How do I make a complaint about endowment policy?

Step 1 – First, complain to the firm that sold you the endowment policy.

This may be a financial adviser, the endowment company or your mortgage lender. Check with the endowment company if you are not sure who you should complain to as they would have the details.

Firms must have a proper complaints procedure and tell you how to use it.

Try to find all the paperwork and any notes you made at the time. You are entitled to copies of the sales paperwork from the firm that sold you the endowment policy.

It is usually best to make your complaint in writing. You can phone to make a complaint, but if you do, make sure you keep detailed notes. Record the name of the person you spoke to and the date and time you called. Keep these notes in a safe place as they are a record of your complaint.

When you make a complaint, the firm may send you a questionnaire (commonly known as an endowment mortgage questionnaire) to complete and return to them. Fill this in to the best of your ability – it will speed up the process.

Step 2 – Then, if you are unhappy with the firm’s decision, you can usually take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service

(the Ombudsman) – see Useful contacts.

You must do this within six months of the firm sending you a ‘final response’ letter. The Ombudsman provides a free, effective, straightforward process for resolving disputes.

If you are thinking of taking a complaint there, you can call its Contact Centre for help. You can choose whether or not to accept the Ombudsman’s decision. If you accept, it is binding on both you and the firm. If you don’t accept, you can take your case to court. There will be a charge for doing this, and depending on what your claim is for, time limits may apply.

See the FSA guide to making a complaint about financial services for more detailed information about the complaints process (including ‘tips for effective complaints’ and ‘taking a complaint to court’).

In some cases the complaints process may be slightly different:

_ If you took out your endowment policy on advice from a solicitor before 1 December 2001, see page 5.

_ If you were advised before 29 April 1988 to take out your endowment policy

Link to Previous article : Complaint about a mortgage endowment policy - 2