Mrs W.'s NHS Pension Case Study

THE SITUATION

This is a case study of Mrs W.  where Money and Me Claims and Money and Me Solicitors are or have both acted for her in pursuing the losses she has suffered as a result of the unsuitable financial advice she received.

In 2011, enticed by the promise of higher financial returns and increased flexibility, Mrs W. acted on advice she received from a firm of financial advisers called L J Financial Planning Ltd (LJ FP) to transfer her National Health Service Pension Scheme (NHSPS) into a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) with Rowanmoor. The amount transferred was £95,809.

Worried that her SIPP investments were not performing as expected, Mrs W. initially appointed Money and Me Claims (MMC) to carry out an investigation into the advice she had received from LJ FP.

OUR APPROACH

Following MMC’s in-depth investigation, it was determined that Mrs W. had received unsuitable advice. Consequently, a complaint was submitted to LJ FP in June 2019.

A series of negotiations then took place with LJ FP’s lawyers, who initially maintained that their client was not at fault. However, in March 2020, MMC received a seven-page letter from the law firm justifying the advice LJ had given to Mrs. W, but still offering to make a payment to her of £90,000.

We knew that by transferring her NHS Pension Scheme, Mrs W. had given up benefits worth £283,000. Additionally, LJ FP’s compensation offer came with several conditions, one of which prevented Mrs W. from making any further claims against any other relevant third parties. During MMC’s investigation, it was concluded that Rowanmoor, Mrs W.’s SIPP provider, also had liability for some of her losses, therefore, LJ FP’s offer was unacceptable on that basis, but also on the amount of compensation that was offered, which was deemed too low. Following discussions with Mrs W., it was decided that MMC would engage in further negotiations with LJ FP’s lawyers, with the aim of securing an improved and acceptable offer.

THE OUTCOME

After significant persistence and negotiation, LJ FP increased its offer to £125,000 in compensation and agreed to remove the offending conditions.

Money and Me Solicitors was separately instructed by Mrs W. to make a complaint against Rowanmoor Personal Pensions Ltd (SIPP Trustee) and this claim is currently with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme as we seek to recuperate Mrs W.’s outstanding losses of £158,000.

Mrs W. was delighted with the outcome of the first claim and told us, “I was unaware of any misconduct or the extent of my financial loss until I spoke with Money and Me Claims. They provided excellent service, and their staff were very approachable.” – Mrs W. 

If you think you have been misadvised, click here to fill in the eligibility form.