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The person or firm who gave the original advice to the client is responsible
for a mortgage endowment complaint. A complaint can still be made if the advice
was given before 29 April 1988. However, the Financial Ombudsman Service ("FOS") may not have
the power to look at pre 29 April 1988 sales.
On 1 June 2004 the FSA introduced new rules regarding time-bars on endowment complaints. More details are available from the time-bar rules page.
General guidance for intermediaries can be found on the FSA and FOS web sites (www.fsa.gov.uk and www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk). The ABI website (www.abi.org.uk) covers the Mortgage Endowment Policy Reviews Code of Practice.
The 'Dispute resolution: Complaints' section of the FSA Handbook sets out the approach and standards which firms should use when investigating complaints in general. Appendix 2.1 of the dispute resolution contains further guidance for use when investigating complaints relating to the sale of endowment policies for the purposes of achieving capital repayment of a mortgage. The FOS has also produced a guide for complaints handlers.
The FOS' assessment guide can be used to record factual complaint information, the issues raised by the consumer or identified by the firm, all findings and the appropriate type and amount of redress required. The guide includes an endowment mortgage questionnaire (PDF, 445kb). Intermediaries may wish to adopt this questionnaire to gather necessary information from consumers. However, it should be altered to show their logo.
The FSA Handbook gives guidance on the standard approach to redress in Appendix 2.2 of the Dispute resolution: Complaints sourcebook. The basic objective of redress is to put the complainant, so far as is possible, in the position they would have been in if the inappropriate advice had not been given, or the other breach had not occurred. Further sections cover:
To compare the client's current endowment position with the repayment alternative, intermediaries will require a current surrender value for the endowment policy. Current surrender values for your individual clients are available online from the Client View area of the adviserzone.
The FOS news site features case studies illustrating their approach to a variety of the mortgage endowment complaints they have received.
IFA Referral Letters
Any intermediary dealing with a mortgage endowment complaint can contact Standard Life and request a summary of their customer's yearly statements.
If a customer contacts Standard Life directly, they will be referred to their original selling adviser. At the same time, the intermediary will be sent a summary of the customer's yearly statements.
The information contained within these letters should allow the intermediary to make an appropriate decision about time limits on the complaint.
Examples of these mortgage endowment complaint letters can be found below:
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