Financial mis-selling involves the selling of financial products that are not suitable for an individual or their needs. To put it simply – yes, financial mis-selling is illegal. Luckily, however, it’s quite easy to spot if you have been a victim of financial mis-selling and to claim compensation. Read on! 

The common tactics of financial mis-selling 

  • Giving people unsuitable guidance about their financial products. This can be in the form of bad investment advice or bad pension advice. 
  • Not telling people about the risks of investing in such financial products. 
  • Not giving people the full information that they are required to know when they take on a product. 
  • Not telling people about additional charges and fees that would occur following the advice. 

The different types of financial mis-selling 

Mis-sold mortgages 

Mortgage mis-selling occurs when individuals are advised to borrow money without providing their income, or they are asked to overstate their income to borrow more. This type of mis-selling also occurs when people have been advised to switch lenders without being informed of the penalties of doing so. Furthermore, if an individual has been told to remortgage their fixed-rate mortgage to a better deal, and has attained penalties for leaving the fixed-rate early, then they have also been mis-sold. 

Mis-sold investments  

Bad investment advice, or investment mis-selling, occurs when advisors don’t give people the correct information about their product. This could be not telling them about how their money would be invested or the risk involved with that investment. Bad advice for investments are especially clear to spot if you have discussed your needs and attitude to risk with your advisor, but still find that your investment product doesn’t match your preferences. It is always best to check that your advisor is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) before agreeing to any investment. 

Mis-sold Payment protection insurance (PPI) 

Payment protection insurance (PPI) aims to cover repayments in certain circumstances where individuals couldn’t make them themselves. This includes if a person was made redundant or was unable to work due to a personal situation. There are various signs out there that can indicate you have been mis-sold a PPI. For example, you may have been pressured into buying the PPI, or you weren’t told about the exclusions to the policy. 

Mis-sold pensions 

You may have seen headlines about this on the news. Pension mis-selling is a common type of financial mis-selling that occurs where people give up their pension plan for any number of ‘high return/low risk’ investment opportunities. Due to how profitable these investment opportunities sound, a pension mis-selling scandal has escalated in the UK. Whether it’s a SIPP or personal pension, if you believe that you have ever been mis-sold, contact your pension provider straight away. 

What should I do if I’ve been affected by financial mis-selling? 

If you believe that you have been a victim of financial mis-selling, it is important to act fast and gather all the relevant information to make a complaint. At Expert Pension Claims, queries related to financial mis-selling are what we deal with. If you think that you have fallen victim to such scams, contact our team today to check if you’re eligible for compensation.