OpinionOct 23 2020

Letters: Obsession of offering everyone freedom is not helping anyone

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A crook’s paradise

Following your article ‘FCA eyes advisers in property scheme probe’ (Oct 8).

I’ve seen your article on Dolphin and the regulators advising investors to start claims.

This is sadly just another failure where the majority of UK investors will get nothing. 

I invested via a broker who cloned a regulated business.

I’m bitter as there are lots of failures recently: Westway, London Capital & Finance, Asset Life and now Wellesley. 

All trading in the UK, all allowed under the regulator’s nose, and who has done little to protect investors.

The whole system isn’t just in need of overhaul – it needs rebuilding to be layman friendly, upfront and transparent in what it does regulate and the actual products within a regulated firm that are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. 

Too many investors have fallen for the FCA logo trap, unaware the products the company offers are not. 

What a shambles – a crook’s paradise. 

John Cole

 

Scheme communications

Following your article ‘Advisers brace for “biggest change in years” to public sector pensions’ (Oct 14).

I read with interest your article regarding NHS members of the final salary scheme and the proposed changes to the retirement benefits.

I would only comment at this point that it’s not just NHS workers it will affect. 

It will also potentially affect HM Revenue & Customs members, Department for Work and Pensions workers, teachers and many more.

It will be interesting to see how much information these schemes will provide their members in order to make these decisions.

Name and address supplied

 

Scam concerns

Following your article ‘FCA opens 85 cases over pension scam concerns’ (Oct 6). 

The Financial Conduct Authority explained that some businesses operated a two-adviser model whereby the UK-based company gives the transfer advice, and an overseas company gives advice on where the funds may be invested if a transfer proceeds.

Although the UK business advises the saver to stay in the defined benefit scheme, the individual commonly proceeds to transfer into an overseas self-invested personal pension, advised by the overseas company, and then goes on to invest in illiquid, high-risk assets, it said.

The FCA said it was often powerless in these situations as the advice provided by the overseas company falls outside its regulatory perimeter.

Very simple. Make the Sipp provider only allow either:

a) Sipps only available to professional investors and evidence based.

b) Sipps only allowed to have investments managed by a UK, FCA-regulated company.

The obsession of offering everyone freedom to do anything is not helping anyone. Most of the UK population cannot manage a bank account let alone pension investments. UK government and the FCA have created a scammers’ charter.

Name and address supplied

 

FCA oversight

Regarding your article ‘FCA steps in after SVS clients face delays at new broker’ (Oct 5).

I am one of those unlucky people who got out of the frying pan and straight into the fire.

I was really hopeful when I saw your article, but by the time I had finished reading it, I was not so much.

I am not sure what the FCA means by ‘it is monitoring the situation’. They might as well be sitting in an arm chair and chewing on popcorn.

It has been really difficult to get hold of anyone at ITI Capital and I can see in the article there are similar stories of people who have been unable to get hold of them.

I am wondering how it was possible with all this oversight of the bankruptcy courts, FSCS, FCA and the administrators that we ended up with a company that is clearly much worse than SVS was.

Name and address supplied

 

No justice

Following your article ‘Ban for traders who owed £11.2m to clients’ (Oct 6).

This is alarmingly similar to my own experience with a foreign exchange business that went into liquidation – while under the unwatchful eye of the FCA. 

Large amounts were lost in a long-term Ponzi scheme, with many losing their life savings, retirement funds or homes.

In these situations people’s lives are ruined and the guilty get off with a slap on the wrist, with no mention of restitution or jail. In our case, the police had no interest, because the owner of the company had died.

It just shows they have no interest in prosecuting financial crimes.

Kerry Flannagan 

 

Boiling point

Regarding your article ‘FCA steps in after SVS clients face delays at new broker’ (Oct 5).

I read your article about SVS clients not being able to access their portfolio and cash. I, like thousands of others, feel completely helpless to do anything and the frustration is at boiling point.

When I send an email I get no response. I have sent a message on the client account page and, yes, you’ve guessed it, again no reply. 

What is also maddening is they sent me an email statement of my monthly activity. How can there be activity when I can’t access the account?

I feel like I have a box of money that I can’t open because ITI has the key, and they won’t give it to me.

Alan Harrison