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13:57, 1/9/2022
A lot of Rowanmoor’s customers transferred their existing pensions into a SIPP administered by Rowanmoor following a cold call offering advice from independent financial advisors.
The advice given would be that their existing pensions were under performing and that a better rate of return could be achieved by consolidating their existing pensions and transferring them into a SIPP or other pension product offered by Rowanmoor.
The advice would often include recommendations of investments that offered very high returns. However, nobody informed these customers that the investments were speculative, high risk and volatile.
A SIPP is considered unsuitable for retail customers who transfer less than £100,000 into the SIPP. This is because the fees and costs are disproportionately high. Many customers can lose their entire pension funds and still be pursued for their SIPP fees.
The Financial Ombudsman (“FOS”) decision’s opened the door for many Rowanmoor customers to claim for compensation for the loss to their pension.
The FOS found many due diligence errors and concluded that whilst Rowanmoor were not responsible for giving advice to it’s customers, they had a responsibility of their own to carry out sufficient due diligence on the introducers before accepting business from them.
This responsibility extends into the financial products as Rowanmoor also had to carry out appropriate due diligence checks on the investments they allowed into their SIPPs.
The FOS were satisfied that Rowanmoor failed to carry out checks to assess that customers transferring their pensions into a SIPP had received the appropriate financial advice and understood the high risk nature of the recommended investments.
By failing to carry out their due diligence on their introducers and investments, they failed to act in the best interests of their customers. Had Rowanmoor conducted the proper checks, they wouldn’t have accepted the business and the customer may not have transferred their pension into the SIPP.
If you had a pension with Rowanmoor Personal Pensions, it is likely you may have been affected and may be eligible for compensation via the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (“FSCS”).
On the 31st August 2022 Adam Stephens and Christopher Allen of Evelyn Partners LLP were appointed as joint administrators of Rowanmoor Pension Pensions Ltd. On the same date, the FSCS confirm that the firm were under investigation.
On the 3rd March 2023 the joint administrators completed a sale of Rowanmoor’s business to Alltrust Services Limited. A further development on the 24th August 2023 confirmed that Rowanmoor moved from Administration to Liquidation.
The FSCS opened their online claims services to claims against Rowanmoor after they were placed under investigation. With this being said, the FSCS did not investigate any individual claims as they first needed to satisfy themselves that claims would need the qualifying conditions for compensation under their rules.
The FSCS placed all claims against Rowanmoor on hold until they finished their investigation regarding Rowanmoor as a whole.
In early November 2023, the FSCS confirmed they had completed their investigation into Rowanmoor and claims that have previously been submitted would be moved to their claims processing teams for assessment. The FSCS further explain that claims will be moved in waves to better manage the volume of claims.
By using a solicitor who is a specialist in pension mis-selling you will ensure that you put your best case forward and maximise your chance of success.
We have seen numerous cases in the past where mis-selling victims have pursued a legitimate claim themselves, only to have it turned down due to a technicality or because key grounds have not been particularised.
You have a higher chance of success by working with a Solicitor, who will ensure that there are no technical grounds for turning down your claim and put you in the best possible position to receive what you are owed.
We take the hassle out of the claims process as we do all the hard work for you. We will complete all the necessary paperwork and obtain all the required documentation to support your claim.
You will be allocated your own experienced pension claims handler who will keep you fully informed throughout the whole process.
If you opened a SIPP with Rowanmoor and you have lost your pension savings, you may qualify to claim. Contact us today for free further advice.
Mis-sold investments – Oakwood Solicitors
Mis-sold pensions – Oakwood Solicitors
Financial Conduct Authority – FCA
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Meet the author
Laura Barbera joined Oakwood Solicitors Ltd as a Solicitor in May 2022. Laura is a dual qualified professional in both the United Kingdom and Spain. Laura comes from a legal and financial services …
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