mortgage - Don't Panic and Complaints - Putting Your Case Forward.
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