Scottish Friendly’s back office has been slow to pay advisers what they are owed following its takeover of Marine & General Mutual, an adviser has claimed.
Clive Thompson, financial planner at Lincolnshire-based Serenity Financial Planning, said he was waiting for an annual payment on an MGM bond despite being given promises by the mutual that it would investigate.
“We are still waiting. Our request for payment has been ignored, and we haven’t been given the assurance that it will be resolved,” he said.
The contractual payment was set to be paid in September. When Mr Thompson contacted the Glasgow-based mutual in October, he was promised a response within 10 working days.
When that deadline passed, he received a letter informing him that he was owed commission on a lifetime annuity for another client.
“SF did not respond to the original query I raised, and I am not confident it will,” Mr Thompson added.
On the Lifetalk forum, another IFA claimed that fees from for unit-linked annuities had ceased after Scottish Friendly took over MGM in June. The takeover was Scottish Friendly’s largest acquisition, increasing assets under management to more than £2bn.
Right to reply
Calum Bennie, communications manager at Scottish Friendly, said: “While we do not comment on individual cases, we are committed to ensuring that IFAs are paid fees as quickly and efficiently as possible. There will be cases where we require additional information to enable us to process payments. Where we are aware of any issues, we will look to work with advisers and try to resolve the matter swiftly.”
The headline on this article has been revised since original publication.
