British Steel Nov 23 2021

Three more British Steel advisers declared in default

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Three more British Steel advisers declared in default

Three IFAs, which advised British Steel Pension Scheme members on their pensions, have been declared in default by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Meyado Private Wealth Management London, formerly Berkshire Financial Advisers, A. W. Dallas Financial Services, trading as Portfolio Pension Consultancy, and West Wales Financial Services, trading as IWA Financial Solutions and Mike Powell Mortgages have all failed with the scheme and clients can now bring claims against the advisers. 

A.W. Dallas Financial Services started liquidation proceedings in August after receiving 35 complaints from former members of the BSPS, which threatened to exceed "hundreds of thousands of pounds", according to the accountants.

West Wales Financial Services Ltd was one of the earlier firms to halt pension transfers in 2017, following the Financial Conduct Authority's work on BSPS. 

The FSCS is urging consumers to check if they are eligible claim.

The BSPS case

Three years ago BSPS members were asked to make decisions about their pensions as part of a restructure of the scheme.

About 8,000 members transferred out of the scheme, with transfers collectively worth about £2.8bn.

But concerns about the suitability of the transfers were soon raised, leading to an intervention from the FCA that resulted in a number of advice firms – key players in the debacle – stopping their transfer advice service, while others went out of business.

The debacle created a mountain of liabilities, which lawyers believe could end up costing the industry up to £300m.

In September, the FCA travelled to Swansea to meet steelworkers who could be due compensation but were met with mixed feelings, with some showing no interest while others claimed they were unable to book a place.

The City watchdog also revealed plans to travel to Swansea this week (November 22 to 25) to meet steelworkers who could be due compensation after receiving unsuitable advice to transfer out of their pension scheme.

In addition the FCA will travel to Scunthorpe fromDecember 6 to 9.

sonia.rach@ft.com

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