If you answered yes to the above question there is a chance that your Scottish Widows FSAVC policy was mis-sold and you could be due compensation.
An FSAVC (Free Standing Additional Voluntary Contribution) is a separate, additional pension plan away from your employer's pension. They were set up for people that wanted to put extra money away for their retirement.
Unfortunately, the way these FSAVCs were arranged, meant that the plan holder lost a lot of investment value in their pensions due to the high charges involved.
There were a number of different options to consider when it came to making additional contributions in relation to your pension.
Many advisors did not discuss all the options with the consumer, often not giving them enough information about other options that may have been more beneficial.
Many consumers who were sold an FSAVC were planning on remaining with their employer until retirement and did not require a portable pension product.
All employers that offered a final salary pension scheme offered an in house alternative that would have been more suitable for many consumers.
Many advisors did not take into account the level of experience consumers had.
An FSAVC may potentially have high returns but often comes with increased risk that didn’t match the attitude of the customer.
The excessive transfer penalties with the FSAVC meant many consumers could not transfer the policy.
Many advisors did not discuss the high transfer penalties within the product.
Compensation to pay back the money you lost and put you in the position you would be in if you had been sold the additional contribution plan in the first place.
The compensation will often include increasing the annuity payment to retired consumers.
Additional interest can often be added to any loss suffered.
This is all possible even if you have retired and are now in receipt of your annuity or you have no paperwork.
We have specialist teams that can also win cases where you have been told you are ‘out of time’ or the firm that sold the FSAVC are no longer in business.
You do not need to use a CMC to make a complaint to a provider or other compensation scheme, such as the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If your complaint is not successful you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) yourself fee free.
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