If you have opened a newspaper or taken notice of the Internet over the last few years, the chances are you’ve read about the PPI scandal.
Although this ended in 2019, its very existence has highlighted a wider issue with financial mis-selling in general. From SIPPs (Self Invested Personal Pensions) to ethical forestry investments, financial mis-selling appeared to develop and turn into an all round scandal in the UK.
Here are a few of the main types of financial mis-selling, with a look at why they have been taking place in the wake of PPI.
SIPP mis-selling
One of the most common complaints in terms of financial mis-selling. In the UK, Self Invested Personal Pensions may sometimes be a way for scammers to make money, by giving bad advice to investors. The way it works is simple – if you are the owner of a SIPP and you were given what turned out to be poor advice (to switch to another scheme, for example) and it resulted in major financial losses, you may have been mis-sold. Unsure? Contact us today and we’ll be able to tell you if this has happened to you.
SERPS mis-selling
SERPS is another popular form of financial mis-selling in the UK and is otherwise known as State Earnings Related Pension Scheme. In a similar way to SIPPs, the investors of this type of pension were also targeted by those mis-selling. Why were so many people targeted with a SERP? Put simply, there was an opt out scheme in the 80’s and 90’s. Advice was given to people to opt out, which then resulted in major financial losses. Read more about SERPS compensation claims here.
High risk investment scams
Why does financial mis-selling happen with high risk investments? As you can imagine, this is owing to the sheer amount of money involved. The truth is in the name, a high risk investment means a risk is being taken. But what if you were not made aware of exactly the level of risk you were taking? There are such things as “toxic investments” which are, put bluntly, unregulated and dangerous. Scammers quite probably saw this as an easy win. Read about high risk investment mis-selling in our blog.
From PPI to other financial mis-selling
PPI brought the focus onto the mis-selling of financial products like never before, and since the financial recession, consumer trust in the financial industry is at an all-time low.
This new low in consumer trust is causing people to review their past and present financial decisions in a different light.
The shift in consumer thought process has caused financial planning to be picked apart, allowing new regulations to be brought in to ensure that consumers are treated fairly. These new regulations allow people to not be goaded into particular financial products or services due to high commissions available to pension advisers and financial advisors.
Some leading experts were concerned that PPI mis-selling was just the tip of the iceberg, with thoughts that over half of all financial products sold to clients by financial institutions were not correct for the client.
We can help
Do you feel that you have been a victim of any of the above? Are you approaching retirement and have concerns over the advice you have received in regards to your pension?
Expert Pension Claims are helping consumers reclaim their mis-sold pensions, and we could help you. Call us today for an initial consultation and see how we can assist you if you have been a victim pension mis-selling.
