FOS say liability should lie with advisor

The Financial Ombudsman Service, which deals with complaints that financial companies turn down, declare liability for the sale of an endowment policy should lie with the person or company that gave the advice. They believe such parties should have displayed a sense of duty to their client and supplied the most suitable product.

The FOS asserted: 'Even in pre-1988 cases such as this one, which pre-date the Financial Services legislation, insurance companies were covered by an Ombudsman.

'For this reason, many insurance companies will consider cases that pre-date 1988 and the Ombudsman will also consider them.'

The principal researcher at consumer lobby group Which? confirms that when there is uncertainty in endowment complaint cases, insurers should not dismiss claims out of hand, they should ask instead for more information .She is concerned that some providers continue to make life harder for clients who complain: "Don't give up if your complaint is rejected first time round, always appeal against the decision by taking your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free".

The principal researcher reinforces the notion that Banks and insurers are trying to limit their endowment compensation liabilities, so it stands to reason that they won't make claiming easy for consumers. She encourages anyone who believes they have a valid case to exercise their rights.

Statistics illustrate that only about a third of policyholders take their endowment complaint to the Ombudsman, yet 45% of endowment cases are upheld when they get to this stage.

Oct 16, 2005
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