Park First SIPP Claims

In the years following the founding of Park First Limited (2010), hundreds of unsuspecting investors were coerced into transferring their occupational salary pensions into SIPPs. This was done with minimal warning of risk and no thought for the fact that many of the Park First investors were novices. If this applies to your situation, then we want to help you claim for Park First compensation.

If you invested in Park First, you will be wondering what exactly went wrong in the scheme. The finer details had been long obscured until the Financial Conduct Authority got involved and managed to shed some light on the situation.

Park First specialises in airport parking at Gatwick and Glasgow, two of the UK’s biggest airports, and they offered a very lucrative investment opportunity with 12% returns by the fifth year of a six-year agreement.

However, because the scheme was unregulated, investors did not have access to the same level of financial protection and oversight that they would with regulated schemes. 

An important distinction, and one which elevated coverage of the high-profile case, was that the savers were not experienced in high-risk investments. Instead, they were beginners; novice investors who had very little experience in navigating risk in the investment world. On receiving bad financial advice that did not inform them of the risks involved, these investors made the monumental decision to transfer their salary pension to take advantage of this ‘opportunity’. 

After a succession of Park First investment complaints, the FCA began to look into the scheme. They found that Park First recorded a huge £30 million loss in 2017 and advised investors to seek legal advice as soon as possible. Investors had gambled their retirement money and some had even remortgaged homes to make up the investment money.

In the end, Park First was told in a court of law that they were to abandon the scheme immediately. However, any potential Park First liquidation didn’t happen – the company still operates today and many investors are yet to recoup their losses.

If you invested your retirement money into the Park First scheme, we may be able to help with your compensation claim so that you can begin to reclaim your losses. But first, you need to determine whether or not you really have been mis-sold a SIPP. There are some telltale signs and it’s our mission to spread awareness.

If any of the below apply to your situation, you may well have been mis-sold and are eligible to claim for compensation. 

• You did not fully understand the process. If the financial adviser did not fully set out the particulars to you and, overall, you felt that there were at least parts of the transaction you didn’t understand, you may have been mis-sold.
• You felt coerced by hard sales tactics. If the financial adviser used hard sales tactics that made you feel pressured, then there’s a high chance that you have been mis-sold. 
• The advice you were given was poor. Despite the fact that your current pension scheme may have suited you better, the financial adviser still told you to switch.
• You were not advised about the fees. The financial adviser chose not to inform you of the fees (of which there are numerous) involved in transferring to a SIPP.
• You had a limited understanding of the risks involved. Despite the fact that transferring from a salary pension is almost always a risky endeavour, the financial adviser did not inform you of the risks. 
• You were given tax avoidance strategies. If you are ever advised on ways to evade your tax responsibilities, then the methods the financial advisor is using are definitely not legitimate.

A Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), like Park First is a personal pension scheme approved by the government. SIPPs were introduced in 1989, and since then more than a million UK citizens have used a SIPP to further their pension pot.

However, SIPPs are considered riskier than other types of savings as they rely on the success of where the money is invested.

Particularly risky investments like Park First also included overseas investments, most environmental related investments and certain types of property. Sadly, SIPPs like Park First were widely mis-sold, and a great number of people have lost much of their hard-earned savings as a result.

In light of the SIPPs mis-selling scandal, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) have set aside £100 million to pay for compensation costs, where complaints are made about misselling.

We have a specialist team who can help and support you in making SIPPs claims, and always fight to ensure that our clients get the best representation, and receive the justice that they deserve.

If you believe that you were mis-sold a SIPP, get in touch with us immediately. Our team is well-versed in compensation negotiations and has both the experience and expertise to confidently undergo a compensation plan. Our enquiry form can be found anywhere on our website.

For more information about making a SIPP claim, visit our SIPPs page or, if you would like to speak to an adviser directly, you can call 0161 968 0768.

To learn more about pension mis-selling and to protect yourself against rogue financial advisers, take a look at the following resources.

• 10 of the biggest financial scams of the last decade
• Costs and charges associated with SIPPs
• A step by step guide after you’ve been a victim of financial mis-selling